Page 43 of American Royals

“I don’t know.” Sam shrugged. “She wasn’t the heir to the throne. If they’d gotten married, she wouldn’t have even been exiled or anything. She could have found a way to make her life work.”

Beatrice’s head shot up. “Exiled?”

“A British king tried to marry a commoner and was forced to abdicate over it. He lived in Paris the rest of his life.”

Her sister blanched, hugging the silk pillow tighter to her chest.

Sam shot her a confused look. “Beatrice, what is this really about?”

Before her sister could reply, steps thundered down the hallway, and another knock sounded at Sam’s door. It opened to reveal the king and queen.

“Beatrice! Here you are,” their dad exclaimed, his features creased in a smile.

Of course he hadn’t actually come to Sam’s room looking for Sam.

The queen smiled at Samantha, but then her eyes, too, rounded on Beatrice. “You and Teddy looked like you were getting along tonight. Everyone certainly loved seeing you together.”

Sam wondered if her parents had seen the internet’s wild surge of excitement at #Beadore.

“He’s very nice,” Beatrice replied. Nice—the most meaningless of all adjectives. A word you reserved for distant acquaintances and events you had no desire to attend.

Did Beatrice even like Teddy?

“Of course, it was just a first date,” Beatrice added, as if to explain away her lack of gushing enthusiasm.

Their parents exchanged a glance. “We’ve been thinking the same thing. Which is why we invited Teddy to Telluride for New Year’s,” the king announced proudly.

“You invited Teddy to Telluride?” Beatrice’s voice scraped wildly over the words, with something that might have been panic.

The queen tilted her head, puzzled. “We thought it would be a fantastic way to accelerate things. Help you get to know Teddy in a familiar, low-stress setting.”

From the way Beatrice’s nostrils flared in panic, it seemed like this was hardly low-stress. “Right,” she hedged. “It’s just … Telluride has always been our private place, where we get to be together as a family, and now you’ve invited someone who’s practically a stranger.”

“He’s not a stranger. We’ve known the Eatons for generations,” the king countered.

This was too much. Sam wasn’t sure why Beatrice didn’t want Teddy there, but whatever her reasons, they were in agreement for once. Sam had no desire to spend her New Year’s vacation watching Teddy on an extended date with her sister.

“This is moving a little fast,” she interjected. “From first date to a weekend away—what will people think? Maybe Beatrice should wait until we’re back, and then if she wants to ask Teddy out a second time, she can do it then.”

Beatrice shot Sam a grateful look, but the king waved away her protest. “Don’t worry about the message it sends. Teddy will be staying in the guest cottage, not the main house. The way Daphne used to.”

Daphne Deighton was the only significant other who’d ever gotten an invite to Telluride. It wasn’t lost on Samantha that her father had just equated Jeff’s three-year former relationship to the guy Beatrice had gone out with once.

“Besides,” the queen persisted, “we’re never there as a family, just us. Jeff is inviting Ethan this year, and Sam, aren’t you bringing Nina?”

“Yeah,” Sam admitted.

Beatrice nodded, having obviously realized that she wasn’t going to win this one. “No, you’re right. Bringing Teddy to Telluride is a good idea. Thank you for thinking of it.” She stood up, her movements stiff and jerky, almost robotic.

“Beatrice,” Sam ventured. Didn’t her sister want to finish talking about … well, whatever it was they were talking about?

Beatrice just shook her head, her eyes hollow-looking. “Good night, Sam.” She followed their parents out of the room, her white robe billowing in her wake. The door shut behind her with a resounding thud.

NINA

The Washingtons had gathered at the top of Bald Mountain, the breathtaking backdrop of the Rockies falling away behind them. Sunlight glittered over the pristine white snow. Watching them tease and torment one another, you might almost have thought they were any other family, posing for a quick picture before tearing down the slopes.

Except this wasn’t a normal vacation photo, but an all-press photo call.