Page 33 of Royal Daddy (Silver Fox Daddies #21)

Ava

T he next morning, Hailey and I were off to the races. We rose with the sun, getting out of bed and exploring the palace together. She wanted to see everything, and I was more than happy to show it to her.

We started in the garden, checking out the flowers and topiaries and the big water fountain in the center. The sun was finally out after what had seemed like a solid week of rain, the air fresh and crisp.

“I can’t believe you actually live here. Like, this is a real royal palace!”

I laughed, the two of us walking side-by-side through the gardens, the few members of nobility there shooting us strange glances.

“What were you expecting?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, part of me was worried this was all a scam to get you into some creepy guy’s penthouse somewhere and he wanted to make you his ‘princess’ for a night.” She laughed, and I did too. “Of course if I really believed that I would never have let you leave Seattle. But… this is your life now. Are you sure about giving all of this up?”

“It’s only my life by biology. My real life is the one I’ve built back in Seattle, the one with you and the truck.”

“You really feel that way? I get what you’re saying I really do. But at the same time…” She trailed off, as if not sure how to finish her sentence.

“At the same time what?”

“Think about it… out of the blue you find out that you’re a princess, that you’ve got royal blood in your veins. Have you stopped and wondered if maybe that’s the universe’s way of telling you that you’re destined for greater things than making crab cakes all day?”

“That’s one way to look at it. Another could be that it’s the universe’s way of telling me just the opposite. Think about it—if I can live in a place like this and still be sure that my destiny is in Seattle, then that’s a pretty big clue that the life I left is the one for me, right?”

She pursed her lips together, not saying a word. I could sense that she wasn’t entirely on board with what I was saying.

“You’ve got a better idea, then?”

Hailey shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, maybe you’ve got a point. And I’m not going to pretend to know what’s best for you. It’s just… I think you could do a lot of good here. With all the power and money you have at your disposal, you could really make a lot of people’s lives better. And that’s what you’ve always wanted, right? Remember how you used to talk about growing the food truck business so big that you could afford to hire foster kids as part-time help? So they would be able to work and have the opportunity to learn skills like you did? Shit, with what you’d have at your disposal as a princess, you could open up a whole freaking culinary school for them.”

It was my turn to say nothing. She had a damn good point. It was true—I had always dreamed of one day being successful enough to be able to help kids who’d been in foster care like me. Being a princess would be the best way to do it.

“I do want that,” I said. “But I want to do it on my own terms. I want to be able to earn the money myself, not have it just handed to me.”

Hailey gave me another look that suggested she didn’t entirely believe me. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure I believed myself.

“And then there’s the matter of the little peanut inside of you.” She pointed to my belly, as if she needed to make it clear what she was talking about.

I looked around, making sure no one was near enough to hear us talk.

“I told you, I can raise this baby all by myself.”

“Sure, and I bet you could. In fact, I’d love to help.”

“Yeah! That’d be awesome. You’d be such a good cool aunt.”

She grinned. “You bet your ass I would. But still, you’d be raising the baby without a dad.”

“Same as Mom.”

“Right. But don’t you think the kid might want a dad? Your mom left because of the way your dad had been treating her, being a total cheater. That had to have been hard on her, but it makes sense. You, on the other hand, have a perfectly good and extremely kind, not to mention super-hot, guy who I’m sure would love the chance to be a dad to your kid. You really think it’d be fair to deny the baby, not to mention Luc, all of that?”

It was another good point. Sure, Mom had left my father to raise me on her own. But he had been cruel to her, made her suffer through something that no woman should ever have to deal with. Luc, on the other hand…

She placed her hand on her belly. “OK, I’m starting to grumble here. What kind of spread have they got in there for breakfast?”

“Oh, my God,” I said. “A totally ridiculous one. They put out these huge platters of eggs and bacon and sausage and pastries, as if my father and I are going to eat all of it. You want to go grab a bite?”

“Wait, we’re supposed to be avoiding your dad, right? Won’t he see us in there?”

“He eats nothing for breakfast. Luc said that he thinks it’s a total waste of a meal.”

“His loss,” she shrugged. “More royal bagels for us, right?”

I laughed, the two of us heading back into the palace. I loved the way the place looked in the morning—huge beams of slanted sunlight shooting in from the east through the tall windows, the castle staff zipping here and there as they prepared for another day. More than a few gave sidelong glances toward me and Hailey, looks that made it obvious that she and I would be the subject of staff gossip.

“Oh, wow ,” Hailey said as we entered the dining room, and she had a chance to take in the spread. “This is all for you and your dad?”

The breakfast food was arrayed on the big buffet in front of the windows on the other side of the room, Hailey wasting not a second before rushing over and checking it out.

“It is, but thankfully the staff just eats whatever we don’t. The idea of all this going to waste is enough to make me sick.”

“No kidding; you’ve got a whole freaking Panera Bread in here. Oh, is this a blueberry Danish? You know that’s where I’m starting.”

I laughed as I stepped over to the coffee carafes, pouring myself a big cup of decaf. I was still weaning off caffeine, not even close to getting used to not being able to start off my day with a big espresso.

“Who is this?”

The voice stopped me dead in my tracks, my heart skipping a beat.

I turned, spotting my father standing at the entrance to the room. He was dressed in a smart outfit of navy-blue slacks, brown suede loafers, and a white polo shirt. The look on his face, however, was anything but casual.

He turned to me, a tinge of anger in his eyes. “Ava, would you care to tell me who this young woman is in my palace?”

Hailey, not seeming too bothered at all by what was happening, popped the rest of her Danish into her mouth, chewing it and wiping the flakes from her fingers as she headed over to where my father was standing.

“Pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.” She stuck out her hand toward him. “Wait, am I supposed to be curtseying? How’s a girl supposed to greet a king, anyway?”’

My father didn’t find it funny at all. In fact, the expression on his face suggested that he couldn’t believe what was going on.

As I stood there, it hit me. Hailey and I were spitting images of one another. And that meant we were spitting images of Mom. My father was no dummy, and I was positive he was making some mental connections.

“Who are you?” he asked, raising his finger to Hailey. “Tell me right now who you are and what your relationship is to my daughter.”

Hailey looked at me with a nervous expression, her hand still in the air.

I nodded, giving her the signal to tell him.

“I’m Ava’s sister.”

“Who approved this? Who let you into my palace?”

“Wait,” I said. “I thought you knew?”

“I knew nothing of this. Now answer my question. Who let you in here?”

“I did.”

Luc appeared behind my father. There was no doubt in my mind that an awkward situation was about to get somehow even worse.