Page 1 of The Prince and the Double Shot (Runaway Prince Hotel #2)

PHIL

H ow far do you have to go to run away from everything you know? For me, the answer is not so simple. In my thirty-seven years of life, I’ve seen most of the world. It’s a part of my job – the job I am currently considering a proverbial albatross around my neck.

If I were a banker or even a bricklayer, perhaps I could quit and start again.

But that’s not possible for me. My job was preordained before I was even conceived.

A job that meant a life of service to those who need you.

A job that can feel thrilling once in a while, but normally is tedious and exhausting.

I hate it – even though it’s all I’ve ever known.

I love it – even though the stress of it feels like a vise.

Petra , I smile at even the thought of his name. The man who made everything feel like it was going to be ok. The man who saved me when I didn’t even know I needed saving. I miss him with every fiber of my being.

Life is unfair – even to those of us who are blessed, or cursed, depending on how you look at it.

One moment, we were exploring the world together.

The sand between our toes made us giggle.

The next moment, everything shifted. A cough – a feeling of exhaustion, and then more doctor visits than I care to remember.

Then he was gone. It had been horrible and slower than either of us wanted.

Death comes for us all. No title or crown can prevent it.

Petra was gone. He had been gone for more than a year – almost two circles around the sun without him. Still, I mourned.

Time… That’s what everyone said. Time heals everything.

They lied.

Time makes the aching less. But the guilt of living is stronger.

Who could ever replace the unreplaceable?

All of the years we would have spent together are like a shadow of what should have been.

I am in the darkness, and I cannot see the light.

Everything here reminds me of him too much.

Pictures of us on all our travels dot the walls and bedside tables of my chambers.

I can’t escape the loss. I don’t want to.

But I also can’t go on like this. I know it, and so does everyone around me.

The day-to-day life of a royal – the Prince of Grandir – does not allow for me to hide away.

The valley needs me, as do its people. The mountain kingdom of Montagne is always looking for an opportunity to end the Accords of 1750.

At least, that’s what my father always says.

If my life already feels as if I’m suffocating, what will it be like when I ascend to the throne?

What will it be like to be king? My father, King Luis, doesn’t smile.

He’s so stern and concerned with the kingdom that he barely has time for our family.

I don’t want to be like him.

But I also don’t want to be like myself, either.

Who then am I?

Father never approved of Petra. He was not of royal blood.

A decree that was made over a hundred years ago stated that a royal’s husband or wife had to have blood that tied them to the succession.

There were many lords and dukes in the kingdom that I could have chosen, but it was only for Petra that my heart skipped a beat.

His family was farmers, immigrants, and the moment I saw him in his fields, I was taken with him.

He became my everything, even if he could never become my husband.

I hated that decree. Why should some dead person have any say over what I do now? The world had changed, but the Tranquilles, the people of Grandir, had not. They were set in their ways, and their ways hadn’t changed with time.

I had been ready to remain unmarried with Petra as my consort, by my side without an heir.

Now, I had no idea what to do. How do you have a future when you can barely function in the present and cannot forget the past?

I straightened my crown and looked at the poor man who stared back at me from the mirror.

A knock on my door caught me off guard. “Come in.”

“Your Grace,” Marcus bowed as he entered. “Queen Margaurite would like for you to join her in the library for tea. You have an hour before we need to leave for the ribbon-cutting on the new playground.”

“Please tell her that I will be down momentarily.” I nodded and waited for Marcus to close the door behind him.

The greatest of sighs – my ennui was ennuiing to its greatest extent today.

But I got up and showered. I allowed the staff to dress me and adorn me for the event.

That alone made me so tired I needed to take a nap.

And now…

Mother. When the queen invited you to tea, it was never just to say hello.

There was always another reason. It wasn’t that she was a bad mother – it just was…

Well, it was never something she had much time for.

I had a nanny for that, and I still missed her terribly.

She was the first person to call me when Petra died.

The first person to wrap me in her arms and tell me that I was going to be ok.

I was not ok. But I was surviving even if I wasn’t thriving.

I grabbed my speech off the desk and folded it before walking out of my room. I left the door open as I knew the cleaning staff had been waiting for me to leave. I stayed inside my chambers as often as I could, and it had become a disaster zone.

I was a thirty-seven-year-old prince who still lived at home and didn’t want to take over the family business.

A choice I didn’t really have. As the only heir to the throne, I would one day ascend to it even if it wasn’t something I truly desired.

Not anymore. Not without Petra. He made me better. Without him, I was a shell.

I descended the grand stairway and turned to the right, where I knew my mother was sitting in her favorite room of the palace.

Mother liked to read, and if she didn’t have any duties, the library was where she’d normally be.

I could already see her as I knew I’d find her – curled up in her favorite chair in front of the fireplace with a large tome in her lap.

It was her own form of escapism. Every royal needed one.

I walked down the long hallway where the tapestries of my family’s past hung on large wrought iron rods from the stone walls. The doors were open, and two of her ladies-in-waiting stood at the entry.

“He’s here, Your Highness,” I heard her whisper into the room.

“Ladies.” I nodded as I entered the room between them. They shut the large oaken doors behind me. I stood there as Mother held up a finger. I knew what that meant. I waited for her to finish her paragraph and slide her bookmark in to keep her place.

She cleared her throat and closed the book, which she placed on her small table beside the chair. “Phillipe.” She waved her fingers in the air, motioning for me to come closer. “Sit, Phillipe. I think that we need to have a chat, don’t you?”

“Does it matter what I think, Mother?” I sighed as I lumbered over and sat down in the hard chair that needed to be re-upholstered. It was pre-Victorian and had seen better days. A spring stuck me in my ass.

“Your father and I have been trying hard to be patient, Phillipe. We do understand that you’ve been in a dark place.

Petra was special to you, and what you went through, my dear…

We tried to give you space so that you could heal.

We allowed you to shirk your duties and take care of him yourself.

Then, after he passed, we continued to give you that space so you could heal. ”

“I have appreciated that.”

“It’s time for you to step back into your role.

The people miss you, and your father and I are getting tired.

We can’t keep up the pace of ruling any longer without your assistance.

Not to mention, Phillipe, that it is time for you to finally let your father retire.

He’s been waiting for you to be ready, but I’m afraid that the time is never going to come.

You have to steel your courage, my son. It is time for you to become king and time for us to advise and retire. ”

“That’s a lot to…”

“It’s your duty, Phillipe. We’ve stayed in power long enough. Your poor father is starting to actually look his age. The duties of a king are hard and arduous. They are taking their toll on both of us.”

“I’m aware.”

“Phili… Son, being king is a lonely place. You will need someone by your side. I want you to have a love match like your father and me. But if it’s only a marriage of convenience to help you through the years, I would be happy to help arrange it for you.

We once had an idea for you to marry the Prince of…

” she sighed. “But only if that’s what you want. ”

“That is not what I…” I mumbled and scoffed my brightly shined leather shoe against the floor.

“You need someone by your side, even if it’s only a friend, Phillipe.

When I met your father, I knew what my duty was.

I would become Princess of Grandir and, eventually, the queen.

It was what was expected of me, even if I might have wished for something else at the time.

Duty is our calling, son. You have no choice but to take your place as monarch to the Tranquilles, and you will lead this kingdom towards the future. ”

“Why now, Your Highness?”

“Oh, that tone. I know it too well.”

“You never approved of…” I started to spit out my venom at her. This conversation was turning me into a petulant child.

“Stop right there. We welcomed that man into the castle with open arms. But the decree of your forefathers made your future with him cloudy and vague, Phillipe. Petra was a magnificent human being – honestly, he was a much better man than any of us. He made you so happy, and we could see how much you loved him. However, there could never have been a marriage. He could never have ruled by your side and only stayed on the sidelines. It would have ruined you both. But for him to… I hated seeing him so sick. I hated how you hurt. I hated the pain he was in. I loved Petra, Son, and I mourned him too. He was a bright light, but his light is no more, my love.”

“You didn’t always act like you loved him.”

“No… I didn’t. A queen can have regrets, too.

I was only worried about your future, you know.

I wanted you to marry and to… You were in love, and I should have supported you more.

That was the past, Phillipe. We both have to move forward.

I’ll forgive you for not understanding a mother’s worry, and you can forgive me for Petra. I do regret it. Life is… too short.”

“So, what do we do now. I don’t want you to find me a match, mother. I want to… Do you think I don’t want to stop feeling so lost? Of course I do.”

“I know the perfect place. Do you trust me?”

“Of course not.”

“That’s why you will be a great king. I think you can skip the ribbon-cutting today. I’ll take your place.” She pulled out a folded envelope and, with a flourish, handed it to me.

“What is this?”

“A chance for a future, Phillipe. Inside that envelope is a ticket that will take you someplace far away. My hope is that there you can find yourself again.”

“I don’t need to go to a spa.”

She laughed. “It’s not a spa. Though I know they have one.

I think that you need a chance to put all of this behind you for a bit.

The crown… Your future… Your title. I think you need to just be a person for a little while.

I have a… let’s call her a friend, though I doubt she’d say the same, but she owns a hotel in America. There you can… be you.”

“I’m supposed to pretend to be a commoner. Is that what you’re saying?”

“It’s exactly what I’m saying. I think you need to experience the life that Petra might have had if he had never met you, in a way of my choosing, of course.

If you walked away from all of this, what would you have?

Who would you be? I think you need to know the answer before you become the ruler of the Tranquilles.

They deserve you to truly understand… you.

I’m hoping this trip is the opportunity you need to find yourself again.

Do you think a mother enjoys watching her son so lost and sad? ”

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure you noticed.”

“Have I been that bad a mother?” She pursed her lips.

“Do you remember all the times I kissed your scraped knees when you played with the servant’s children?

Do you not remember the stories and the kisses until you thought you were too big for them?

I never left you. I gave you space. That’s what I’m giving to you now. ”

“Is this an order?”

“Yes. A royal one. Shall I have the house of Tranquilles vote on it, or will you just listen to your aging mother?”

I took the envelope and opened it. “Coach?”

“You are just Phil now. I hope that Phil can help you find whatever it is you lost.”

I knew Petra wasn’t there. How can you find the ghost of the only thing you can never have again?