every man loves a wedding,” Stefan muttered dryly.
Both Bridget and Phillipa scowled at their brother, and at that moment, Max felt a strange kinship with Stefan.
Stefan shrugged. “What? It’s not as if a wedding is like a soccer match.”
An hour later, Max sat in the back of the chapel feeling incredibly uncomfortable. He watched as his full-blooded sister met her groom and both of them pronounced their vows. The Devereaux sisters crowded around the couple, and Max felt a strange twist in his chest. His sister’s voice touched something deep inside him. The Devereauxes were kinder than he’d expected. Why had the royals decided Coco belonged to him? Why had Coco pursued both the Devereauxes and him?
Max watched as the groom kissed his so-called sister and felt another bizarre clench in his gut. Why did this sight affect him? Why did he care?
After the couple kissed, Max was led to a reception in the ballroom. Then Bridget offered him a drink. “I hope whiskey is okay,” she said. “I never know what you Yanks want.”
Max downed the drink. “Whiskey’s fine. What’s the plan?”
“Just tell Coco how glad you are to meet her and how special she is. If you knew her, it wouldn’t be difficult,” she said.
“As you wish, your highness,” he said and put his empty glass on a tray.
“You’re missing out,” Bridget said. “But you’ll have to learn that on your own. Come along.”
She led him to the bride and groom. He stared into his sister’s face. He kept trying to tell himself that Coco wasn’t his real sister, but he felt a sense of connection with her.
She stared at him. “You’re my brother, aren’t you?”
“Yes, and you’re my sister. Maxwell Carter at your service, your highness,” he said in a wry voice.
She laughed out loud. “Yes, just as you are a prince, your highness.”
“Not me,” he said, shaking his head, feeling regret steep through him. “I wish I’d known you before.”
He saw the same wisp of loss he felt slide through her. “You know me now and I’ll be your pain in the butt sister for the rest of your life.”
“Why do I feel like I won the genetic lottery?” Max asked.
Her groom, Benjamin, stepped forward. “Because you did, in every way.” And then he took Coco’s mouth in a kiss.
Arriving back for a holiday visit in Northern Virginia, at her mother’s home, Sophie braced herself for her mother’s usual inquisition. This time, however, her mother seemed to have given up on nagging Sophie to get married. Her mother was far more relaxed than Sophie could remember. As a single parent, Katherine Taylor had spent most of Sophie’s growing-up years in fear of losing her job and subsequently being unable to care for Sophie. It had taken years for Katherine to trust Sophie to be able to take care of herself, but now it appeared her mother believed.
Sophie did her best to push Max and his situation from her mind. She needed some downtime. Even with the rush of decorating and baking, she found herself easing into a routine and taunting herself with advertisements for dogs.
After roaming the globe with Max for years, she wondered if she was ready for a different job. Although being away from Max was less exciting, she found herself much more calm and at peace. Maybe it was time to find a place of her own where she could stay for more than a few weeks at a time. The possibility was seductive, but something kept her from calling the engineering firm that employed her.
On New Year’s Day, she began composing a list of resolutions. The first was that she was going to start having a life, wherever she lived. As she recalled her list, her cell phone rang and she saw the caller ID. Max. Her stomach danced with stupid anticipation. She pressed the answer button. “Yes, Sophie.”
“Okay, I met my sister. She was nice. You were right. But I ended up staying a lot longer than one day. This Prince Stefan guy is a shark. That said, he needs a road fixed. Our company loves the idea of fixing the roads of an exotic island country, so we have our new assignment. I want you to come to Chantaine.”
“What? I thought I was going to get some vacation time,” she said.
“I’ll give you some time off when you’re here in Chantaine. You’ll like it here,” he said.
Sophie sighed, wondering if this was when she should finally say no to Max. It had been a fun ride traveling to exotic places to work with him, but she was longing for a home of her own. She was tired of feeling unsettled. “When would you need me?” she asked.
“Yesterday. Sophie, come on. You know what a great team we are. We always get the job done ahead of time and under budget when we’re working together. There’s no one I can count on the same way I can count on you.”
Sophie took a deep breath and said what she always said to Max. “Okay.” But this was going to be the last time. Really.
Two days later, Sophie gaped out the window of the jet as it neared the island. She couldn’t believe how beautiful the island of Chantaine was. White sandy beach on one side, rocky mountains on the other with azure ocean surrounding it all. Australia had been amazing. She’d been lucky enough to steal a long weekend over to New Zealand and absorb the lush gorgeousness of that island. But this, she thought, this was incredible. Paradise. She couldn’t wait to see it on the ground. Within moments, the plane landed. She grabbed her carry-on from the overhead compartment and waited her turn to exit the plane.
Her checked luggage arrived without a hitch. Nice change, given how many times the airlines had lost it in the past. She walked outside the terminal to what felt like a perfect combination of temperature and humidity and thought she would never want to leave this place.
A Mercedes slid in front of her. The driver and Max exited at the same time. “Miss,” the driver said.
“Sophie,” Max said. “We’ve got work to do.”
“I expected that. But you mentioned vacation days.”
“You’ll get a break. Just not right away.”
“Great,” she muttered under her breath. After the long flight, she didn’t have the energy to put up a fight.
The driver relieved her of her luggage and opened the car door for her. Sophie was grateful for the consideration. “Thank you,” she said, climbing into the car.
“The island is so beautiful,” she said to Max as he followed her.
“Yes, but the north side is a mess. That’s where we’ll be working. Unstable roads. Rock slides. Not acceptable. Far too dangerous. Stefan thinks one of his brother-in-laws will want to build a resort there, but the roads will have to be improved.”
“Will they need a bridge?” she asked.
“I think we can just build up the road. It’s tricky because it’s hard to get materials the second you want them.”
“Which will drive you crazy,” she said. “Since you consider patience a vice.”
