The way he said it suggested he wasn't just talking about the coffee.
I walked back to the palace with my head spinning and my pulse racing.Whatever was happening between Peter and me was complicated and probably dangerous and definitely not something I should be pursuing.
But as I replayed the moment when we'd almost kissed, I realized I was already counting the hours until my next riding lesson.
This was either going to be the best part of my time in Valdoria or the thing that destroyed everything.
Possibly both.
CHAPTER 6
Archie
Iwas reviewing themorning intelligence reports in the Valdorian palace's secure briefing room when my phone buzzed with an encrypted call from Washington.The caller ID showed a number I recognized but rarely received calls from this early in the morning.
"Mr.Secretary," I answered, settling back in the uncomfortable chair while spreading the classified documents across the borrowed desk.Even in a crisis, everything in this palace had to be unnecessarily ornate.The chair alone probably cost more than most people's cars, and it was somehow still terrible for my back.
"Your Highness.I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time, but we need to discuss the timeline for the Mediterranean alliance."
Secretary of State Richardson's voice carried the kind of tension that meant someone in Washington was breathing down his neck.Probably someone whose title started with "President."
"What's changed?"
"Our intelligence sources are reporting accelerated Russian naval activity in the Black Sea.They've moved up their timeline."
I pulled up the satellite photographs that had arrived an hour earlier, showing the submarine positions that had been keeping me awake at night."I'm looking at twelve submarines as of yesterday morning.That's double their normal deployment."
"Fourteen as of six hours ago.And their so-called training exercises were supposed to end two days ago, but they've been extended indefinitely."
I rubbed my temples."How long do we have?"
"Our analysts are saying forty-five days, maybe less.That's when the exercises end and they'll be in optimal position for Mediterranean action."
Forty-five days.The wedding was in five days, but that was just the beginning.The real challenge was making sure Betty could convincingly play the role of a princess in love long enough for Congress to approve the defense package.
My wife, I thought, testing the words in my mind.In five days, Betty Montclair would be my wife.
