The Princess and the Player

The timing was horrific. Because he’d just realized why this was so difficult, why he couldn’t take the Liverpool contract. Why he was so worried about dropping this news on Bella—he was in love with her.

Eleven

By evening, James hadn’t called.

Bella tried not to think about it. He was busy with Liverpool. She got that. The one time she’d tried to call him, it went straight to voice mail. Maybe his cell phone had died and he’d forgotten his charger.

If not that, there was a simple explanation for his silence and when he got her message, he’d call. No one would willingly face down her father without having some skin in the game. James had said he’d call and he would. He cared about her. She knew he did.

After a long night of tossing and turning, she had to find something to do to keep busy and the farmhouse still needed work. It kept her mind off the disloyal thoughts that had crept in overnight—that the distance between here and England had given James some perspective and his feelings had cooled after all. Just as she’d feared.

Or he’d decided a princess with a scandal-averse family was too much work for a guy who liked to play the field.

Discovering a bird’s nest in the tree close to the back steps finally pulled her attention from her morose thoughts. She missed her own birds— she’d moved the macaws James had given her to the Playa Del Onda house since she hadn’t planned to continue traveling back and forth. These baby birds filled the silence with high-pitched cheeps and she smiled as she watched them from an upstairs window.

It was a much-needed sign. Regardless of what happened with James and the news regarding his contract with Liverpool, she should go forward with conservation work. Birds would always need her and she liked having a purpose.

When she returned to Playa Del Onda, a maid met her in the foyer and announced Bella had a visitor in the salon.

James. Her heart did a twisty dance move in her chest. Of course she’d blown his silence out of proportion and they’d laugh over her silliness. Maybe he’d come straight from the airport and somehow she’d missed his call. As she dashed into the salon, she palmed her phone, already checking for the errant message.

It wasn’t James, though, and the man standing by the window almost rendered her speechless. But she found her manners somehow.

“Mr. Rowling,” Bella greeted James’s father cautiously. “How nice to see you.”

They’d met formally once before and she’d greeted him at Will’s party, but this was the first time they’d spoken without others in attendance. Did James know he was here? Had he already talked to his father? If Gabriel had spoken to Mr. Rowling, he would have mentioned it to her. She was flying completely blind and nothing good could possibly come of this surprise meeting.

James’s father didn’t offer his hand but instead bowed as if they’d stumbled into a formal setting without her realizing it. “Princess Isabella. Thank you for seeing me on short notice.”

“Of course.” Mindful of her father’s warning to watch her step when dealing with matters important to the crown, she inclined her head graciously. “What can I do for you?”

“May we take a seat?” Mr. Rowling indicated the overstuffed and incredibly uncomfortable couch.

Sure, why not add more formality on top of the already overbearing deference of the elder Rowling? She perched on the cushion and waited for Patrick Rowling to get to the point.

He cleared his throat. “I realize that you and Will have agreed to part ways and that you are seeing my other son. You’ve made a terrible mistake and I’m here to ensure you understand the full extent of it.”

Geez, first her father and now Patrick Rowling? It was as if everyone thought she could be talked out of her feelings if they just tried hard enough. “Will would be a bigger mistake. We aren’t interested in each other.”

Mr. Rowling held up a conciliatory hand. “I’m not here to talk about Will. Granted, there is sound sense in a match between you and my son, but even I understand that the heart isn’t always sensible.”

Confused and suspicious, she eyed James’s father. “Then why are you here?”

That had come out a little more bluntly than intended, but he didn’t seem bothered by her lack of decorum.

Clearing his throat, he leaned forward as if about to impart a secret. “The mistake you’re making, the one I’m here to help you avoid, is putting your faith in James. He is not a good choice for any woman, least of all you.”