Noah endured the last week of Louisa’s engagement tour alone. It was better than trying to keep Katya’s lips off of his, and certainly an improvement from the horrible situation he’d been put in.
But Zara’s message had sent him into a tailspin he didn’t know how to recover from. He clung to the tiny shred of hope that he’d be the perfect prince his father wanted, and then he’d get permission to leave this wretched island and make a new one his home.
Zara had said not to text her again, and Noah was planning to honor that. But he could call her or show up on her doorstep to talk to her. He just needed to get a few things in order first, and then he would.
The door he’d been sitting outside of opened, and his sister came out. She looked tired, but upbeat, and she gave him a hug after he stood up. “Your turn.”
“How is he?” Noah asked, glancing toward his father’s private office.
“He’s…the king,” Louisa said, which did not infuse any hope into Noah’s heart. She walked away, her low heels and long skirt absolutely fitting for the princess she was. Noah tugged on his jacket sleeves and entered the office, determined to stay until he’d gotten what he wanted. No, what he needed.
“Father,” he said once he’d entered, bowed, and closed the door.
“Noah, come and sit.” His father smiled and removed his glasses. He seemed older than Noah remembered, and he took a few moments to really look at his dad. He couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to shoulder the affairs of a country, even a small one like Triguard.
“How was the tour?”
Noah cocked his head. “Honestly, Father?”
“Honestly, Noah.”
“It was terrible,” Noah said. “Katya was a train wreck, and Zara broke up with me.”
His father blinked as if Noah had just said it was going to rain later. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Are you?” Noah hadn’t meant to be disrespectful or negative. He drew in a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll make things right with her.” Just like he always made things right.
“Katya was a mistake.”
“Thank you for saying so,” Noah said. He wanted to adjust his tie, but he held very still. Fidgeting showed nerves, and he didn’t want his father to think he was anything less than poised and content.
“She won’t be causing us any more problems.” His father steepled his fingers and watched Noah.
“I’m happy to hear that.”
“And now I suppose you want to know how you did on the tour, to see if I’m going to give you permission to live in Getaway Bay permanently.”
Noah said nothing. The King had surely received daily reports from one of the people who’d traveled with the royal entourage on the engagement tour. He read six papers each day and spent an hour on the Internet too. He knew everything that happened in his kingdom, almost the moment it happened.
“I’m sorry to say I can’t let you do that,” he said, leaning back in his chair.
“Dad,” Noah started, a whine plentiful in his voice. He cut off the sound and cleared his throat. “Why not?”
“Not for a few more months, at least,” he said. “You just returned, and we need time to let the press move on to something else, the way they always do.”
“A few more months?” A weight pressed on Noah’s chest, making it difficult for his lungs to expand properly. “What’s the difference if I hide out here in the castle or on the beach in Getaway Bay?”
He wanted to surf. He wanted to hold Zara and watch her complete that high dive. He wanted to be free from his royal obligations—and that was what his father couldn’t grant.
“That’s exactly the problem,” his father said, confirming Noah’s sudden realization. “You’re not a normal man, Noah. You’re a prince, and you have certain duties that come with that.”
“Then I’ll volunteer in libraries in Getaway Bay. They have a great children’s hospital wing there. I’ll donate money there and spend time there. I’ve already been volunteering on a celebrity wedding through one of their wedding planning businesses.”
“Yes, Your Tidal Forever. I’m aware.”
Of course he was. Noah didn’t have anything else to say in his defense.
“I need you here for a while,” he said. “Damien is launching a new health initiative, and he wants you to be the right-hand man.”
“You mean he wants me to attend meetings and make speeches,” Noah said. “Stay out of trouble.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. It will improve your image, and then you’ll probably be able to return to Getaway Bay, as you wish to do. But we feel it’s simply too soon for you to go now.”
“I don’t care about my image, Father.”
“I realize that,” he said dryly. “But we do, and as your reputation reflects on all of us, we’ve all suffered while you’ve been learning to surf in the Pacific Ocean.”
A splash of shame moved through Noah. “No one cares if I’m learning to surf or if I’m helping a child read.”
“You’re wrong about that,” his dad said. “The child cares, and the child’s mother cares, and the library director cares. And they’re all citizens of this country. Citizens you’re supposed to love and serve.”
Noah could see he wasn’t going to persuade his father into seeing things his way. He’d never been successful doing that in the past either. “Perhaps I could have a week,” he said. “To travel to Getaway Bay, talk to Zara, and come back.”
His dad laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think so, Noah. I know you, and you’re slipperier than an oiled eel. I let you out of my sight, and you’ll be off the grid for who knows how long.”
Noah stood, the meeting clearly over. “Well, Father, you knew I’d been learning to surf. You knew enough to send Damien on a 4-day round trip to find me. You knew where I was volunteering. Someone as smart, as resourceful like you should be able to track me down pretty easily, should I not return.” He buttoned his jacket and strode away from the desk though his father called him back.
He was not going to stay in Triguard for another few weeks. Because then it would be something else. Another month for this project. Then another six for holiday preparation. Then Louisa’s wedding would be within a year, and there was no way he could leave then.
So he’d leave tonight. True, his father could cut off all of his debit and credit cards, but Noah had allies inside the castle. He just needed to find them and convince them to help him.
Plus, he really needed to see Zara. Talk to her. Make her understand. And he wasn’t going to wait another few months to do it.
“Are you sure?” Noah asked Louisa as she sat behind the wheel of a car. He’d never seen his sister drive, and he wasn’t entirely sure she knew how.
“Yes, now be quiet.” She looked at the dashboard in front of her like all she’d have to do was push a button and the vehicle would start. Noah was once again on the floor in the backseat, feeling too tall and too broad for such things.
His sister got the car started, and she eased it forward a little without jerking. So maybe she did know how to drive. They made it out of the huge shed where all the cars were kept and around the back of the castle before she stopped again.
Noah’s pulse felt like it was part of a tennis match, bobbing to the left and then the right with great speed. “What’s—”
The passenger door opened, and his brother said, “Are we all set?”
Before Noah could move, Damien looked over the seat. “You didn’t even cover him up.”
“We drove from the vehicle shed to here,” Louisa snapped. “You said you’d bring something to cover him up.”
Noah’s heart warmed listening to his siblings bicker. In the end, Damien ended up running back up to the doors of his wing of the castle, and what felt like an hour later, he returned with one blanket. “It’s all I could sneak away from Matzen,” he said. “That man is like a bloodhound.”
He draped the blanket over Noah, who experienced a strong sense of déjà vu. The drive to the gate happened quickly, and Louisa said, “We’re just taking a drive to the seashore,” as if she needed the guard’s permission to do so. Once free of the Wales Family land, Noah kicked off the blanket and sat up in the backseat. He wanted to tell his brother and sister how much he appreciated them, and that he didn’t want to leave Triguard because of them. He said nothing, as the family didn’t have a custom of saying what they really felt.
At the airport, she avoided the section where the press were allowed to congregate, and instead, drove around the back of the airport to a place Noah had never been before.
“I’ve arranged a private flight for you,” Damien said. “Straight through to Getaway Bay, with a stop in Toronto for refueling. You won’t even get off the plane, though.” He turned and looked at Noah, his features serious.
“Thank you, Damien.”
“I hope it works out with Zara,” he said. “She seems very important to you.”
Noah nodded and said, “She is. I hope I’ll be able to fix the situation with her.” He thought of her stubborn streak and how traditional her family was. But he was willing to do almost anything to be with her, including defying his father and sneaking away in broad daylight.
His sister got out of the car and grabbed onto him. “Be safe, Noah,” she said.
“You’re the ones who are going to get filleted alive,” he whispered. “All three heirs in a car with no security?”
She looked like a scared rabbit as she ducked back into the car and drove off, a final wave from Damien the last thing Noah saw before he faced the jet sitting before him. Three people waited at the bottom of the stairs, and Noah approached them.
“Prince Noah,” the older man said. “I’ll be your pilot for the first leg of our journey. My name is Roberto. Antonio will take us from Toronto to Hawaii after we’ve refueled. And Mary will help you in the cabin with whatever you need.” He nodded Noah onto the plane, which was much better than the regular commercial flight he’d taken to get to Triguard.
He was the only passenger besides the three his brother had hired to get him back to Getaway Bay, and he suddenly didn’t feel so bad for Damien and his trip to Getaway Bay weeks ago. This plane had a huge bed, as well as two recliners flanking it, and Noah chose one of those for the first part of the flight.
He slept as well as he would’ve in the mansion, and by the time they landed in Getaway Bay, Noah knew he would never fly on any other plane but this one. He gave all three people a large tip and stepped into the glorious Hawaiian sunshine.
Yes, it was still hot in Getaway Bay. Yes, there were still too many tourists. But as he accepted a flower lei and got in line to wait for a taxi, there was nowhere he’d rather be.
His phone took a few minutes to update to local time, and as he waited, he wondered where he could find Zara at two o’clock in the afternoon. Did she go to work that early, if the show didn’t start until seven?
Noah had no plan for how to approach her, or what to say. So when he got in the back of a cab, with only his backpack and wallet, and the driver asked him where to go, Noah said, “Indian House.”
He wasn’t sure what he’d find at her family’s restaurant, but there was no one who knew Zara better than her family.
The moment he stepped inside, a woman gasped and said, “Prince Noah,” and he thought he’d been discovered. But it was only Zara’s sister, Abi, and she had both hands covering her mouth.
“Hey,” he said. “I just need a table in the corner and access to the Internet. Do you think you could help me?”
“What are you doing here?” She plucked a menu from the podium but didn’t move.
“I need to figure out how to get Zara back.”
Abi grinned like he’d just passed the biggest test of his life and said, “Right this way.” She indeed led him to the very corner of the restaurant, and he sat with his back to everything.
She put the menu in front of him, and he said, “Bring me the butter chicken, would you?”
“Of course. And the Wi-Fi password is swimmergirl.”
Noah looked up, surprised. Abi shrugged and said, “My parents are very proud people,” as if that explained everything. Maybe it did.
He nodded and pulled out his laptop, determined to do whatever he could to get tickets to her show. If not that night, then as soon as possible. And he was going to show up and surprise her, apologize until she forgave him, and kiss her until he couldn’t breathe.
Oh, and then he needed to go get his dog from the guy who’d agreed to take him while Noah had been out of town. He’d met Tyler on the beach, and he had two dogs with him that Boomer had really liked. He hadn’t been able to text Tyler either, but he seemed like the laid-back type of surfer dude who wouldn’t mind keeping a good dog for a few weeks.
He flexed his fingers. “I just need tickets,” he muttered to himself. By the time the butter chicken came and he’d consumed it, he still hadn’t found even a single ticket for the foreseeable future.
So maybe he needed a miracle instead.