“You have nothing to be nervous about.”
“Right.” I let go of his hand, but he reclaimed it instantly.
“Come on, let’s do our duty and greet the guests.” He pulled me along as I dropped my second glass onto a passing tray. “I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone. Especially my grandmother.”
Without thinking, I dug my heels into the rug, halting us.
“What?” He glanced back at me.
“Your grandmother?” I swallowed. “You mean the dowager queen?” Alexander’s mother, Anne, was well known for her strong, blunt personality. A woman who could shred people with a look and make the heads of state fumble and bumble in her presence.
“Grannie really isn’t as bad as you think.” Grannie? Anne didn’t strike me as anyone’s grannie. “She’s really all bark and no bite.”
All bark, huh? Is that why she got the President of the United States to run off with his tail between his legs?
He moved us across the room again, the dowager queen herself sitting on a silk-covered sofa by one of the fireplaces, her legs crossed at her ankles, her back straight as a board. The woman was still as graceful and elegant as she was when I was a child. In her mid-seventies, she looked like she was barely older than her son. Her hair was now a beautiful white styled above her shoulders, and her soft gold lacy dress fit her tall, lean body. She was the definition of classically beautiful, someone who seemed born to be royalty.
And intimidating as hell.
“Grannie,” Theo called to her as we stepped up to her, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
“Theodore.” She took his hand, leaning up into his kiss. Her voice was like glass, smooth and cool. “You are late.” Her gaze rolled over his attire, then up to his face as she gracefully set her martini down on the table in front of her. “You will be king someday. You are not a child anymore. You need to start stepping into your role.”
“I was right on time, Grannie.” He smiled with humored annoyance. Like this was a game they played every time. “And Father thinks I’m doing well in my new role.”
I was still struggling with what he called her. I could never imagine her ever playing with her grandchildren or baking cookies with them. No warmth emanated from her. Just rules, traditions, and roles. It wasn’t hard to see where Alexander got his no-nonsense personality.
A small smile cusped her mouth as she took him in. “I heard you were top of your class at the Royal Air Force. Of course, there was no doubt. The son of a king should be at the top.”
“I was.” Theo brushed off her compliment, angling to me. “I actually wanted to introduce you to someone special.” His hand went to my back, pushing me forward.
Like walking into a cage with a lion, I watched her attention shift from Theo to me. Her lids lowered as her gaze went from my shoes to the tip of my scalp. Same blue eyes as her son, which were sharp and clear. Studying. Assessing. Appraising me—worthy or not worthy.
Posh meal or fast-food garbage.
“Grannie, this is Spencer Sutton.”
“It is an honor meeting you, Dowager Queen.” I tried to curtsy, but my knees smacked into the coffee table, sloshing liquid out of the martini glass on the table.
She reached out with a frown, steadying her drink, her icy gaze snapping to me as if being clumsy was a cardinal sin.
Another great start, Spence. I really was not meant to be let out in public.
“Sutton.” She said my name like it was a dry cracker on her tongue. “The family name sounds vaguely familiar.”
“Yes, I—”
“Are you the Baron Sutton’s daughter of Chatstone Manor?” She steamrolled over me.
“I am. My father is Andrew Sutton. My uncle is Fredrick.”
“Oh.” Her lips pursed. One word. A single syllable, and she told me everything I needed to know. Drowning me in all the things she didn’t bother saying, but I could feel her stab at me with invisible knives.
“We met at Alton College.” Theo grinned like he didn’t notice her clear disappointment. “When I got back from training, I knew I wanted to make it official.”
“Did you?” It really wasn’t a question, but a challenge, blue ice gliding to me. “So, Spencer, you must sit down with me. I want to get to know the girl who stole my grandson’s heart.”
Panic batted my lungs. Oh, feck no.
“She’d love that!” Theo’s smile bounced to me like a puppy.
Swallowing, I forced a smile on my mouth, dipping down on the lip of the sofa, making sure I crossed my ankles.
“Theo, my dear boy.” She smiled up at him. “It seems I lost the contents of my drink. Be a gracious host and get me another. It gives me time to get to know Spencer here.”
Don’t you fucking leave me. Don’t you dare!
“Sure. I’ll be right back.” He missed the plea in my eyes. “Spence, you want anything?”
Yes. The entire bottle of vodka.
“I’m good. Thank you.”
He squeezed my hand, dissipating into the throng of people toward the bar.
“Spencer.” A hand came down on mine, jerking my attention back to the dowager queen.
Fuckityfuck.
Facing her, fear pulsed against my neck.
“I have never been one to sugarcoat or tiptoe around something. I find it a waste of time, so I am going to be completely upfront with you.” Unaffected, she spoke with a matter-of-fact tone. “I think the world of my grandson. He’s smart, handsome, and kind, and will make an excellent king one day. However, he is very young. Pliable and innocent to the hardships of the world. Easily swayed by a pretty face, excitable at feelings of first love. I want him to experience all those. However…” She tilted her head, her gaze burrowing into me. “I have been queen. Seen what it takes to be a partner to a man who rules this country. It is their life. They eat, breathe, and sleep their responsibility. Everything else, including their own children, come second to their duty. And whoever is with them must also feel the same—that ruling this country is an honor. And with honor comes substantial sacrifices and consequences.
“I am sure you are a wonderful girl.” Like she was kicking me down a hill, every word left me bruised with shame and embarrassment. “But I will not pretend I think you have what it takes to be a queen someday. You are a fleeting emotion. A girl he will remember fondly but will not be the one he needs by his side in life.”
“You don’t even know me.” My voice came out low.
“I don’t need to, my dear.” She patted my arm. “I could see it from across the room. You aren’t meant for this life. You don’t have what it takes.”
My head jerked as if she slapped me.
“This is not personal. Again, I am sure you are a great girl, no matter the family you come from, but you are not meant for my grandson.”
“The family I come from?” My teeth gritted together. I was technically a noble. A baron’s daughter.
“Just because you have a title does not make you worthy of it.”
My shoulders pulled back, breathing in at her attack.
“Grandmother.” Eloise’s posh voice broke in, twisting both our attention to the girl strolling up. Dressed in an exquisite lilac A-line sheath gown belted with pearls, the material so light, it fell down her tiny frame like chocolate, her hair rolled up a loose twist. This girl was worlds away from the bookie in the club.