"I hope you've been having some fun, too," Autumn said. "I know you want to help Connie as much as possible, but you should enjoy Durham while you're there. Get out and see the sites."
Libby shifted, tucking her feet under her. "Kenzie and I have been going out quite a bit. We're seeing plenty of sites, I promise."
"Oh?" Mom asked. "Like what?"
Oh, you know. Just whatever the palace press secretary decided would look good on camera. "We went to a park a few weeks ago. Fed the ducks."
She could practically hear the eye roll across the phone line. "You can feed the ducks in Oregon. You need a local to tell you about all the unique things you can only do in Castlebridge. Really immerse yourself in the culture."
It was the opening Libby had been waiting for. She took a deep breath, then plunged. "Actually, a nice man has been showing me around the city."
"You've met someone?" A tone of uncertainty had entered her mother's voice.
"Yeah." Libby cleared her throat, then glanced down at the art deco ring that now graced her left ring finger. She twisted the band around and around. Was it hot in here? Suddenly the air felt a hundred degrees.
"Oh, Libby. I'm not sure that's a good idea, sweetie. The last thing you need right now is a rebound relationship."
"I'm over Cedric," Libby said automatically.
"Of course you are, dear. But you took that breakup very hard, and right on the heels of mine and your father's troubles, too."
The breakup with Cedric had been traumatic, but Libby had been more upset over the betrayal than the end of the relationship. She knew in hindsight that she hadn't really loved him, because she hadn't missed him once since he'd left. The idea of him, yes. But not him.
"Things are different with Alex," Libby said. "He's very good to me. You'd like him."
"Alex, huh?" Autumn grunted. "Sounds like a prissy name. Does this Alex have a job?"
"In a manner of speaking." Libby twisted her ring around and around. "He's, uh, kind of a prince."
"A prince?" Mom shrieked. Libby jerked the phone away, her eardrum ringing. "What do you mean he's a prince?"
Libby played with the hem of her skirt, watching Kenzie kick her legs as she stared again at the fan. "I mean he's a prince. I'm not really sure how to be clearer than that."
"The prince of Durham?"
"The crown prince, actually." Libby closed her eyes, imagining her mother in their small living room with the worn but comfortable furniture and familiar watercolor paintings on the walls. She hoped her mother was sitting down. "He proposed to me last night. I said yes."
Silence thundered across the line, and it hurt Libby's ears more than her mother's shrieks.
"Liberty Claybourne, if this is your idea of a joke, you seriously need to rethink your sense of humor."
"It's not a joke, Mom. I'm engaged." She choked on the last word, cutting it off abruptly on the last syllable. Libby glanced up at the ceiling fan. Was that thing on the highest setting? Because she was burning up in here.
"To a prince," Mother repeated.
"Yes, to a prince. I wanted to make sure you heard it from me. They made an official announcement today and it's headline news."
"Oh, Libby. What have you done?"
Libby brushed her hair behind one ear. Had that stain always been on Connie's rug? She lifted up Kenzie's leg, double checking her diaper wasn't dirty. Nope, all clear. "This is a good thing, Mom. For you and dad, too. You'll see."
"How can this be a good thing? You've only been in Durham six weeks. How well do you really know this guy?"
Libby thought about their time spent together and struggled to put her feelings into words. "I don't know everything about him, but I know that he's a good man. He's so great with Kenzie, Mom. One day he'll make an awesome father."
"It takes more than a good guy to make a marriage work," Mom snapped. "It takes someone who's willing to weather the bad times with a positive attitude. It takes someone who can see the big picture and not fixate on money. Can he do that?"
"Yes," Libby said with confidence. Alex was all about the big picture. It was why he worked so hard to fix his reputation, instead of taking the easy route and simply ignoring the situation.
"Well, you can't truly know someone until you've seen them in a tough situation. Anyone can put on a good show for a month."
True, but this month had brought challenges Libby never could've dreamed of. How many couples weathered public outrage, constant media attention, and calculated deception in their first month? "I've seen him in tough times. He's struggling a lot right now."
Autumn laughed, the derisiveness in her voice plain even from across an ocean. "He's a prince, for crying out loud. How hard can his life be?"
"Royalty isn't all it's cracked up to be." Kenzie started fussing. Libby bent over and grabbed the pacifier, then stuck it in the baby's mouth.
"Oh yes, I'm sure it's a real challenge to be waited on by servants and to have coffers filled with gold."
Libby rolled her eyes and wiggled the pacifier in Kenzie's mouth as she tried to spit it back out. "This isn't the year 1750, Mom."
"It might as well be for the royal family."
Okay, now she was getting mad. "He's been viciously attacked in the press. His every move is watched and critiqued and criticized. It hasn't been easy for him."
"Oh, so he's a prince with a reputation? Even better."
"You don't know the whole story."
"Then tell me. I'm all ears."
Libby pursed her lips to keep the truth from spilling out. It would feel good to lay it all on the line, but her contract made that a risk she wasn't willing to take. "Just trust me on this, Mom. He's a good guy."
"So, what, now you're going to live in Durham for the rest of your life?"
"Nothing has been decided."
"If he really is the crown prince, that means that one day he's going to be king. He can't very well run Durham from Oregon."
Kenzie sucked on her pacifier contentedly, staring up again at the ceiling fan. But Libby needed an out. "I've got to go, Mom. Kenzie's getting hungry. But I promise everything will be fine. Just trust me."
Her mom was quiet for a moment, then she said softly, "I'll try, sweetie. I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt."
Libby leaned back against the cushions and blinked rapidly. "I'm not going to." But after that amazing kiss last night, the words felt like a lie.
They said their goodbyes and Libby hung up. Her dad would be teaching for another hour, so at least she had a temporary reprieve from that conversation. She was pretty sure it would at least be easier than the one with her mom.
Libby's phone buzzed with a text from Alex. Can I come over? We have a lot to talk about.
Her heart leapt at the thought of seeing him again. It took what felt like an eternity to send the text. Her thumbs felt too big for the miniature keyboard, and pecking out each letter was an obnoxiously slow process. She much preferred talking on the phone. But eventually she pressed send. Sure. Kenzie and I aren't going anywhere today.
I'll be there in ten minutes. Just leaving the palace.
Libby was going to text back see you in a few minutes but gave up one word in-seriously, how did people have the patience for this?-and instead sent a single letter response. K.
Exactly ten minutes later a knock sounded at the door. Libby opened it, her heart skipping in her chest to see Alex standing there, Finn right behind him. She clutched at the door, fighting the urge to reach out and feel the scruff of Alex's closely trimmed beard beneath her palms.
"Hey," she said. "Uh, come in."
"Thank you." Alex turned to Finn. "I'll be just fine alone. Libby isn't a crazed terrorist waiting to attack me."
Finn grunted in a way that say he wasn't amused while Libby stifled a giggle. "At least allow me to make a cursory search of the premises, Your Highness."
Alex sighed, looking at Libby.
She raised her shoulder in a shrug. "Be my guest."
"Okay," Alex said, motioning Finn inside.
Libby shut the door behind them and picked up Kenzie from the floor, needing something to distract her from the fact that Alex was here. "So, what's up?"
Before he could respond, Finn appeared back in the living room. "All clear, Your Highness. I'll be right outside the door if you need me."
"Thank you," Alex said.
Finn nodded slipped outside, the door closing silently behind him.
"It must get old having a security detail follow you everywhere," Libby said.
"You might get one, too," Alex said.
She hiked Kenzie up higher on her hip, raising an eyebrow. "Am I in danger or something?"
"No, nothing like that. But it'll look suspicious to the press if you don't have one."