She had checked up on him this week, purely out of curiosity of course, and though she hadn’t been able to find too much information, none of it had been negative.
She was sure, though, that since her announcement this morning, Chris had ordered Randall Jenkins, their head of security, to dig up all the information he could find on Garrett. Louisa wasn’t worried. She knew instinctively that he was a good person because she was an excellent judge of character.
The bell rang and she scurried over to the sofa to wait while Geoffrey, their butler, let Garrett in. She sat on the edge of the cushion and smoothed the wrinkles from the skirt of her pale pink sleeveless sundress, her heart pounding so hard it felt as though it might beat right through her chest.
Under normal circumstances she would have worn something a bit more conservative, like a business suit, for a dinner guest, but this was a first date and she wanted to look her best. Make a good first impression.
It seemed to take a millennium before the library door opened and Garrett strolled into the room. She rose to her feet to greet him.
Garrett wore his confidence like a badge of honor. So different from the cocky young royals she’d been introduced to in the past, who reeked of wealth and entitlement, as though their name alone afforded them everything their greedy and spoiled hearts desired.
Louisa and her siblings had been raised with wealth and privilege, but taught not to take anything for granted. Life, they had learned, especially since their father’s illness, was fragile, and family was what mattered above all else.
Maybe it was wishful thinking, but she had the distinct feeling Garrett shared those values.
When he saw her standing there, a gorgeous smile curled his lips. He bowed his head and said, “Your Highness, a pleasure to see you again.”
“I’m so glad you could make it,” she replied, even though she’d never had a single doubt that he would show. What had happened between them on the dance floor had been magical and she was certain that they were destined to be together. Besides, his assistant had phoned hers this morning to confirm.
“Would you care for a drink, sir?” Geoffrey offered.
“Scotch, please,” Garrett said, and his manners made Louisa smile. There was nothing she despised more than a man who treated the hired help with disrespect. Especially Geoffrey, who had been with them since before Louisa was born and almost single-handedly kept the household running like clockwork.
“White wine, Your Highness?” Geoffrey asked her.
She nodded. “That would be lovely, thank you.”
She gestured to the sofa and told Garrett, “Please, make yourself comfortable.”
He settled onto the cushion, looking remarkably relaxed, as though he dined with royalty on a daily basis, when she knew for a fact that the charity ball had been the first time he had visited the castle under social circumstances. She sat at the opposite end, all but crawling out of her skin with excitement. When their drinks were poured, Geoffrey excused himself and they were finally alone. No family breathing down her neck, no bodyguards watching their every move.
“I was looking forward to my parents meeting you, but unfortunately they won’t be joining us this evening.”
“Your father isn’t well?” he asked, looking concerned.
“He’s going in for a procedure soon and has to stay in tip-top shape. The fewer people he’s exposed to, the less likely he is to contract illnesses. His immune system is already compromised by the heart pump.”
“Another time,” he said. Was that his way of suggesting that he wanted to see her again? Not that she ever doubted he would. This was destiny.
It was still nice to hear the words out loud, to know what he was thinking.
“I’ll warn you that tonight might feel more like the Spanish Inquisition than a dinner,” she told him.
Garrett smiled. “I expected as much. I have nothing to hide.”
“I Googled you,” she admitted.
Her honesty seemed to surprise him. “Did you?”
“Earlier this week, although I didn’t find much.”
“There isn’t much to find. I am a simple man, Your Highness. What some may even consider … boring.”
She seriously doubted that. Everything about him intrigued her. He was so dark and serious, yet his smile was warm and inviting. She liked the way his eyes crinkled slightly in the corners when he smiled, and the hint of a dimple that dented his left cheek.
She opened her mouth to tell him that she would never consider a man like him boring, but before she could get the words out, her family appeared in the doorway. The entire lot of them.
Fantastic bloody timing. God forbid they let her have a little time alone with the man she planned to marry.
As everyone piled into the room, Garrett rose and Louisa stood to make the introductions.
“Garrett, I believe you already know my brothers, Prince Christian and Prince Aaron.”
“A pleasure to see you again.” Garrett bowed his head, then accepted a firm and brusque shake from each of them. Very businesslike, but with an undertone of possessiveness, a silent notification that he was being carefully assessed.
“This is my sister-in-law, Princess Melissa,” Louisa said.
“Just Melissa,” she added in the southern drawl she had adopted while living in the States. She shook his hand firmly and with purpose. For a southern belle, she didn’t have a delicate or demure bone in her body. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Sutherland. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Please call me Garrett,” he said. “I understand you’re expecting. Congratulations.”
“Kind of tough to miss at this point,” she joked, laying a hand on her very swollen middle.
“I understand it will be soon.”
“They prefer I make it to thirty-six weeks, so the babies’ lungs have enough time to mature. Preterm labor is a possibility with multiples, but I can hardly imagine another month of this. I feel like an elephant.”
“I’ve always believed there’s nothing more beautiful than an expectant mother,” Garrett said with genuine sincerity.
Melissa grinned widely and Louisa knew that he’d instantly won her over.
Aaron stepped forward and said, “This is my wife, Princess Olivia.”
Liv smiled shyly, still unaccustomed to her role as a royal. A botanical geneticist, she was reserved and studious and would much rather be in her basement lab studying plant DNA than interacting with people. But she shook Garrett’s hand and said, “Nice to meet you.”
Anne, not waiting to be introduced, stepped forward and announced, “I’m Anne.” She stuck out her hand, shaking Garrett’s so firmly that Louisa worried she might challenge him to an arm wrestle.
What was her problem?
If Anne had been expecting a negative reaction from her confrontational introduction, she got the opposite.
“A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness,” Garrett said with a smile, the picture of grace and etiquette, and Louisa all but beamed with pride. The situation couldn’t be more tense or uncomfortable, yet he’d handled it with ease.
“I’ll admit I was surprised when Louisa informed us this morning