She’d put her son’s welfare before anything else. What an amazing woman she was…
Phillip appeared more subdued before he nodded and hurried back to the condo.
The moment he disappeared inside, Alex pulled out his cell phone to alert his pilot, then tell his security staff he was ready to leave with Ms. Collier and her son.
Once that was taken care of, he phoned Carl. If there’d been anything urgent from his private secretary’s end, Alex would have heard from him by now.
“I’ll be home in the morning, Carl. Do me a favor and tell the staff to get the Saxony apartment ready by the time I arrive back in Bris.”
“I’ll see to it at once, Your Majesty. I understand Princess Isabella has a preference for daffodils. Shall I arrange for some?”
Alex’s hand gripped his cell phone tighter. “You’ve misunderstood me, Carl. I’ll be bringing my twelve-year-old son and his mother with me. Fill the drawing room with white roses, and make certain there are plenty of snack foods and fruit drinks on hand for Phillip.”
“Phillip?” Carl whispered in an unsteady voice.
Alex couldn’t help but smile. He’d always wondered if the secretary who’d worked for Alex’s father and was loyal to him could be shaken by anything.
Now he knew he’d given the sixty-year-old man a minor coronary. This was only the beginning, but no force could stop him now. Phillip needed his father. Alex found he didn’t like the idea of any other man taking over that role no matter the consequences of his actions.
“Until I tell my mother, I know I can count on your discretion, Carl.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
After the click, Alex made his last phone call for the night.
“Leo? Sorry to waken you, but I thought you’d like to know the crisis has been averted.”
“So she doesn’t pose a threat?”
“No,” he lied.
“Thank God.”
“As it turns out, she’s the mother of my son, but thirteen years ago she was a girl who has changed a great deal since then.”
“Sorry, Alex. We must have a bad connection and I heard you wrong. Say that again.”
The connection was perfect.
“Darrell Collier has been raising my son for the last twelve years. I’m afraid I parted with that ring one starry night in the Colorado mountains where she was working for the summer. But as I told you, the memory is vague due to too much alcohol on both our parts.
“When Uncle Vittorio had a bad accident while I was on vacation with Chaz, we had to fly home. Since I traveled incognito, Ms. Collier didn’t know who I was or where to reach me. So we never saw each other again. For Phillip’s sake she’s been trying to find me.”
He heard the other man make a strange sound in his throat. “You call this a crisis averted?” Leo blurted in genuine alarm. “After hearing news of this magnitude, how in the hell are you even functioning?”
“I admit I was in shock until Phillip came running in Darrell’s house. He’s a living miracle, Leo. I’m bringing him and his mother home with me tonight.”
“What?”
“I’m his father. He’s never given up hope of being united with me.”
“Obviously Ms. Collier never got over you, either, or she’d be married by now.”
Alex let the remark go. For the moment it was too complicated to explain about Melissa, let alone Darrell’s sacrifice. For several reasons no one could know the truth yet. Darrell was Phillip’s legal mother. For the time being that was as much as Alex wanted anyone to know.
First and foremost, he needed Darrell with them in order to establish a bond with his son.
“It’s only natural he wants to see where I live and spend time with me. We need to get acquainted, but I can’t do that in Denver while I have so many commitments back in Bris right now.”
“Alex—you’re not thinking like a king whose marriage is three weeks away. You haven’t thought through the myriad ramifications.”
That was all Alex had been doing. But no matter what he had to face, it took a back seat to the joy he’d felt when Phillip let go of his pain and hugged him. An inexplicable sense of their belonging together had assailed him. At that moment his gratitude to Darrell knew no limits.
“Who else knows about this besides me?”
“Carl. But he’s the soul of discretion.”
“How much does Phillip look like you?”
“The second you meet him, you’ll know he’s mine.”
By the silence, Alex could tell Leo was still trying to absorb the earthshaking news. Finally he said, “I’ll make certain bodyguards are assigned to them.”
“Thanks, Leo.”
“Alex—I’m not speaking as your security advisor now, but as your friend. Take my advice and don’t bring them to Bris until after your wedding. Then it can be handled privately. Give this more time or the press will tear you to pieces.”
Not just the press, Alex muttered inwardly. His uncle Vittorio, the second most powerful man in the kingdom, would be outraged and poison the cabinet against Alex, forcing him to step down. Fortunately he was still in Greece on a cruise with Alex’s Aunt Renate.
As for Alex’s mother, she would go into shock. But he had faith she would recover. He had a plan how he would handle Isabella’s parents. Which brought him around to thoughts of Isabella and her reaction. This news would crush her in ways he didn’t want to entertain. There was no way around the fact that Alex was about to do an unthinkable thing to her…
But the truly unthinkable thing would be to turn his back on his son. Already Phillip had a stranglehold on his heart that took precedence over every other consideration.
He lowered his head. “If I don’t follow through, Phillip will take it as a rejection, Leo. I can’t risk it. He’s too emotionally vulnerable.”
After twelve years Alex had to act immediately or he could never hope to have a close relationship with his newfound son.
“Isabella’s going to find out!”
“I intend to tell her the truth before she hears it from another source.”
“That’s a terrifying thought, Alex.”
Leo was wrong. The only terrifying thought was that Phillip had been alive all these years and Alex hadn’t known about it. He closed his eyes for a moment, thankful that Darrell’s love for Phillip had driven her to unite him and Alex.
“I want him with me forever. I love him, Leo.”
“Understood,” his friend whispered at last. “But you are the king. My first instinct is to want to protect you. Hell, Alex, I’m sorry to have come at you like this. I have no right.”
“No man had a better friend. That gives you the right. If this had happened to you, I’d be voicing the same concerns.”
“What in the name of heaven are you going to do?”
From the limo window Alex could see the lights go out in the upstairs portion of the condo. His security people had started to close in.
“The only thing I can do. Take it a step at a time.” Alex had never been a father before. He needed time for the wonder of it to sink in. There were plans to make. “We’ll talk