“Fine with me,” he said reluctantly, and realized his one-day stay had just been extended.
Three days later, after several tours of the island, Max was escorted to the office of Crown Prince Stefan Devereaux. Now, pacing the office as he waited for his half brother, Prince Stefan, he felt the hard gaze of the palace security tracking every move he made. If the Devereauxes were so insistent that he join them, then why did they look at him as if he were a potential assassin?
One moment later, a man stepped inside the room. “His Royal Highness, Prince Stefan,” the man announced.
A dark-haired man wearing a black suit strode toward him and nodded. “Maxwell Carter?”
Max nodded. “Yes. Max. And what shall I call you? Your highness or Prince Stefan?”
Prince Stefan lifted his left eyebrow. “Stefan will do.”
Max nodded again. “Stefan it is.”
Stefan waved his hand to a chair facing the desk and then sank into the large chair behind the desk. “I appreciate that you have made an effort to come to Coco Jordan’s wedding. Coco has made a huge effort to meet us … and now to meet you.”
Max shrugged, uncomfortable with Stefan’s gratitude. He’d expected the man to be more cold and pompous. “I haven’t met any members of the family before now.”
“You will before and after the ceremony,” Stefan promised, glancing at his watch. “In fact, the girls should be stopping by any minute. My sisters have been fussing over Coco for the last few days. I’m sure you’re curious to meet her.”
“I suppose,” Max said. “I have no idea what kind of person she is even though we share the same blood.”
“Well, she’s delightful,” Stefan said. “Kind and compassionate. The kind of woman you would want as a sister.”
“I’m impressed that you can say that after you have four sisters.”
Stefan laughed. “Good point. My sisters do their best to keep me in line.”
“And you?” Max asked.
“I do my best to keep them out of the equation,” Stefan said. “I’m told you’ve had a chance to tour the island?”
Max nodded. “I have,” he said. “It’s a beautiful place, and because of my profession I notice the infrastructure. Most of the roads and bridges are in good condition except the north end of the island.”
“I was going to ask you about that,” Stefan said. “One of my brothers-in-law has expressed an interest in building a green retreat with an emphasis on the nature areas on that part of the island, but he and I agree that the roads currently can’t sustain the possibility. We’d like to improve the roads, but keep the costs down.”
“Isn’t this something your government would pursue? I wouldn’t have expected a royal to have interest in roads.”
Stefan gave a shark-like smile. “Then you wouldn’t be familiar with the current generation of Devereauxes. All of us are interested about improving our country and the life of our citizens.”
“Unlike previous generations?” he asked, thinking of his biological father, who, from everything he’d read, was a shameless playboy.
Stefan’s facial expression closed. “Every generation has their emphasis. We can either be inspired by what they did or didn’t do or spend our lives complaining about it. I sense that you’re a man of action rather than the kind to sit around grumbling. Perhaps we have that in common.”
A knock sounded on the door and Stefan’s assistant opened it. Three women stepped inside the room. Two of them were very pregnant. The one who was not pregnant stepped toward him. “Oh, you must be Maxwell Carter. We’re so thrilled you could make it for Coco’s wedding. She’ll be so excited.”
“This is my sister Bridget,” Stefan said. “She loves to create surprises for family members.”
One of the pregnant women with wild hair laughed lightly and extended her hand. “Very true. I’m Phillipa and very pleased to meet you. Thank you for coming.”
Stefan slid his arm around the back of the other very pregnant woman. “This is my wife. Princess Eve.”
Not exactly sure how to address the roomful of royals, Max nodded. “Your highnesses,” he said.
Eve extended her hand. “Titles are unnecessary,” she said with a hint of a twang that made Max recall she was from the States. “As everyone has said, we’re just very pleased that you were able to come.”
He found it odd how protective the Devereauxes were of their father’s illegitimate child, Coco. “If you don’t mind my saying so, you haven’t known Coco very long. It’s surprising how attached you seem to be to her,” he said.
Eve smiled gently. “Ah, well, you’ll understand when you meet her. She is such a kind soul.”
“Wouldn’t take advantage of anyone,” Bridget added.
“Very sweet and so alone in the world since her mother died,” Phillipa said.
“Except now she has her husband and his daughter,” Bridget pointed out.
“Family means so much to her, and she really had none,” Eve said. “We couldn’t resist her after we met her.”
“We don’t have much time,” Bridget said. “Apologies, but we do have a plan for when we’d like to introduce you at the reception. We’ll have you sit in the back of the chapel so you won’t miss the wedding.”
“Because every man loves a wedding,” Stefan muttered dryly.
Both Bridget and Phillipa scowled at their brother, and at that moment, Max felt a strange kinship with Stefan.
Stefan shrugged. “What? It’s not as if a wedding is like a soccer match.”
An hour later, Max sat in the back of the chapel feeling incredibly uncomfortable. He watched as his full-blooded sister met her groom and both of them pronounced their vows. The Devereaux sisters crowded around the couple, and Max felt a strange twist in his chest. His sister’s voice touched something deep inside him. The Devereauxes were kinder than he’d expected. Why had the royals decided Coco belonged to him? Why had Coco pursued both the Devereauxes and him?
Max watched as the groom kissed his so-called sister and felt another bizarre clench in his gut. Why did this sight affect him? Why did he care?
After the couple kissed, Max was led to a reception in the ballroom. Then Bridget offered him a drink. “I hope whiskey is okay,” she said. “I never know what you Yanks want.”
Max downed the drink. “Whiskey’s fine. What’s the plan?”
“Just tell Coco how glad you are to meet her and how special she is. If you knew her, it wouldn’t be difficult,” she said.
“As you wish, your highness,” he said and put his empty glass on a tray.
“You’re missing out,” Bridget said. “But you’ll have to learn that on your own. Come along.”
She led him to the bride and groom. He stared into his sister’s face. He kept trying to tell himself that Coco wasn’t his real sister, but he felt a sense of connection with her.
She stared at him. “You’re my brother, aren’t you?”
“Yes, and you’re my sister. Maxwell Carter at your service, your highness,” he said in a wry voice.
She laughed out loud. “Yes, just as you are a prince, your highness.”
“Not me,” he said, shaking his head, feeling regret steep through him. “I wish I’d known you before.”
He saw the same wisp of