His Royal Prize Read Online Free PDF Page A

piece of fine linen stationary was lying on top of the carving with a simple note.
    I look forward to learning more about the woman behind the headlines.
    Amelia told herself that he was simply trying to woo her, but her heart beat faster anyway. His actions had touched her. She took the carving into her bedroom and set it on her chest of drawers where she could admire it from anywhere in the room.
     
    Steven called him at eleven and asked if they could meet for drinks later that evening. He wanted all three of them to have a chance to talk. Geoff knew it would be tight—he planned to take Amelia up in his plane and get away from the city. He knew that she liked the spotlight, but Geoff had learned from his mother that living under constant scrutiny made life difficult at best, and he thought she’d like the escape.
    “Sure, I can do that. Why don’t we meet at one of my clubs?” Geoff suggested.
    “Just tell me where and I’ll text Henry,” Steven said.
    Geoff made a few notes and took down Steven’s mobile number. He’d never thought about having brothers before and at thirty-eight he worried he was a little old to start forming close relationships with Henry and Steven, but he was willing to try.
    “Can I ask you a personal question?”
    “Go ahead,” Geoff said.
    “Do you ever wish you’d gone to Eton? So we could have met earlier in life?” Steven asked.
    Geoff had never thought about that. Growing up with sisters in his mother and stepfather’s family, he’d often wondered about his father and the two half brothers he’dnever met. But he’d known that meeting them would have devastated his mother, who wanted nothing to do with any of “Malcolm’s mistresses' children.”
    “Sometimes. But I think we needed to live our independent lives,” Geoff said.
    “That we did. I’m looking forward to speaking to you later,” Steven said before ending the call.
    That was abrupt, he thought as he leaned back in his chair and spun toward the window that looked out in the direction of Heathrow Airport. This view from Everest Air was different from his office in the heart of London. His life had always been in flux and he’d always embraced change—he wondered if it was because of the way he’d grown up.
    Why was he suddenly being so philosophical? He suspected it had to do with Malcolm’s presence in his life after all this time.
    He booked a table at one of his clubs and figured out exactly how much time he’d need to leave to pick up Amelia.
    She was on his mind the rest of the afternoon. Only when Caro arrived to chat with him about a garden party their mum was throwing at the end of the month was he able to think of something else.
    “I need your help, Geoff.”
    “You always do,” he said with a smile.
    She stuck her tongue out at him. “Mum wants to make sure that we have privacy. She doesn’t want the party to be swarming with media.”
    “That’s not a problem, Caro. They have never come to Hampshire and they won’t now, especially not for this party. Henry is the one who is keeping them captive andwith his very public persona, it should stay that way. I don’t want this to weigh on anyone’s mind.”
    She nodded. “I’ll let Mum know.”
    “You do that,” he said.
    She smiled at him. “How’s your maiden bride?”
    “She’s not mine.” After last night’s flirtation with Amelia, Geoff had barely given Mary a single thought. The vehemence of his response to his sister’s question surprised them both.
    “Really? I thought you two were getting serious.”
    He shook his head, but he wasn’t about to discuss his love life with Caro. “Who are you dating now?”
    “Paul Jeffries.”
    “The footballer?” he asked. Footballers were notoriously full of themselves and changed girlfriends with the passing of a season.
    “The same.”
    “I don’t like that. He’s too…wild for you.”
    “Too bad,” she said with a cheeky grin. “I’m twenty-one now. You can’t tell me