Holly Jacobs - Once Upon a Princess

“And I you, Marie Anna. And I you.”

He disconnected.

Parker sat staring at the phone in her hand.

Tanner was coming to Erie.

The boy she used to know was a man now…a man who thought he was coming to meet his fiancée and bring her home in order to plan a wedding, say “I do” and settle down into wedded royal bliss.

Poor Prince Eduardo Matthew Tanner Ericson of Amar.

Her father had misled him and now it was up to Parker to set him straight.

Call your father, Shey had said. This was all Shey’s fault.

So maybe Shey should be the one to pick up the prince?

Parker was a basket of nerves by the next evening. She might not have been willing to tell her mother about having her access to her trust fund cut off, but she had no compunction about hoping her mother could talk her father out of Tanner coming to the U.S.

“Your father won’t budge. But I’m sure you can handle Tanner, honey,” her mother said. “I know how strong you are.”

“You don’t think I’m running away, like Papa does?” Parker had asked.

“Not running away, running to. Looking for a life that works for you.”

“And if that life is away from Eliason?”

“I hope that you’ll find a way to include Eliason, even if you don’t live here. But regardless, we’re your family, no matter what.”

Talking to her mother had centered her. It always did. Her mother had been thrust into the spotlight when she’d married. She understood the costs that type of scrutiny entailed and she understood that Parker wasn’t willing to pay the price.

If only Parker could make her father understand.

Even if she couldn’t convince him, she was going to have to convince Tanner that she wasn’t going back.

Shey had agreed to pick up the prince, but that meant someone had to watch the shop. And by process of elimination, Parker was elected.

It was the first time she’d been left in charge of Monarch’s. She hadn’t wanted the responsibility but had said yes because her other option was picking up Tanner.

Watching the shop was the lesser of two evils. But being left in charge of the small coffeehouse wasn’t all that was making her nervous. She’d actually gotten through the whole evening without a major accident or problem.

No, the idea of Tanner coming to Erie—that was what had butterflies dancing around in her stomach.

He’d probably be as difficult as her father.

It wasn’t just a royalty thing. It was a man thing.

Parker most certainly did not agree with her father and she was pretty sure that she wouldn’t agree with any of Tanner’s ideas either.

“Miss?” a woman, the last customer in the shop, asked.

That shook Parker from her dark thoughts. The dark-haired woman looked upset.

“Sorry,” Parker said. “I was thinking. Can I help you?”

“Is there anyone who could walk me to my car? There’s a man lurking in the park. He’s watching us through the window and he looks sort of…” She paused and turned a little pink. “Well, this sounds a bit much, but he looks sort of ominous. He’s dressed all in black and just standing behind that tree, looking in here.”

All in black?

Parker was hit with a sneaking suspicion that she knew who it was. A premonition of sorts.

She wasn’t sure why she was so certain. There had to be a lot of men who liked wearing dark colors. And she’d never been prone to second sight, although rumor had it that her great-aunt Margaret on her father’s side had been the type of woman who had all kinds of hunches and premonitions.

Maybe Parker had inherited a touch of the gift.

In between worrying about Tanner and her father, she’d found time to think about her dark customer on more than one occasion since yesterday.

Actually a lot more than one occasion.

He’d featured prominently in her dreams last night, to boot.

That had to be why the first thing that came into her head when the woman mentioned a man in black was Jace.

But what if she wasn’t just being a bit much? What if he was watching the store? Did it have anything to do with the fact that she was sure she’d seen him before?

Parker knew she wasn’t going to find the answers if she continued to ponder over it.

“Let me lock the register and I’ll walk you out,” she said.

When the woman didn’t look convinced, Parker added, “I can protect us. I have pepper spray.”

“You’re sure?” she asked, her hesitation obvious.

“Have you ever gotten a face full of pepper spray? We’ll be safe enough. Just give me one minute.” Parker went to the small doorway that separated Monarch’s and the bookstore, Titles. “Hey, Cara?”

“Yes?” the small brunette said as she hurried toward Parker.

“I’m walking a customer to her car. No one’s in the store and I’ve locked the register, but keep an eye on the coffeehouse a moment, would you?”

“Sure,” Cara said. “Is there a problem?”

“No. I’m sure it’s nothing. Just a jumpy customer.”

“Okay. But if you’re not back here in ten minutes, I’m dialing 911.”

“Thanks.”

Parker returned to the woman. “I’ve got my pepper spray and someone to watch the store. We’re good to go.”

“You’re sure?” the woman asked again.

“Positive.”

“I’m just across the street,” she said.

They walked out onto the sidewalk.

Parker squinted her eyes, trying to see across the street and behind the tree bordering the Perry Square park that the woman had mentioned.

She spotted a shadow.

“Straight ahead?” she asked.

“Yes. Behind that big tree,” the woman whispered. “My car’s just in front of it—the little Tracker.”

“Let’s go.”

They walked across the street to the car. Parker waited patiently while the woman unlocked the Tracker’s door and climbed in.

“Thanks,” she said.

“No problem. Hope to see you at Monarch’s again soon.”

The woman shut the door, and Parker stepped back so she could pull out.

Rather than go directly back into the store, she walked into the park.

The paths were lit, but the tree where she thought she’d seen a shadow was far enough away that it was hard to make out if anyone was behind it.

Something moved. Just a flicker.

She was pretty sure it was a man.

As she neared, he tried to fade farther into the night.

She stopped on the path.

Parker had always thought the women in horror films were dolts. She’d sit on her couch watching and thinking, Don’t go down to the basement, you idiot.

She didn’t need someone telling her not to stray off the path. She knew she should go back into the store. But her curiosity won over common sense. She felt a spurt of empathy for those horror-flick chicks who always needed to know what was at the bottom of the stairs, even if it meant they were the next to get axed.

The man was almost invisible in the shadows, but she knew he was there. And she was pretty sure she was right about who he was.

Gripping the pepper spray in case she was wrong, she said, “Uncle Jace?”

There was a slight rustling, as if he was trying to sink into the shadows.

“I know you’re there, Uncle Jace. Coffee, black. A niece and nephew. You’re fond of dark clothes and dark looks.”

A bit more rustling.

“If you don’t come out, I’m going to call 911 on my cell, then stand here and point you out to the cops. It’s handy having a police station as a neighbor. They all come into Monarch’s for their coffee, so I’m pretty sure they’ll believe me when I swear you’re stalking me. And I suspect I know why you’re stalking me. He put you up to it, didn’t he?”