The Prince's Secret (Prince Harry Fanfic)

Part 53 - Three Important Calls

Samantha

"I want you to leave London. Immediately."

"You've got to be kidding me," I said.

My father's voice grew even more stern on the other end of the phone. "I don't think it's safe for you to stay there. And we need to have a...discussion...about what you have been doing lately."

I decided my best bet at the moment was to play innocent...or stupid. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm in Canada, Sam, not on Mars. We have the internet here. Someone was kind enough to send me links to some very interesting photos of you. I've seen what's going on with you and...the prince."

So much for the innocent act. I had to smile at the difficulty he had even saying the word prince. "I know you didn't really want me to get involved with a British guy, but I thought you might at least be impressed by the one I've been seeing," I said.

"I'm supposed to be impressed that you're...dating...an almost-married man?" he snapped. "And getting your picture taken doing it?"

"Well he's not married yet," I snapped back.

"And what will you do when he is?" my father asked. "What will you do when he has a wife and a baby? Will you still be chasing him then?"

"There's no chasing going on," I said, getting defensive, even though I knew that was not the best way to react with my dad. "And if there is, I'm not the one doing the chasing. I'll worry about the rest of that if he gets married to her. I don't think it's going to happen."

My dad snorted. "I thought you were smarter than that. 26 is a bit old to still be so naive, don't you think? All men who are having affairs talk about how awful their wives are and how they are going to leave them for the girlfriend. The wife just doesn't understand them. She's such a bitch...etc, etc, etc. It's an old, old story, Sam. Please don't fall for it."

Now I was not only defensive but I was getting angry...partly because what my dad said might be true. I mean, it was pretty unbelievable, wasn't it? That a prince would fall for me? And yet...I knew this was different. I knew we had something special, and we could be together...if only Meghan was no longer in the picture.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt," he said, his voice softening. "And I've read some of the comments on the stories. They're not nice. In fact, some of them are getting downright threatening. I want you to come home."

I hadn't looked at the comments. I didn't want to know what perfect strangers were saying about me, actually, when people who knew me well, like Randa and my dad, seemed to think the worst of me.

"I'm not ready to come back to Vancouver, Dad," I said. "I need to see this through. I'm just starting to get some interest in my designs. I've got a meeting next week with...some important people who want me to make coats for them. If I leave now, then this whole trip was for nothing."

"I can't protect you if you stay in London," he said. "If you come back here you can stay with Jessica and me. Our condo has great security. You'll be safe here."

"I'm not going to come back and hide out in your condo. It's too late for that. It's not just the designs."

"Do you love him?"

I bit my lip and considered how to answer the question...and knew that there was only one answer.

"Yes," I said, and rushed forward, cutting off my father's response. "I do. And it doesn't matter to me that he's engaged. Even if he did decide to...marry Meg, I would still be here for him. I don't care what the press and Twitter and all the royal watchers think. Or say."

"Oh, Sam—"

"Please don't Oh Sam me," I said, getting snappy again. "I appreciate that you want what is best for me, but you don't understand what it's like being here with him."

"I understand that he's using his wealth and his position to get you to do what he wants," my dad snapped back.

I had to laugh. "I'm not a child, okay? Harry isn't my first boyfriend. I'm not some dewy-eyed Disney princess wannabe. I'm not hashtag fucking Cinderella. I know what I want, and I know what I am doing. I am staying in London until my lease is up in May."

"And then? Then will you come back to Vancouver?"

"I'll let you know in May. But don't hold your breath," I said.

There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone. "You're just as headstrong as you were when you were twelve and you were determined to win the high point rider competition at your riding club, you know that?" he said.

"And I did it, didn't I?" I said. "And won grand champion at the provincials with the medieval costumes I made for me and my horse."

"And broke your arm on a cross-country course, and had to take 4 months off showing," he reminded me.

"I persevere despite hardships," I retorted.

We both laughed, and I sensed my dad relaxing a bit. "Just don't do anything stupid, okay? You always were the kid who took fences first and looked back later to see how high they were."

"Believe it or not, I think that's one of the things Harry likes about me."

"Well, I'm always here for you. I mean it. If you need to escape in a hurry, just let me know and I'll get you on the next flight out. No questions asked."

We said our goodbyes and I had just set the phone down when it rang again. I picked it up, not bothering to look at the screen, thinking my dad had forgotten something.

"Hello," the bright female voice at the other end said. "It's Eugenie. I thought maybe we could reschedule our meeting for this weekend if that works for you? Say Saturday at 1:30?"

"Ummm...sure," I said, and rolled my eyes at my stunningly brilliant response.

"Wonderful! Shall I send a car for you?"

"Yeah. That would be...great."

"I'm sooo looking forward to it," Eugenie said. "If you want to stay, we can have lunch afterwards. See you Saturday!"

The call ended and I flopped back on the bed. Maybe Randa was right about me. Maybe I was climbing the social ladder...whether I wanted to or not.

When my phone rang again, an hour or so later, I had to scramble to find it in the blankets. "Hello?" I gasped out, well aware I sounded like I had been jogging polo ponies—not that I expected to be able to do that any time in the near future.

"Samantha? Are you okay?"

It was Harry, his voice stern and concerned at the same time. "Yeah, I'm fine. As well as can be expected. How about you?"

He said, "I've had better days."

"Me too."

"Is the press still camped outside?" he asked.

I walked to the window and tweaked back a corner of the curtain. "Yup."

"Okay. I'll be back in London in about an hour, and I want to see you. If you still want to see me."

"Yeah. I want to see you," I said, getting a warm fuzzy feeling at the thought.

"It's not going to be easy," he warned. "And I mean that. Not just today, but the next few months as well, are going to be difficult."

There was so much I wanted to say, but I wanted to wait and talk to him in person, so I only said, "I can handle it."

He laughed a little. "I know you can. So here's what I need you to do."

His voice went all Army-commander as he began to detail a plan for ditching the press and getting together. After the first few steps, I began to wish I had taken notes, it was so complicated, but when he finished I just said, "Got it."

"Are you sure?"

I laughed. "Ummm...yeah, I think so. Is it okay to text you now?"

"It should be."

"Ok. See you soon."