She breathed a sigh of relief as André and Gemma walked through the palace doors.
Finally, they could get to the bottom of this leak, and start wedding preparations.
Their happy glow made Alanna smile, wishing Flynn would return sooner rather than later from his trip to visit his parents in Brisbane.
However, the lovers’ glow lasted longer than usual. They never released their hands all the way up to the sitting room, where they had only one hour to settle critical details.
Something was up.
Finally, after they were all alone together in the sitting room, she crossed her ankles and started on the list in her tablet.
First, the leak.
Gemma immediately lost her glowing smile. “I’ll handle that one.”
Alanna paused. “How?”
Her brother nodded. “She’ll speak with the leaker directly. We’ll let you know what move comes next.”
Alanna tilted her head. “I think it’s more serious than that. This is a matter of—”
“Do you trust me?” André asked, his expression determined.
“Of course.”
“Do you trust Gemma?”
She nodded to her future sister-in-law. “With my life.”
“Then trust us. You have enough on your plate. We’ll handle this one.” He sat composed and calm, but a storm brewed within Gemma from her tightened knuckles and annoyed expression.
“You have my word,” the blonde beauty added.
Alanna swallowed, and finally nodded. “Very well.” She moved to the next item. “Wedding plans. You know Flynn and I just announced our engagement. But since you were technically engaged before us, your nuptials come first. We were thinking December timeframe, perhaps the second Saturday. What are your thoughts?”
Gemma’s cheeks pinked and she pressed her lips together.
André squeezed her hand tighter, his gaze on the carpet.
Alanna rolled her eyes.
They were clearly embarrassed. She loved how in love her brother was with Gemma, and clearly they’d just had a rigorous tryst at the lake estate, and no doubt in the limousine on the way home. But they were all adults. “No need to be shy around me. I’ve already consulted with the Solanian Cathedral, and they’ve reserved that weekend for us, along with the full week to prep. The Archbishop will be back from his visit to the Vatican by then, and that gives us plenty of time to design and fit Gemma’s gown.”
“Um, Alanna, we have some—” Gemma started.
“I know you’re not one to be fussed over for gowns and jewels, but it is your wedding. I think an exception can be made for this. I cannot wait to see you in—”
“Alanna,” André said her name sharply.
“What?”
“We’re already married,” he simply said, on a deep sigh with a boyish smile.
She stared. Had she heard him right?
Alanna blinked. A long few seconds passed before the words started to hold meaning.
“Alanna?” her brother nudged.
“Excuse me?” She failed to hide the admonishing tone she’d inherited from her father. Glanced at their joined hands.
They both wore a platinum band on their left right fingers.
A buzzing filled her mind, and words stuck in the back of her throat.
“We were married at the lake estate,” he said.
“When?” she croaked out.
“Yesterday,” André replied nonchalantly.
A deep anger churned with a vicious hurt, low in her gut. Tears pricked the back of Alanna’s eyes, and she blinked them away. She hated that she sometimes cried when intensely angry. Opening her mouth to let out her protest resulted in her just bobbing her mouth open, because none of the words would get past her tonsils.
“I know it was sudden,” Gemma said, her expression serious. “We didn’t go up there with the plan to wed behind your back. It was more of a spontaneous decision. But the idea of a big wedding in front of all those people was terrifying. It’s been giving me anxiety for months.”
“Spontaneous? You think marriage is something one does on a whim?” Alanna kept her voice low. If she released her full anger, her screaming would be overheard throughout the palace. “Who else knows?”
“Just us, Stefano, and the priest. And you, of course.” André tightened his grip on Gemma’s hand.
“How could you do that to me?” She targeted her piercing stare on her brother.
The thoughtless, obtuse fool of a man.
“This wasn’t about you,” he replied, keeping his own voice low in return. A calming mechanism he often used to diffuse tense situations.
Both of them had become well experienced in that the last year, with their country under attack and defense negotiations almost as vicious as the cartel bombings.
“This marriage is between her and me. Both of us wanted something private.”
“Private is one thing. Excluding me is quite another.” She swallowed back a break in her voice.
Her brother pressed his lips together. “We didn’t exclude you. And it’s not like we were covert. You already gave your royal permission after our engagement was announced. We didn’t break protocol.”
“Royal protocol be damned!” Alanna tossed her tablet on the couch, and gripped the edge of the cream cushion. “You’re the only family I have, André. I wanted to stand beside you as you took such a major step. How could you take that away from me? My only remaining brother—as you pledge your life to your wife. Don’t you know how much that moment means to me as your sister?”
His eyes widened, and he shook his head, speechless.
Gemma watched her carefully, her expression mournful.
“Gemma,” Alanna continued. “You know I love you, and I already consider you my sister. But dammit!” She directed her vicious glare back on André. More tears threatened to fall. “This hurts! That you would exclude me!”
“Alanna, I’m so sorry,” André interrupted. “We didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t think—”
“Obviously!” She wiped an angry tear from her cheek. Then looked away. The sky outside was blue, barely any clouds. Which she resented. “Leave.”
“Please,” Gemma straightened her shoulders. “We didn’t do this to hurt you. You know that.”
“I need to be alone. I’m too angry to discuss this.”
Her sister-in-law pursed her lips, and nodded.
They both stood, and bowed.
More royal protocol, but right now, Alanna felt anything but regal.
“Do you want me to send up Flynn?” André waited by the door.
“He’s not here,” she answered, still looking out the window. “He’s in Australia for the weekend. But I don’t think even he could calm me from this.” She finally met his gaze. “I love you…but you have these selfish streaks I still don’t understand.”
His frown turned into a scowl. “Spontaneous romanticism is not selfish. Perhaps you should try it sometime.”
She glared. “I don’t have that luxury. Some of us have a full time job to do.”