And yes, a chance to speak to him, to hear his voice from time to time, was all she wanted. She had come to accept this sick addiction of hers, and as the next few weeks unfolded, she fed it without hesitation.
He’d call her every morning, just to say hi –as a friend –and she would say hi back, also as a friend. From there, their talks would progress to anything under the sun – her work, her current read,everythingreally. And she didn’t mind because it meant getting her daily fix.
He’d invite her to have coffee after doing an ocular on a property they were considering making a joint purchase of, and she’d say yes, since they werefriends. He’d invite her to dinner or a drink after work, and she’d say yes, too.
She could say yes to everything because they werefriends, and soon enough Marcus’ presence began to extend to other parts of her life. He began to show up in family functions, and none of her family would even blink an eye. When the Queen of Contini came to Amsterdam for a visit, the first thing the monarch demanded was to knowwherethe Italian billionaire she had been hearing so much about was.
And so Marcus had been summoned to the de Konighs’ residence, and Anneke felt like she had fallen into a crazy rabbit hole, watching her grandmother and soon-to-be ex-husband converse easily about the region’s economy, Brexit, and the nextMarvelfilm of all things.
Anneke breathed a sigh of relief when the butler came in to announce that dinner was ready to be served. Oh, thank God. That was just in time, too, since she didn’t trust the calculating gleam in the Queen’s eye one bit. If not for dinner being served, Anneke had a feeling Queen Wilhemina would have asked something infinitely embarrassing.
As everyone started to file out of the living room, Marcus came to her side, asking swiftly, “Are you alright?” She looked paler than usual, and he didn’t like it.
That he would notice her unease disturbed her even more. Wasn’t that too much for a merefriend? Lowering her voice to a whisper, she asked, “Don’t you think this is crazy?” When Marcus arched a brow in question, she continued unevenly, “I don’t know if this is natural. I mean, I know we’ve become f-friends again, but...” Her voice trailed off. Oh, how to put what she felt in words when she didn’t even understand her own feelings?
Taking a deep breath, she tried again. “I just want to know if – well –don’t you feel this is weird at all?” she ended up bursting out.
Ah.Keeping his voice level, he asked, “Are you talking about my relationship with your family?”
She nodded.
“Do younotwant me to be friends with them?”
“Of course not!” Anneke was horrified. “I’m glad you’re friends with them, but—-”
“You are worried about what other people would think.” Marcus shook his head with a sigh. “You must not concern yourself with such wasteful things. You will end up leading the kind of life that makes other people happy but not yourself.” He looked into her eyes, saying softly, “What should only matter is that we are finally okay with what we have.Si?”
It took her several moments before she said finally, shakily, “It’s terrifying how good you are with words. ”
Marcus’ lips twitched. “Shall I take that as a yes, and you promise to stop worrying your pretty little head—-”
Anneke made a face, knowing he was only using the condescending term to rile her up and keep her mind off her worries.
“—-about whatever trash the gossip world can come up about us?”
“I guess.” A glum sigh escaped her. “It’s not like I have a choice.”
His lips curved. “Good girl.”
She rolled her eyes, saying dryly, “I’m over thirty now, remember? I’m far from being a girl.”
Marcus only smiled, knowing that Anneke was wrong. She would always behisgirl – the first girl he had fallen for, and the only girl who would own his heart.
Drinks at the patio followed after dinner, and when the Queen announced she’d be retiring to her room because of an early morning engagement the following day, Marcus also stood up to leave.
As Anneke walked him to the front door, he invited her to a nightcap in his hotel room, and she agreed even though she was feeling more than a little tired and sleepy. Addictions were called addictions for a reason, after all.
“What do you want me to get for you?”
“Something hot maybe?” His lips twitched, and she grimaced. “I know. It makes me seem older than my grandmother—-”
This time Marcus laughed outright, knowing exactly what she meant. To say that the Queen could hold her liquor well would be an understatement. “It’s fine. I’ll be back with you in a second.”
As Marcus turned his back to call for room service, Anneke covered her mouth as she yawned. It had been an especially tiring day, and yet she was only halfway done fine-tuning the latest proposal that had landed on her lap. She ran the numbers through her head while fighting to keep her eyelids from drooping. On her way home later, it would be better if she made a call to Jaak. Perhaps her other brother could lend her a hand...
When Marcus turned to face Anneke again, he was surprised to find Anneke half-lying on the couch, her head against the armrest. She was fast asleep, and Marcus frowned when he noticed the dark bags under her eyes. Had she been overworking herself?
He hesitated for a moment on what to do next, but then he saw her stir and burrow deeper into the couch, and his mind was made up for him. It was clear she needed rest.