The Royal Romance - The Valtoria Diaries

#NewNormal

The morning had gone by in a bit of a blur. He'd arrived in the capital at about nine, then there had been interviews with various publications (they'd come to him!) a cover photo shoot (although he knew this wasn't going to go down well) and next there had been some editorial meetings. Everything was looking good; given last week's unexpected developments he was going to need a bit more time than anticipated to work on the final chapters, so it wasn't going to get the Christmas release the publishers had originally hoped for. Still they wanted to ride on the momentum of the public interest, and get it out early in the New Year. Fine by him.

This afternoon they were going to be talking business; advances and predicted sales and promotion opportunities and advertising deals. But, he now had a couple of hours to himself and nothing to do. He thought about calling Jen, as he was missing her like crazy (today was probably equal to the longest time they'd ever been apart, just before the wedding, and he'd been asleep for some of that time) but he knew that she and Hana would be having fun getting Hana's cottage sorted and he didn't really want to disrupt that.

He was also wondering if she'd read the note yet, which made him a little nervous. He thought she'd probably let him know if she had, but no messages had come through. He sent her a message. Well, it was mainly emojis, but the following words were in there. Hope you're having a good day, missing you x

He sat drinking a cup of tea, twitching a little, not really knowing what to do with himself. Then he had an idea. Rick!

He called Rick's private number, and wasn't surprised to hear it go to voicemail. He was probably in some meeting. "Rick, hey! I'm in the capital today. Got a couple of hours free... can I pop over or are you busy? Bell me back."

He hung up and sighed. If Drake was about, he'd have been free. Obviously. But he was in Lythikos. Maxwell shuddered.

A text came back from Jen. Hey babe. Hana's cottage is starting to take shape. How's your secret mission going? Xx

He replied straight away. It is going very secretly thank you very much. Anything else to report? He didn't think she could have read the note yet, which was probably a good thing; although he had given Christopher strict instructions to make sure she got it.

Good to hear it. No all good here. Apart from that you're not here and I don't like it. What time do you think you'll be home? Xx

He tried to work that out based on the time it had taken him to get here. Might be quite late. Don't wait up.

A response came quickly. You know I will xxx

He sent a few emojis back and closed the message screen, grinning smugly to himself. He was just getting his head around the fact that time apart, even a few hours, was not always a bad thing if it meant a sweet reunion. Sure, they'd lived in each other's pockets for the last nine months, that was probably part of the reason why they'd got so close and he had a lot to thank for that fact, but space wasn't always a bad thing. That was what he told himself when he missed her so much that it hurt.

His phone rang.

"Yo. Cordonia's newest Duke speaking."

There was a tut, followed by the unmistakeable tones of Madeleine. "Duke Maxwell. How lovely to hear from you."

"Um, you called me?"

"And you called King Rick. Who is currently in a meeting. However he has an hour free afterwards, and for some strange reason, he tells me he would love the pleasure of your company. Is Duchess Jen with you?"