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    Loving Katharine
    Loving Katharine
    Loving Katharine
    Ebook267 pages3 hours

    Loving Katharine

    By Q. Kelly

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    When Britain’s crown princess Katharine came out of the closet and ran off with one of her security officers, they knew they were destined for a fling, not for true romance. They would take what they could get in the little time they had together and resume their separate lives.

    Except Katharine is queen a mere three months after they parted, and her former lover has been summoned to her side. What about the feelings that deepened in Puerto Rico? Can the two women make a go of an actual relationship?

    Maybe. Maybe not. Plus, some things are not what they seem. Namely, Katharine’s youngest sister, Emma, is struggling with her own sexuality. Secrets and fear run deep, and they imperil the chances of a happily ever after.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherQ. Kelly
    Release dateJan 30, 2018
    ISBN9781370128297
    Loving Katharine
    Author

    Q. Kelly

    I live in Washington state, where I am a writer and an editor. I also have a master's degree in deaf education. In my free time, I hike and savor frappuccinos.Fact One: I like corny jokes. If you have any good ones, send them my way!Fact Two: My favorite color is purple, but my writing is gray. Life is not black and white. I often write about issues and characters where there is no "right" answer.Fact Three: I'm weird. I like being weird.Email me at yllek_q@yahoo.com. I'd love to hear from you.Check out my blogs at qkelly.wordpress.com and qkelly.blogspot.com.

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      Book preview

      Loving Katharine - Q. Kelly

      Loving Katharine

      Q. Kelly © 2018 Smashwords

      Table of Contents

      Author’s Note and Blurb

      Prologue

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      Chapter Eighteen

      Excerpt from Book Three, Marrying Emma

      Acknowledgements

      Author’s Note

      This is the second book in a three-book series. You can find Book One here, and Book Three is here (also, there is an excerpt at the end of this book). Loving Katharine stands alone well, but based on beta reader feedback, you may enjoy it and understand it a little better if you read the first book, Knowing Katharine.

      Blurb for Loving Katharine

      When Britain’s crown princess Katharine came out of the closet and ran off with one of her security officers, they knew they were destined for a fling, not for true romance. They would take what they could get in the little time they had together and resume their separate lives.

      Except Katharine is queen a mere three months after they parted, and her former lover has been summoned to her side. What about the feelings that deepened in Puerto Rico? Can the two women make a go of an actual relationship?

      Maybe. Maybe not. Plus, some things are not what they seem. Namely, Katharine’s youngest sister, Emma, is struggling with her own sexuality. Secrets and fear run deep, and they imperil the chances of a happily ever after.

      Prologue

      Lucas and Jo could not agree on how to send the message. Lucas, the elder sibling at eleven years old and well-versed in email, wanted to send it electronically. Jo, at nine and a stalwart lover of all things physical, insisted that postal mail would make a bigger impact.

      No way you could wait that long for a reply, Lucas said with a scoff. Look. Using his tablet, he stabbed the general area where they lived in Chicago and trailed his finger a good few inches across to the United Kingdom. It’ll be a month if we’re lucky!

      Jo rolled her eyes. I know where Britain is, thank you very much. Email would be too impersonal, and you know it.

      Lucas sighed, and the whoosh of air flipped up his long bangs. Let’s type, then we can decide if we want to write the words. None of this matters if we don’t get anything down.

      Jo grinned and sat on Lucas’s bed. Give me your tablet.

      He obliged, and she began to type, her brows furrowed in concentration. Hello, Your Majesty, she voiced.

      Dear, Lucas said. Dear Your Majesty.

      Jo made the correction and murmured as she typed, My name is Jo, and I’m nine. My brother Lucas is eleven, and you used to know our mother. Dated her. Loved her. We’re hoping you still love her because she… Jo bit her lip.

      Gimme. Lucas grabbed the tablet and pecked at the keyboard. Mom’s a great person. Incredible, and she would never say it, but she’s kind of stuck in her life. She’s lonely too. She’d love to hear from you.

      Do we tell Katharine what we did? Jo asked anxiously.

      Nah. We can write around it. Lucas surveyed the sparse pile of clippings and letters on his desk. The previous week, their mother went on a quick coffee date. She left with admonishments toward Lucas and Jo to behave, and Jo took it upon herself to explore their mother’s closet in search of Halloween costume inspiration. She found a boring yellow envelope shoved among empty shoeboxes. Lacking costume inspiration, she undid the envelope and got the biggest shock of her life thus far.

      Lucas! Jo hollered a few minutes later, barreling in on her brother as he watched TV in the living room. Lucas! Did you know that Mom dated the queen of England?

      The what now?

      Jo thrust the envelope in Lucas’s face, and it was his turn to be shocked. First up was a newspaper clipping showing his mother, quite a bit younger and thinner, looking into the blue eyes of a young woman with impossibly deep dimples. They held hands and smiled from ear to ear.

      Holy shit! It really is the queen.

      You said a bad word!

      Yeah, yeah. Lucas read the caption below the photo: Britain’s crown princess Katharine rocked the world, coming out as gay and absconding with one of her security officers, Veronica Dudley.

      Whoa. Mom used to be a security officer? he asked. Like a cop or a bodyguard?

      Look at the other picture! Jo cried.

      Lucas moved to the next item, a screengrab from TV. It looked like his mom and the queen kissing. The caption for this one read, After her first speech to the nation as queen, Britain’s new ruler sought out the comforting lips and arms of her lover, Veronica Dudley.

      Lucas blinked. Whoa. The words stirred dust from the vagaries of his memory—a kid in second grade asking if it was true his mother used to date the queen, a teacher two years ago asking if he’d ever met Katharine, and last year, one of his mother’s weird dates chuckling and inquiring if he considered himself the heir to the throne. Uneasily, he’d shaken his head no and was glad when his mother returned from the bathroom.

      Next from the envelope were letters from Katharine to his mother. Two of them, each heartbreaking in its own way.

      I think she really loved Mom, Jo said.

      Seems like it. Let’s get online and research this.

      That was a week ago, and Veronica had gone out again tonight. So, it was time for Lucas and Jo to implement the plan they’d whispered about the past two days: Set their mother up with the queen of England, her long-lost love.

      The possibilities filled them with excitement. Caused sleepless nights. Jo envisioned herself luxuriating in a golden bed, counting out shiny coins at an antique desk and riding the whitest of ponies across vibrant green grass.

      Lucas imagined himself driving a cool old-fashioned car and vacationing on the beaches of Paris. Wait, did Paris have beaches? Well, whatever. He’d get to meet lots of famous people and become famous himself. Most importantly, both children smiled at the thought of their mother in love, her eyes sparkling and her smile full of light.

      We’ll do both, Jo said as Lucas continued typing and reading aloud. Email and postal mail.

      Oh. Duh. He smiled sheepishly. Good idea. Okay, do you want to wrap this up?

      Fifteen minutes later, the email was ready to go, pending one last review. The form read:

      CONTACT THE QUEEN ONLINE

      Her Majesty’s staffers make every effort to ensure that the Queen reads messages from her constituents and from people all over the world. Requests for birthday greetings, anniversary congratulations and the like should be sent via another form (click here, and choose which occasion you are celebrating).

      Please type your email address and message into the fields below.

      Your email address: lucasdudley.drwhofan@acme.com

      Your message: Dear Your Majesty,

      My name is Jo, and I’m nine. My brother Lucas is eleven, and you used to know our mother. Dated her. Loved her. We’re hoping you still love her. Mom’s a great person. Incredible, and she would never say it, but she’s kind of stuck in her life. She’s lonely too. She’d love to hear from you. She works with our aunt Kikki managing a coffee shop. Mom does the marketing, so she checks her email several times a day. Her address is veronicad@bestcoffeeinchicago.com if you wanted to email her.

      It would be kind of cool if you surprised her, though. Mom says she doesn’t like surprises, but she really enjoyed the birthday party Uncle Clayton and Aunt Kikki threw her last year. She’s almost 43. I know that seems old, but people say 40 is the new 20. So, really, she’s just 23. Anyway, we’re cool kids. We’re not brats or anything. We’d do well living at the palace. It looks really cool.

      Back to surprises. Mom stays late every Thursday to do inventory, payroll and other stuff. The shop closes at 7 p.m., so she stays until at least 8. Maybe you could go see her then and surprise her if you miss her too.

      Okay, I guess we should go for now. P.S. We’re sending this in both email and postal mail, so…well, just FYI.

      Sincerely,

      Lucas and Jo Dudley

      All of a sudden, it seemed amateurish. Lucas had wanted to project confidence, but all he saw was juvenile dreck. Queen Katharine wouldn’t reply. No way, no how. They’d have to type another version.

      Heya, laddie and lass.

      Lucas and Jo jumped at their mother’s voice. Mom! You’re home early, he said.

      What are you two reading? she asked.

      Oh. Nothing.

      Her lips curled up. Let me see.

      Lucas panicked. Mouse! Mom! Mom! A mouse just ran behind you! It was like three feet long!

      His mother startled and looked down the hall. "There’s nothing, Lucas. Let me see your tablet. Now."

      Luckily, the distraction had been enough for him to bring up a story on the teenage mutant ninja turtles.

      Whew. Disaster averted. Except, after Jo and their mother went into the kitchen, Lucas noticed that the email sent. The internet tab where he and Jo typed the message read: Success! Buckingham Palace has received your correspondence.

      There was no going back. His heart hammered, and he hoped his mother wouldn’t hate him if Queen Katharine did get in touch. He prayed for this plan to not backfire colossally. Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea after all.

      Chapter One

      Veronica

      The first time I had to say goodbye to Katharine was hard enough. We had been in Puerto Rico for a glorious, sun-drenched month. Some of our family members flitted in and out during the weeks, but for the most part, we had the villa to ourselves.

      I fed her grapes. She fed me strawberries. My tongue, lips and fingers explored the taut muscles of her body, and I committed her essence to memory. She sucked my nipples, flicked her wet tongue against my clit, and laughed when I said, Oh God, oh God, that feels so…hurry. Oh, I can’t…hurry! Are you playing with me? Because she was. She loved taking her time. Loved making me wait. And I craved it. I went along, one hundred percent.

      We ignored the question of what would happen once Katharine had to return to Maine for her next semester at Purcell College. Not once did we discuss a possible future together. I adored her. Our connection was immense, our lovemaking perfect. Passionate and wild, yet soft when it had to be.

      That said, neither one of us fully let go. We knew that us was not meant to be. She was twenty years old and Britain’s crown princess. I was older, at twenty-nine, and wanted marriage someday. Marriage and kids. She didn’t, or so she had said.

      Alas, all good things come to an end, and our goodbye began three days before we left Puerto Rico. We lay in bed, our sweaty bodies entwined against the dark night.

      Hey, Veronica, Katharine said, her voice pensive.

      My heart caught in my throat. This was it. The talk. Hmm? I feigned sleepiness with my tone.

      "I have to leave in three days. We have to leave."

      Yep. I stared past her, over her hip, at the far wall. Who knew what the dim contours of her face might convey?

      What will you do? she whispered. Where will you go?

      I don’t know.

      Oh, she said.

      I sighed. It’s best if I don’t go to Maine.

      It is?

      Of course. You’re young. You just came out of the closet. You need to live your life. I’d get in the way and hold you back.

      Ah. She sounded disappointed. Sad.

      We had never said, I love you. Nor did we write cheesy poems or pick flowers for each other. We tried to be careful with our hearts.

      I’m right, aren’t I? We needed to be on the same page.

      I’d be the one holding you back, Katharine said. You have to know that.

      I blinked. How so?

      She made a sound of exasperation. Oh, come on. You hate the prospect of being in the limelight. You wouldn’t want to be with…look, it’s okay. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Being a royal. Dating a royal. Whatever you want to call it.

      She was right. Ever since my brother Clayton teased me during a photo shoot that I could possibly be queen of England one day by marrying Katharine, a kernel of dread had formed in my heart. Most of the time, it remained just that, a kernel, but some moments of panic found the kernel inflating to a huge balloon, imploding my body, constricting my chest, suffocating me. The demands on her time, on our time, would be endless. The public appetite for photos and gossip would eat us alive.

      I want children, I whispered. There was our easy way out. Nothing personal, just differences over what we wanted in life.

      I wondered if you did.

      Mmm.

      I can’t bring children into my world, Katharine said. It’s not fair to them.

      Your sisters probably will.

      Yes, and that’s their prerogative. After I die, the throne can pass to Margaret and then to her eldest child.

      You would be a good mom. You wouldn’t be like your parents.

      Katharine chuckled. Veronica Dudley, are you trying to talk me into having a baby?

      I tried to laugh. Couldn’t. What the hell was I doing?

      Katharine must have sensed my disquiet because she went on. I’m not meant to be a mum. I’m just not.

      **

      I woke up before her on our final morning in Puerto Rico. Katharine had flung the covers off during the night, and her silky, succulent body cried out for my touch.

      Tears welled in my eyes. I would miss her. Very much. The way she looked at me. The way she kissed me. The way she snuggled up with me. Maybe being cautious with my heart had been the wrong move. What harm lurked in the writing of a cheesy poem or two? I tiptoed into the bathroom, locked the door, and let myself sob as quietly as possible.

      She knocked a few minutes later. You okay?

      I studied my visage in the mirror. Frightful red-rimmed eyes, demonic bed hair. I’m okay, I said, opening the door.

      It’s better this way, she said with forced cheerfulness. We’re going to hurt for a while, but we’ll be okay.

      Yep. An embarrassing amount of wetness leaked from my eyes, and she pulled me in for a hug that proved all too short.

      **

      We packed in our separate suites. I had arrived in San Juan with basically nothing, but the few items picked up since then provoked memories. Take the puppet with the appealing smile and oversized nose that Katharine chose for me. In disguise, she and I joined the festivities for Three Kings Day (January 6), and lost ourselves in each other and in a whirlwind of parades, puppet shows, music, dancing and much more. We arrived back at the villa high on each other and high on life. It was probably the closest we’d come to admitting how deep our feelings for each other might be.

      Or take the thin blue T-shirt I’d worn when we hiked the El Yunque rain forest. The sheer diversity of waterfalls, rivers and plants made me feel as if I’d stepped into prehistoric times. It would’ve been natural for a dinosaur to pop up around the next bend, a la Jurassic Park. Katharine, in shape thanks to her swimming and overall athleticism, set the pace with her gorgeous long legs, while I huffed and puffed. A couple of security officials stayed behind us, and I wondered what they thought of me. Did they judge me, a fellow security officer gone rogue?

      I didn’t even have a picture of myself with Katharine. During my two-plus years at Purcell, I’d posed for countless selfies with drunk classmates and showed my pearly whites on silly, solemn and boring occasions alike. But nothing with Katharine, and the fact caused my heart to fill with despair.

      I knocked on the door connecting our suites. Katharine? I called. She’d asked to be left alone for a while.

      No answer came, so I pushed the door open. Maybe after we took the picture, I’d work in something such as, I like Purcell. Whisper into her ear, The town, I mean. The college too. But I was talking about the town. It’s cute. Charming. Great hikes. Affordable rentals. I could…where else will I go? I don’t have a home.

      But she’d gone. She’d gone and left me already. I knew it right away from the emptiness of the suite. The neatly tucked bedsheets. The folded piece of paper taunting me from the middle of the bed. Frustration throbbed in my veins. How long had she been gone?

      With trembling hands, I reached for the paper.

      Veronica,

      I had to leave you like this—not sure I could have said goodbye otherwise. You changed my life, and what you’ve done will continue to affect me in unimaginable ways.

      The past month was magical, and now we must go back to reality. I hope you find your path, and you will always stay in my memories. One day, hopefully when we’re both grey and liver-spotted, I shall become queen. I will be a better person for it because of the compassion, kindness and strength you showed me.

      Take care,

      Katharine

      Tears blurred my vision. I got a lousy, Take care? That’s all I got? Yes, that was hard. Very hard. The second time, though, was worse.

      **

      Three months later, in April, Katharine re-entered my life. I’d more or less wandered since Puerto Rico. Had a large stack of cash to burn, so why not? This particular day found me in New York City, drifting like a tattered leaf through Central Park.

      My cellphone rang. It was Cliff Sandings, my former boss with the Royal Protection Command. We had maintained a cool relationship since I ran off with Katharine, so it was an understatement to say his call was a surprise.

      Hello? I said.

      Hi. How are you?

      What’s going on? I asked. Skip the pleasantries.

      The king… Cliff breathed heavily. "The king…it’s not on the news yet, it won’t be for a

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