Robbie knew it had been too much to hope for to get through his father’s birthday ball without an incident, he just hadn’t been prepared for his own brother making it happen. He felt betrayed, humiliated, worried for Isabela who had disappeared from the party with Jane before Robbie even knew something had happened. He wanted to hit Grayson, but all he did was bump his shoulder hard on his way out after demanding to know what he’d done. He’d deal with Grayson later.
Not caring about the after party everyone else was excited about, Robbie left. He couldn’t get a hold of Isabela, had no idea how long ago she’d left. She was either avoiding his calls and texts, or maybe her phone was dead. But Robbie couldn’t just leave it like that. So he gathered up Alec and one of the royal pilots, shooing them out of the party without so much as a backwards glance at anyone. And that was how Robbie found himself in a helicopter, the big headphones on and Alec’s voice in his ears asking if this was the best idea as they flew from the palace to Buckleberry Lake.
It was nearly midnight, and the sleepy town would definitely notice a royal helicopter descending on them, but Robbie figured they’re going to have to get used to that. Alec had already informed the local police of the tiny town that they were coming and would need an escort, but Robbie wasn’t worried about the logistics. He just wanted to get to her.
They landed in the church parking lot, and there were two police cars waiting, though with their lights off. Robbie made a comment about never having ridden in the back of a police car before, and the officers up front chuckled and lightened up a little about their sudden gig as royal security. They pulled up to the little house, and the officers and Alec made sure no one was around before they let him out. There was only one road up to the cottage, so it was an easy barricade.
Finally, Robbie went up to the front door and knocked softly. When no one came, he tried the knob and found it locked. Robbie peered through the window, and found Isabala’s grandmother had fallen asleep in her chair, and he didn’t want to knock any louder. Sighing, he ran his hand back through his hair, which was now totally messed up from the tamed curls he’d sported to the party. His tie was loose, his jacket abandoned on the chopper. Robbie went around the side of the house towards Isabela’s window, glad the cottage was all one floor. He tripped over something in the dark and nearly faceplanted into the shrubs. He heard a soft snort a laughter behind him, and turned to glare at Alec before continuing to push through the shrubs to get to her window.
Robbie didn’t see her in there, and he hoped she was just getting ready for bed in the bathroom and not that he’d come all this way only to discover she really was back at the palace somewhere. He tried the window and found it unlocked, pushing it open quietly. He felt ridiculous--here he was, a prince, in a rumpled and now dirt-stained tuxedo, sneaking into a girl’s window late at night.
He heard footsteps coming towards the room, looked up, lost his footing halfway through the window, fell the rest of the way, tumbling into the room and taking an end table crashing to the floor with him.
Groaning, Robbie closed his eyes and flopped onto his back, ignoring the quiet howls of laughter from outside the window. When he blinked open his eyes, he was looking up at his girlfriend, and color flushed to his face. “Not my finest moment,” he muttered. “What will it take to make you forget you saw this?”
