Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor

Author:Hazel Gaynor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-05-16T16:00:00+00:00

24

James

S.S. Constitution

A lingering fog and a murky gray drizzle settled over Manhattan’s Pier 84 as members of the press gathered by the hundreds in the Pool Café room on the sundeck of the Constitution. At last, we had an official press conference with the bride-to-be before our departure at noon.

It wasn’t the romantic setting I’d imagined, more like a bare-knuckle fight with television crews, photographers, and reporters jostling for position, suffocating beneath the smell of tobacco and hair pomade. I already felt nauseous after a late night in the hotel bar, and the prospect of being at sea for over a week wasn’t helping. The mob pushed forward in an unstoppable wave as Miss Kelly appeared. Officers from the New York Police Department pushed the crowds back to make way for her, like Moses parting the sea.

The noise was like nothing I’d ever heard, everyone shouting for her to turn in their direction and arguing with each other when someone got in the way. At least three fistfights broke out directly beside me as frustrations spilled over into scuffles and punches. The potential earnings from these photographs of Miss Kelly’s final days as a single woman were huge. The stakes had never been higher, and if someone blocked your view, now was not the time for a polite shrug.

I used my height and my elbows to their full advantage, protecting my spot like a pioneer staking a new claim on a plot of land. For nearly an hour, Miss Kelly—perfectly calm and poised—patiently waved and smiled as she answered idiotic questions from reporters. Questions and answers were batted back and forth until I was sure the poor woman must have been dizzy.

“We will honeymoon in the Mediterranean on the prince’s yacht. The only guests will be my poodle, Oliver, and the prince’s two dogs.”

“Yes, of course I love him! Very much.”

“No, I haven’t had time to think about the future of my acting career. I’m far too excited about the wedding.”

“I have a secret little wedding gift for the prince in my luggage.”

“Yes. We hope to have a large family, and yes, I will become a Monegasque after the marriage but my American citizenship will remain.”

“No, I won’t wear a crown. The occasional tiara, perhaps.”

On and on the barrage went.

“Miss Kelly,” I shouted when I got the chance, waving so she might see me. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

She turned to me, surprised by the question. A smile lit up her face as she answered. “Why, yes. I do. I absolutely do.”

“Save the I dos for the wedding, Miss Kelly,” someone shouted from behind me and we all laughed.

For a woman who’d always been notoriously reserved, very private, and reluctant to engage with the press unlike so many of her publicity-hungry contemporaries, Miss Kelly was surprisingly gregarious. She looked like any young bride-to-be: excited, a little nervous, and radiant, and yet although she was surrounded by her family and friends and the dozen or so members of

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