Life in the Palace (Prince Harry #5)

Chapter Seven

When Harry awoke, Meredith was gone. He was startled, and immediately, he thought she had just gone to the bathroom. It was early morning, and she usually climbed back into bed. However, after checking the bathroom, she was no longer in the hotel room. When he checked, her cell phone and purse were gone, along with her room key, so at least she was planning on coming back. Looking throughout the room, he found some other things moved.

Meredith came back a few minutes after Harry awoke in a panicked state. She had another Kwik Trip bag; now, he knew she addicted to that gas station chain.

"What?" she asked, holding up the bag. "I was hungry, and nothing in here interested in me." Meredith took a bite of whatever deep-fried food she ate that came from the 24/7 store, and then she took off her shoes and climbed into bed. "Want some?"

It was too early in the morning for deep-fried food. Harry still tasted the mint from his toothpaste in his mouth. "I'm going to pass." He leaned back in the bed, hating the smell that wafted into the room. It made his stomach churn. "Did you manage to get to sleep?"

"Maybe." She shrugged.

"I felt you moving," Harry said.

"Nothing was comfortable," she complained.

"What kind of position are you looking for?"

Meredith shrugged again, taking another bite and almost swallowing it whole.

"Perhaps we should get one of those body pillows when we get back to London? Some of the books say pregnant women like those, but usually, they are further along. It would give you something to hold onto."

"If I need something to hold onto, then I will just hang onto you."

While Harry liked that thought, he knew he was going to have to get her one of those pillows. She already slept with, like, seven blankets; a few more pillows weren't going to hurt.

"How much sleep did you get?" Meredith asked as Harry tried to stifle a yawn. "Apparently not enough."

"I'm good," Harry lied. "A few more hours would be nice." His eyes closed again.

Meredith tried to be quiet as she climbed out of bed, still stuffing food into her mouth. She even tried to be quiet as she opened a book. It was three minutes of complete silence with an occasional page turn. Harry was on the verge of sleep, but he knew he was never going to make it, not with Meredith fully awake.

"I need a shower before we go anywhere," he said, rising to a sitting position.

"Who said we were going anywhere?"

Harry gave a look and then went to the bathroom.

When he came out seven minutes later, Meredith was ready to go. Harry tried not to regret his promise, but he really wanted to sleep. With a smile, she grabbed an energy drink out of the plastic bag. Harry didn't know if Meredith wasn't allowed to drink it because she was pregnant-- and he was so tired-- so he took it from her and cracked it open. Upon smelling it, the energy drink really didn't smell like something a pregnant woman was supposed to be drinking, mostly because it smelled like sunscreen, but once again, he didn't know-- he was going to play the innocent.

In the car, Meredith was driving. This early in the morning, there was no sun or cars. Harry had no idea where they were going, but Meredith seemed to have an idea. They crossed over the bridge and into Duluth. She didn't stop at anything around there, heading north toward the border. Canada was, like, a three-hour drive, and she said they weren't going there.

While driving, Meredith had her music plugged in, singing to a song that Harry had no idea what it was. That happened often. Harry thought he knew all the music, but then, Meredith knew something different. He had no idea how she had this much energy this early in the morning, but she did. He chugged the rest of the energy drink. When the next song came on, it was something he was able to sing to, which he did.