Tempted by Her Royal Best Friend
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Juliette Hyland
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PROLOGUE
THE NEXT SHIFT was arriving at London Pediatric Hospital, and Dr. Syver Bernhardt strained his neck, looking for the mess of dark curls.
“You ready, Dr. Bernhardt?”
Syver didn’t even attempt to hide his smile as he turned to find nurse Hazel Simpson behind him. “You got me.”
“’Bout time!” She clapped her hands and tapped his arm with hers. “I think the current score is Hazel three, Syver five hundred!”
“You’ve won over three times.” It had to be at least ten. Though she was right, this was one thing he took first place in!
“And you’ve won more than five hundred.”
It was a silly game. One he didn’t even remember the origins of. Somehow, he’d snuck up on her when they were on opposite shifts to say good morning...or was it good evening? It didn’t matter. The game of being first to greet the other had stuck, and he was the reigning champion.
“You’ll catch up one day!” He followed her into the staff room, grabbing his backpack as she placed hers in a locker.
“I doubt it. But I don’t need to catch up.”
This really was the perfect way to begin or end a shift. Hazel was his best friend, roommate and colleague. He saw her constantly and yet never tired of their inside jokes.
Her nose twitched, and he knew she was about to press a point. “You didn’t answer my question, though. You ready to be an attending?”
“Yes...and no.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder, wishing he sounded surer of himself. He was excited, ready to finish his residency. Prepared to take on medicine as a full pediatrician. No more student physician, intern or residency. He’d completed today’s shift, so technically, he was an attending physician.
It seemed like he’d been in med school, internship and residency for half his life. Which wasn’t that far off!
This was his dream. The one he’d set for himself when his old life vanished. The goal that let him reach for something that wasn’t home. Or the family he’d been cast out of.
For the first time in his life, he’d truly felt like himself. The real Syver, the one no one wanted to know at home, had flourished here.
He’d trained to be a pediatrician, thought of little else besides that goal. Now the day was arriving. He was reaching his end point.
Now he was Dr. Bernhardt, attending pediatrician. And part of him wondered if he was really ready. If he’d learned enough. If he’d be good enough.
“I felt the same way when I finished nursing school. Ready, and not, excited, and a tad terrified. All normal reactions. You’re ready, Syver. And we are celebrating as soon as I get home!”
Hazel ran her hand along his shoulder, the connection brief...and friendly. That is what they were, friends and roommates. She’d moved into his flat two years ago, after her roommate’s marriage. What was supposed to be a temporary arrangement had flourished into a friendship he’d never expected.
“Movies, popcorn and takeaway!” A Saturday tradition, at least when they were both free.
Hazel tilted her head, her bright eyes meeting his. “If you want to actually go out, we can. Someplace fancy, even. You’ve certainly earned it.” Then she followed him out of the staff lounge and grabbed a tablet chart off the charger.
“And mess with tradition! No way.” He’d spent his childhood going to fancy parties, elite restaurants, stuffed into suits and told to stay quiet.
He’d spent years playing a role he never quite fit. There was something special about spending time with a dear friend. Relaxing in confines of your home with no expectations.
And that time was always better when Hazel was by his side.
Besides, she was working the night shift. Even after a few hours of sleep, Hazel would prefer to slip into comfy pants and crash on the couch. And that was where he wanted to be, too. An epic celebration was epic just because they were having fun together. The location didn’t matter.
“All right, if you’re sure. I need to do patient transfers, but I put a lemon cookie on the counter for you.”
“Best roommate ever!” Syver raised a hand as he headed for the door. “Good job sneaking up on me today, but come Monday...”
“Yeah...yeah!” Hazel waved and then turned toward the nursing station.
Syver whistled as he walked up the stairs to their flat. The Tube wasn’t very crowded, and he’d hit the station at just the right time. He was officially Dr. Bernhardt and the life he’d carved out for himself was truly taking root.
“Your Highness.”
He wasn’t sure how the security service had entered his apartment, but Syver didn’t care.
He was finally just Syver. Not Your Royal Highness, not Prince. Just Syver. It had taken years to settle into that. Years to accept that the royal family of Fönn preferred him forgotten.
“That isn’t a title I answer to.” Not anymore.
He’d been officially, but secretly, banished as soon as he turned eighteen. The King would never admit his queen had cheated. People suspected, there’d even been a few “news” articles, all quickly hushed up, but it was not discussed. Though the King never hid his distaste for his “second” son. They only thing he’d ever done to please the King was leave.
That was a wound buried so deep in his soul, Syver didn’t think it would ever stop weeping.
Dropping his backpack, he stepped into the living room, stunned to see three guards in Fönn regalia standing in formation. “What are you doing here? I’ve not broken any of the King’s rules.”
He’d maintained a low profile; no one knew his origins. He’d studied at university, invested the payment the kingdom had given him and kept to himself. There was no reason for the guard to be in his home.
A look passed between the well-trained guards. The world teetered as the air in the room shifted. “What is going on?”
“The King requests you return home.”
He couldn’t stop the laugh, though there was no humor in the chuckle. “You’re going to have to do better than that. After all, it’s the King who sent me away.”
And told me I was never to set foot back in the kingdom.
That second part wasn’t exactly public knowledge, but it didn’t surprise him that the security personnel didn’t react. Either they were very skilled at their jobs, a distinct possibility, or it wasn’t news to them. Maybe both.
“King Eirvin passed this morning.”
The security officers parted, then bowed as Syver’s brother stepped up. “It’s me who requires you at home.”
His brother’s presence stole the wind from Syver’s planned responses. The King was dead. The man everyone in Fönn assumed was Syver’s father. The man who’d told him he was no longer part of the family was gone.
There were emotions he should feel. Anger, sadness...relief. But nothing came. The news settled like a lead balloon in the room as he tried to process the information. Tried to react.
“You’re the last person I expected to see here. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for a coronation?” The words lacked the deference he’d been trained to give his brother, but Erik didn’t flinch.
“I doubted you’d come if I sent just the guard. Personal touch and all.”
Personal touch. The words sounded liked they tasted bad. There was little hint of personal in this.
He came. For me.
No one had come for Syver...ever.
“The Dowager Queen hasn’t stopped crying. She also wishes for your return.”
Dowager Queen? Why didn’t Erik ever call her mum? Titles, propriety, it all came first...and Syver always fell short.
Mum. His heart swelled, then crashed with worry. Was she all right? Probably not. Though he doubted she’d ever show it. But she wanted him home.
Words he’d never expected to hear made his heart soar. His family wanted him.
As if summoned by Erik’s words, his mobile rang. “Mum...” She was calling. Calling him.
Syver took a deep breath as he looked around the flat. He’d called this place home for almost ten years. He’d mourned home, hated his banishment for the first year. Now the idea of leaving hurt, too.
“I need you, Syver, Erik needs you, Fönn...well, Fönn needs you, too.” Pauses punctuated her words, and he could hear the tears in her voice. King Eirvin had cheated on the Queen regularly, but she’d loved him through it all. The one time she’d fallen for another...well, that had resulted in Syver. King Eirvin had not been as forgiving as his queen.
But if they needed him, wanted him, Syver would come.
“I’ll be on my way shortly. I need to finish up a few things here—”
Hazel...
They were celebrating and the idea of leaving her. His throat closed. Maybe she’d like a change of location? The idea of not seeing her again, of not living with her...
“Sorry, Your Highness.” The guard’s tense words broke through his pained musings. “Our orders are to depart as soon as you have a bag packed.”
Your Highness. It took him a moment to realize they were speaking to him, not his brother.
“My presence in England is unknown. And must remain that way. The funeral is tomorrow and then my coronation. You are the heir to the throne.” Erik’s words were firm, already king-like.
Heir to the throne, a throne he had no right to, and didn’t want.
“Fönn needs doctors and a united royal family. You’re part of Fönn’s future.”
Part of Fönn’s future.
He’d see the frozen shores, attend the Summer Nights Festival, be part of the family he’d been thrown out of. It was a dream he’d given up when he’d landed in London, one he’d convinced himself he no longer wanted.
He closed his eyes and said a soft goodbye to the life he had here.
“Mum, I need to say goodbye...”
“There isn’t time, Syver. You must come now. It is not fair, but it is the role of a prince. Fönn needs you.” Her words were soft, but he heard the bite of the Queen behind them. Duty first. He might not have King Eirvin’s blood flowing through him, but he’d been raised as a prince.
Forever duty. There were sacrifices to be made, but home and family—he couldn’t say no.
His throat closed as he felt the royal mask slip back on. He’d sworn when he’d left Fönn that he’d not step foot back on its shores.
But that didn’t mean he didn’t yearn for it.
“I’ll see you soon.” A promise he could finally keep. He heard his mother sigh before she whispered a goodbye.
He slid the phone back into his pocket and walked into the kitchen. The sight of the cookie pulled another lump into his throat. He’d not told his best friend who he was. It wasn’t supposed to matter, didn’t matter when he was here.
In London he was Dr. Syver Bernhardt. It was a role he loved, the one he’d found solace in when his world was so empty.
But it hadn’t been empty after he’d met Hazel. He was her silly best friend. A woman who saw him as he saw himself...perhaps the only person in the world who knew the private man.
He’d not wanted to lose that. Not wanted to see the shift if she learned he was royalty. Even cast-out royalty.
That selfish decision now meant she was going to come home to an empty flat and a truth he wouldn’t be here to share personally.
It was time to go home, but he’d find a way to get back to Hazel. Someway.
For now, she was safe and secure. That was what mattered. He owned the London flat, and she could stay as long as she wanted.
Forever.
The word slid into his mind, but he pushed it out. He needed to focus on his family for the moment, but he also needed her to know she was part of it, too.
Pulling a note from the drawer, he stared at the blank lines. How did one write goodbye, I’m sorry and give me a few months to figure things out in one short missive?
“We need to get moving, Syver.” Erik’s words were sharp as Syver heard security tossing things into boxes in his room.
In the end, he scratched out a few words he knew weren’t enough. He’d make it up to her as soon as he resettled in Fönn.
