Scandal With a Prince (20 page)

Love being foremost on that priority list.
 
Not that it was on offer.

He remained quiet for a moment after she finished.
 
He leaned forward, putting his elbows to his knees and steepling his fingers to his chin.
 
“May I speak now?”

She exhaled.
 
“Go ahead.”

“That’s a long list of reasons to say no.
 
They all boil down to the fact you don’t trust me.”
 
It wasn’t an accusation, but a statement of realization.
 

Megan bit back a groan.
 
His light bulb moment was that she didn’t trust him with her independence; in truth, she didn’t trust him with her heart.
 

“How can I?
 
I don’t understand how you can trust yourself.”
 
She folded her arms over her stomach.
 
“This is the first time we’ve seen each other in a decade.
 
Even back then, we only spent a short time together.
 
On top of that, you just discovered that you have a daughter.
 
As in, less than forty-eight hours ago.
 
How can you truly know what you want?
 
What’s
right
?”

“Because I do.”

With that response, she let loose her penultimate argument, the one she’d been hoping never to reveal, but that he needed to address, for himself if not for her.
 
“Did you know it the last time you asked a woman to marry you?”

Chapter Fourteen

Megan’s outburst couldn’t have shocked him more.

The air stilled between them.
 
After all these years, the horrible sequence of events leading to the Ariana catastrophe still rankled.
 
Tension squeezed Stefano’s skull as he said, “I should explain that.”

Her expression transformed from serious to exasperated, then from exasperated to apologetic in a matter of seconds.
 
She forked her hands through her hair, finally flipping the air-dried strands so they fell down her back.
 
“No, you don’t have to.
 
It’s a private matter.
 
I bring it up only so you can consider what—”

“I know I don’t
have
to, but I need to.
 
Not to the world, but to you.
 
It’s a huge part of why I know this”
 
—he angled a finger toward Megan, then himself— “is right.
 
Even if you distrust me so much you’re standing on the opposite side of the table to talk.”

Her gaze flicked to the table, then quickly back to him.
 
Something in his choice of words bothered her.
 
He could see it in her expression.
 
But what?
 

“I’m trying to discuss this rationally,” she finally replied, “but when I’m close to you it’s distracting.”

“A point in my column.”
 
He patted the empty space beside him.
 
“Come.
 
Sit.
 
I’ll tell you what happened so you can make a decision based on full information.
 
Then I’ll kiss you goodnight and return to my suite while you take all the time you need to think about my proposal.”

“I suspect you’ll say whatever it takes to get your way.”

“Perhaps…if my way is right.”

Her arms remained crossed, as if she needed to defend herself from him.
 
“Have you ever been told that you’re pushy, Your Highness?”

“Of course.
 
It’s part of the official prince job description.
 
Lucky for you, I’m not half as pushy as the twins.”

“From what I gather, that’s not a high standard.”
 
Stefano’s older brothers, Crown Prince Vittorio and Prince Alessandro, were known for their identical stubborn streaks as well as their identical looks.
 
She took a few steps toward the sofa and held up her index finger.
 
“I don’t want details.”
 

“I promise, only the highlights.”

“Then go ahead.”
 
She sat on the opposite end of the sofa rather than the closer spot he’d indicated and folded her legs under her so he wouldn’t pull her feet into his lap again.
 
Not ideal, but he’d take it.

He settled in, mentally preparing for Megan’s reaction to what would be the most embarrassing admission of his life, a truth only he and Ariana knew completely.
 
“The wheels were put in motion before I left you in Venezuela, only I didn’t know it.
 
I didn’t sleep a wink for those fifteen hours on the plane, even though we’d spent the previous night at the beach.
 
Frankly, you were too much on my mind.
 
When I landed, I expected to spend the next few days sleeping off the flight before reporting for military duty, but my parents had other plans.”
 

“A welcome home party?”

“Only to someone with a sick sense of humor.”
 
Like his parents.
 
“It was more of a welcome-to-your-royal-duty party…on no notice.”
 

She grimaced.
 
“Doesn’t sound celebratory.”

“No.”
 
He exhaled, suddenly as bone-tired as if he’d been transported back to that day.
 
“The king and queen organized a massive charity event for the afternoon of my return, a garden party at the palace to raise money for our country’s animal shelters.
 
I was expected to attend and host a table of dignitaries.
 
My parents also neglected to tell me that I’d be hosting that table with Ariana Bassi.
 
I didn’t know until I sat down at the table and saw our names listed together in the program.”

Frown lines puckered her brow.
 
“Wouldn’t you need time to prepare for an event like that?
 
Or to discuss it with Ariana?”

Stefano shook his head.
 
“Before Venezuela, I attended similar charity affairs a couple times a week.
 
I functioned pretty well off the cuff by that point and my parents knew it.
 
I didn’t even think much of the pairing with Ariana at first.
 
She was a close childhood friend and her parents are renowned for their philanthropic work with animals.
 
However, it became clear to me—to both of us—during the few first minutes of the event that my parents arranged everything in the hopes we’d get together.”

Megan surprised him by smiling.
 
“Parents do like to see their children happy.
 
Matchmaking has been known to accomplish that.”

“True,” he replied.
 
“But matchmaking is about more than happiness where my parents are concerned.
 
In fact, ‘happiness’ barely makes their priority list.
 
When the Barrali line runs out, our government automatically dissolves and control of the country returns to Italy.
 
No one in Sarcaccia wants that.
 
We value our independence and our unique culture too much to become subjects of another country, even if it’s what a treaty dictates.”
 

She nodded, acknowledging Sarcaccia’s well-known treaty with Italy.
 
“You have a large family.
 
Surely your parents aren’t worried about grandchildren?”

“They’re
always
worried.
 
As were my father’s parents and grandparents before him, I suspect.”
 
He eased closer to her, wanting to fill some of the empty space between them.
 
“From the time my siblings and I were old enough to date, my parents stressed that it’s our royal duty to wed and produce heirs, regardless of our personal feelings on the subject.
 
Our forebears fought hard for independence.
 
The people of Sarcaccia count on us to maintain it.”

She smoothed her hands over her knees, sliding her robe so it covered her calves.
 
“Even so, your parents’ timing wasn’t the best with you about to begin your military service.”

“They were desperate.
 
Their attempts to find spouses for my older brothers failed—I didn’t learn of it until months later, but while I was in Venezuela, Alessandro threatened to move out of the palace if they refused to back off—so they decided to take a crack at me during the few days I’d be under their roof.”
 
He blew out an agitated breath.
 
“My siblings encouraged it, since they liked Ariana and they knew it’d keep my parents from meddling in their lives.
 
Guests saw the way my parents were watching me with Ariana and the gossip started.
 
By the end of the afternoon, I felt as if I’d been tossed aboard a runaway train with no means to brake.”

Megan pushed off the sofa without a word.
 
For a split second, Stefano wondered what he’d said to upset her—he hadn’t even gotten to the worst of it yet—but relaxed when she opened the refrigerator and withdrew two bottles of water.
 
She handed him one cool bottle, then popped the lid on the other before taking her seat once more. “Certainly Ariana had something to say about all this?”
 

“She was as surprised as I was by the manner in which our co-hosting duties were being discussed at the party, as if we were an item.
 
On the other hand, her parents were thrilled with the attention.
 
Knowing my parents, I suspect they made Ariana’s parents feel as though they were performing a service to their country by having her stand by my side at such a prestigious event.”

“Ouch.”

That was probably the best word to describe the entire afternoon.
 
“Luckily, Ariana was a good sport.
 
When no one was listening, she cracked jokes about being scouted as a brood mare due to her bloodlines.”
 

One side of Megan’s mouth lifted into a smile.
 
“I think I like this woman.”

He didn’t point out that everyone liked Ariana.
 
That had been the problem.
 
Witty, poised, well-educated, beautiful…everyone in attendance considered her the perfect princess candidate.
 
“The awkward setup and party gossip weren’t the worst part of the day.
 
That I could handle.
 
It wasn’t as if my parents hadn’t tried to set me up before, even if it hadn’t been done in such a public manner.”
   

He set his unopened water bottle on the table, then waited until he caught Megan’s gaze with his own before continuing.
 
“Since press from across Europe attended the event, there was far more attention paid to the gossip than usual.
 
The evening news carried a story portraying Ariana as my date and showed sensationalized photos of every moment we were together.
 
For instance, when I stepped behind her to move a chair out of the way, a photo was snapped from an angle that hid the chair and made it look like I had my hands on her lower back.
 
Worse, both of us had idiotic grins on our faces.
 
It looked like we were smiling because I was grabbing her in a rather inappropriate manner, not because we were amused by the woman across the table who regaled us with stories about her dogs.
 
Of course,
she
was cut out of the pictures.”

“Of course.”
 

“By morning, the entire country was mad with marriage gossip.
 
One tabloid speculated that I’d come home early to be with her.
 
Another ran a wild story saying she’d pined away while I was gone because we’d had a secret relationship for years.
 
They reported that the palace would never have had us co-host a table unless we planned to wed.
 
All nonsense, all with quotes from unnamed and so-called insider sources, but the lies sold papers and gave the newscasters something salacious to report.
 
No one seemed able to resist a cooked-up story about a returning prince and a high society girl.”

Megan’s upper lip pinched.
 
“Slow news day in Sarcaccia, huh?”

“That’s one explanation.”
 
He was glad Megan could find humor in the situation.
 
To this day the cascade of events boggled his mind.
 
“My father woke me at five a.m. to warn me that I would be overwhelmed if I stepped outside the palace gates.
 
Dozens of reporters had staked out the main entry.
 
Apparently the media were set up outside Ariana’s apartment before she even made it home from the party that night.
 
She couldn’t get into her building without running a gauntlet of cameras, so she called her parents from her car for help.
 
They checked her into a hotel near the palace until security could be arranged.
 
The press set up on the sidewalk outside the hotel within minutes of her arrival, essentially trapping her there.”

“That’s crazy.”
 
Megan’s eyes widened as she finally grasped the enormity of the situation.
 
“I had no idea.
 
Gossip about European royalty doesn’t exactly make headlines in the States.
 
Not unless it’s about the British, of course.”
 
Her tone made it clear that, though she realized the mess wasn’t one of his own creation, she didn’t see how he’d gone from overwhelmed party host to royal fiancé.