Wedded for His Royal Duty (5 page)

“That’s why I fell in love with America. Most Europeans knew who I was. And if they didn’t, they knew I was ‘famous’ for some reason, so they’d Google me and that would be the end of any casual relationships. But in America, even knowing I was a princess, they’d shrug and say, ‘that’s cool,’ but otherwise, I was just a person to them.”

“Interesting.”

“I’m surprised you never encountered that.”

He sneaked another peek at her. His brown eyes softened when he thought. His lips tilted up just slightly, as if something he remembered made him want to smile.

Tingly warmth filled her. Oh, boy. It would be so flipping easy to fall for that smile. But it wasn’t real. And even though his behavior could only be an act for the press, something felt wrong. Off. Really, really off.

“Stop the car.”

“What?”

She huffed out a breath. “Stop the car. Go back to the palace.”

“We can’t. We’re supposed to be seen in public.”

“I can’t behave normally at a restaurant or anywhere with you acting like this. It’ll make me a nervous wreck. I’ll look like an idiot.”

“You’re fine.”

“No. I’m not. And neither are you. What the hell happened to you while I was getting ready for this lunch?”

“Nothing.” He laughed. “Just chill. Okay?”

“Chill?”

He shifted on his seat. “Yeah, just relax.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Relax?”

“My dad wants us out there looking like people preparing to get married. So we’re going out. It’s nothing sinister.”

“So you talked to your dad?”

He drew in a long breath as if holding back his anger—or maybe holding back a smart-assed comment, the kind of thing he would have said to her at breakfast. And her suspicions quadrupled.

“Tell me what your dad said or turn the car around. I’m not going anywhere with you until you explain yourself.”

* * *

Alex realized his mistake a little too late. Of course, she was questioning his behavior. That morning he’d pushed her at breakfast then vowed to get out of marrying her. This afternoon, he was being nice to her. She was too clever not to realize something was up.

“I’m just working to keep up the pretenses for the press.”

“We’re in a car. No one can hear you. There’s no one to be keeping up the pretense for.”

“The press has extremely good long-range camera lenses. They can pick up expressions in a car. Even a moving car.”

Her eyes narrowed and she gave him that fierce silver stare of hers again.

“Which is exactly why the Alex I talked to this morning would be taking this opportunity to make us look unsuitable.”

He squirmed on his seat. Damn. She was bright.

She shook her head. “Okay. Fine. You don’t want to talk? Turn the car around. Take me back to the palace.”

Her tirade would have been cute, except she was ruining an illusion that she desperately needed in place. He stole a peek at her with his peripheral vision. He’d never fool her for four weeks. No one would. But there was more to this than just how smart she was. This charade was life and death for her. She deserved to know the truth.

“You can’t go back to the palace.”

“The hell I can’t!”

He sucked in a breath. “No. Really. This little tantrum you’re having right now actually ruins
your
father’s plan.”

Her forehead wrinkled. “
My
father’s plan? What does my father have to do with you suddenly being nice to me?”

“Your dad didn’t leave your mom.”

“Right.”

“You are here, in Xaviera, because you are under my dad’s protection. Your dad discovered a plot to kill him and you. The wedding is to keep you in the public eye so your uncle doesn’t try to kill you or use you as leverage to bring your dad out of hiding.”

She gaped at him as if only a third of what he’d said had sunk in. “What?”

“Your uncle wants to be king. But he’s not getting your country’s throne unless both you and your dad are out of the picture. Your dad discovered he’d hatched a plot to have both of you killed in what would look like a terrorist attack on your palace, so he left Grennady, using a cover story that seemed believable. But he’s working back channels to get proof so he can have your uncle arrested.”

* * *

Eva just gaped at Alex as he pulled the car into an alley and virtually hid it between two tall stucco buildings.

Killing the engine, he said, “You and I are now officially co-conspirators.”

She shook her head. “This has to be a mistake.”

“No. My father doesn’t move on something unless he’s positive it’s real.” He paused, giving her a curious look. “You’ve never had trouble, dissension among the ranks before?”

“No.” She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Xaviera’s had weird things like this happen at least eight times. Last year we had a pirate who invaded our island. Dom was the one who got rid of him.”

“We’ve never been invaded, but there’s always been bad blood between my dad and his brother. They’re twins. My dad was born first. Uncle Gerard has always felt two minutes cheated him out of his destiny.”

“There you go.”

Understanding seeped in by degrees. Her dad hadn’t deserted them. But this was worse. She and her dad were in danger.

“You’ve got to take me back to the palace. I have to tell my mom.”

“Oh, no! No. No. No. My dad took me into his confidence because he trusts me. Now I’m taking you into my confidence because this is your life we’re protecting. Plus, you’re too smart. At some point, maybe the wrong point, you’d have figured out something was going on behind the scenes, and if you said something, asked the wrong question at the wrong time, it would ruin everything. You need to be a part of this. Your mom doesn’t.”

“But she’s so upset!”

“And that’s what makes this plan work. As long as she’s sad about your dad leaving her, but happy for you, trying to make this the best wedding ever, everybody will believe your dad left her. Besides, Rose is taking care of her.”

“Does Rose know?”

He shook his head. “You, me, my dad and a very few select members of his royal guard, people who are protecting your dad and helping with his investigation.”

She sank back into the comfortable leather seat.

He took her hand, kissed the knuckles. “My dad assured me your dad is safe, and that they will get to the bottom of this.”

The warmth of his kiss lingered on her skin. But something more important made her smile. “You trust me.”

“I guess I do. Especially since this is the first official thing my father has ever asked of me. You could make me look really, really bad if you blow this.”

She glanced down at the console between them, where their joined hands sat. She’d never, ever had feelings like this before. She wasn’t just making friends with this gorgeous guy. They had become partners.

“I don’t want to make you look bad.”

“So we’ve got a deal?”

She stared at their hands. His were strong and hers were tiny compared to his. They looked right together. But they weren’t. This was all a ruse. A ruse to protect her life, but still a ruse.

In spite of the confusion and fear, disappointment fluttered through her. The marriage to a prince from Xaviera that she’d been dreaming about her whole life wasn’t going to happen.

“Or do we not have a deal?”

Her head snapped up. She caught his gaze. She hid her disappointment that she and Alex wouldn’t marry because it wasn’t his fault, and he was protecting her. Her father wouldn’t abdicate and she wasn’t about to become a queen. She didn’t have to rescue the reputation of her royal family, as she’d thought. Instead, she was protecting herself and her dad, as Alex mended his reputation with his dad—

And she could help him. She wouldn’t marry him. She’d never have his children. But this fake, probably-won’t-take-place marriage was more important than their real one would have ever been.

“Of course, we have a deal.”

He released her hand and turned to open his car door. “Good. Let’s go get some lunch and pretend we’re the happiest two people in the world.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“I’
D
LIKE
TO
hear how the princess feels about her dad running away with his mistress. It’s only a matter of time before he abdicates his throne and then she’ll be—what? The queen? Will she and Alex be moving to Grennady?”

After five minutes of talking about his engagement and taking a ribbing about finally settling down, Prince Alex wasn’t surprised by the question. He also wasn’t surprised when his father nudged him and Eva away from the podium and took the mic.

“You received the rules for this press conference yesterday and you know questions about the embarrassing situation with King Mason are off-limits.”

Alex suppressed a smile. Leave it to his dad to tell the press what they could and couldn’t ask.

“But for the record, let me state that Princess Eva should be allowed to enjoy her engagement and wedding without being reminded that she has a father who embarrassed her family, her
country
by quite openly taking a mistress on vacation—”

“It’s our understanding this woman is more than a mistress, and that King Mason left a note for his wife saying their marriage was over. If he abdicates, which a divorce will force him to do, Eva will be Grennady’s new queen,” a member of the press shouted from the sea of reporters below them.

Alex stole a quick glance at Karen, who straightened regally, as if to agree with his father. The actions of her husband would not put a damper on her daughter’s wedding.

King Ronaldo’s eyebrows rose. “I said no questions or comments about this and I meant that. This wedding is a happy occasion and I intend to keep it that way.”

“But he’s—”

That was all Alex heard before being whisked out of the press room, Eva at his side.

In the hall outside the press room, his father straightened regally. “All things considered, I’d say that went very well.”

Eva nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”

Her congenial reply made the king’s expression go from proud to confused. Alex could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he realized she knew enough about the situation to thank him. And there was only one way she could know.

The king snapped his gaze to Alex’s.

Alex inclined his head toward Eva, a silent indicator that he’d told her. His father hadn’t said he couldn’t, though it was clear he’d counted on Alex’s discretion. But, in his opinion, Eva didn’t just have a right to know; Alex had had a responsibility to tell her.

Getting the message, his father sighed. “Okay, then. I hope you two know what you’re doing.”

Alex said, “We do,” at the same time that Eva said, “We do.”

Alex stole a glance at her. He wouldn’t exactly call her stubborn but she was her own woman. A woman, the comment from the press had reminded all of them, who would someday be a queen.

Still, she was in line for the throne of a rather young king. Her dad wasn’t even fifty yet. Plus, most kings didn’t retire. Mason could rule until the day he died. But if Eva’s dad died unexpectedly or decided to retire, she would be queen of her own country.

After only a few days with her, he could see it. He could envision her overseeing a parliament, directing the affairs of a country.

Obviously not pleased, but resigned to their situation, King Ronaldo sighed and walked away.

Chatting about the imminent arrival of the designer who had been chosen for Eva’s dress, Queen Rose and Karen also walked away.

With a quick kiss on Ginny’s cheek, Dom headed for his office, and Ginny excused herself to go to her apartment to check on the baby.

Alex directed Eva to the right, toward the elevator that would take them to the floor for her apartment.

Eva quietly said, “Your dad is very clever.”

He laughed. “No kidding. It’s one of the reasons Dom works so hard. He’s got very big shoes to fill.” He stopped talking, waiting for the elevator to reach them. When they were inside, behind the closed door where no one could overhear, he stole a glance at her.

“I know your dad isn’t abdicating and you’re not going to be taking your throne in the immediate future, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’ll someday be a queen.”

She straightened, the same way his father did, and Alex laughed again. “Oh, yeah. You’ve thought about it.”

“Actually, my father and I have discussed it. When Dom married Ginny my dad told me it was a blessing because my entire focus was needed to be Queen of Grennady. And I probably will be for a while. But, honestly, I don’t think I’m made to rule.”

“Oh, trust me. You are.”

“I hope to be in my sixties before my father dies. Which could make my oldest son close to forty. And ready to reign. I see myself more in the role of placeholder for a few years to soften the blow of my father’s death, then I’ll turn everything over to him.”

He tilted his head and studied her. “You really have thought it all through.”

“Of course I have. Ruling lines don’t think in terms of decades. We think in terms of generations. But you know that.”

He shrugged. “Sort of.”

“Which was why I didn’t argue this marriage. I know your bloodline. I know you and I would have produced a wonderful king.”

He shook his head. “My son would have been a king.”

She stepped close, straightened the collar of his shirt and then his tie. “Does it make you sorry you’re not marrying me?”

He looked down, into her pretty gray-blue eyes and at her smiling face. He let his gaze skim her soft black hair. When his gaze fell to her lips, the one kiss they’d shared jumped into his brain. That one really hot, really great kiss.

For a second he almost was sorry he wasn’t marrying her, but not for the reasons she thought.

The elevator door opened. He ignored it. “If your dad doesn’t straighten things out before our wedding date, we may still be getting married.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. But even if it does, we can get an annulment. Far different than a divorce. It won’t preclude me from taking the throne.”

She took a step to walk out of the elevator, but he caught her hand, stopping her and letting the door close behind her. Trapped in the gaze of her magnetic blue eyes, he saw some problems she didn’t. She talked about this wedding as if it were nothing but a business deal, but he could see a million reasons she could get sucked into it.

“I just don’t want you to get any ideas while we spend four weeks together.”

She laughed. “I liked it better when you kissed me to warn me off.”

More memories of the kiss flooded him. And here she was again, within reach, working her smart mouth against him, filling him with challenge.

She smiled, put her small white hand on his chest. “Maybe you’re warning me because you need the warning yourself.”

The elevator door opened again. This time, he let her walk out, but he called after her, “Be ready at four. I’m to take you to the country house to show you where we’ll be living.”

She turned, smiled and nodded, then walked away.

Alex sucked in a steadying breath. Her behavior should infuriate him. Instead, it constantly challenged him. What would it be like to be the guy who tamed a future queen? She might be the woman who ruled their country, but he would be the guy who ruled their bed.

He shook his head to dislodge that thought before it took root. He wasn’t marrying anyone ever. Let alone someone who would be his ruler.

* * *

Eva managed to remain perfectly cool until she was behind the door of her apartment. Then she leaned against it and squeezed her eyes shut.

Why in the hell had she just flirted with him?

She shook her head on the way to her bedroom. Of all the times for those stupid flirting videos she’d watched on YouTube to pop into her head, the day after he’d told her the truth about their marriage was the worst.

Still, he’d presented her with eight or ten really good jumping-off points, and in the end she couldn’t fight her brain from using the knowledge it now had—

Oh, please. If there was one thing Eva didn’t do it was kid herself, and she wouldn’t let herself start now. She’d flirted because she’d wanted to. The Alex she’d met at the stables had been angry. The Alex she’d dealt with at her arrival dinner and breakfast the morning they’d chosen the wedding date had been determined to talk her out of it. The Alex who’d been released from his commitment was fun. Happy-go-lucky. Yet fiercely determined to protect her and her dad. His brown eyes sparked with the challenge of their situation. He clearly liked having a role, a part to play, and he was a natural.

Plus, he looked great in a suit. Really handsome.

Put all that together and the man was just sexy.

Tempting.

And oh, so easy to tease.

She told herself to stop thinking like that. Not because she was worried for her life. She wasn’t. She trusted King Ronaldo and Xaviera’s royal guard to keep her safe. And she trusted her dad to find the proof, arrest his brother and right their world.

The problem was, at any time before the wedding her dad could call and say he had everything in hand and she and her mom could go home. This might go the whole way to the day before the wedding or it could end tomorrow, but no matter how long the ruse lasted, she would be going home. Without Alex.

Getting involved with him was pointless. Except—

As Alex had reminded her, she was also a woman who would be a queen, who had to produce a royal heir, who had no skills with men.

She might not be marrying Prince Alex Sancho, but her four weeks with him could help her figure out how she could find the husband she’d need to do her duty and create an heir.

* * *

Alex had just reached his apartment door when his cell phone buzzed with a text. He pulled his phone from his pocket and saw the message from Dom.

Meet me in your office.

He almost laughed. He hadn’t been in his own office in months. Meetings were typically held in the king’s office or Dom’s. He didn’t exactly have a lot of official business.

Still...

It felt right. Maybe because his father had taken him into his confidence about Eva’s situation, but he suddenly didn’t mind being called to his office.

He typed,
On my way...
turned around and took his elevator back to the first floor.

Dom awaited him in the empty secretary’s space that fronted his furnished, but never used office. “Hey, kid.”

“Hey, older brother.” He led Dom into the room, walked behind his desk and fell to the chair that was slightly uncomfortable, given that no one had worn it in. The walls were paneled with rich wood. Thick Persian rugs covered the floors. Velvet drapes framed the huge window that overlooked the courtyard. And no one ever saw any of it.

Dom sat on one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Dad told me about King Mason.”

“He did?”

“Yes. After your talk with him, he realized it wasn’t right that he was doing an end run around me with the royal guard I supervise.”

“Wow. He’s really loosening up.”

Dominic chuckled. “Dad’s not the hard case you think he is. In the past months, he’s been handing over a lot of his responsibilities to me.” He caught Alex’s gaze. “And he sees you as the one running point on this situation with Eva and her mom.”

“Running point?” He sniffed, not quite sure how to handle the fact that his father trusted him. “For the next four weeks I’m going to be dating a really pretty girl.”

Dom laughed. “That’s one way to look at it. Or you could say that for the next four weeks you’re protecting the daughter of one of Dad’s closest political allies. It’s a big deal.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “I was making a joke.”

“Right. You love being funny. But you’re ready for this. As much as you like pretending that you aren’t.” He shifted on his seat. “I took a few minutes to go over everything that happened at the press conference and you and Eva were great.”

Alex laughed. “We’re both born to this life. We know how to keep up appearances.”

“And you did. But here’s the thing. The two of you stood close together at the podium. You smiled at each other at just the right times. But when we left the press room and gathered in the hall, your demeanors changed. There was a visible distance between you.”

“So? The press couldn’t see.”

“I know, but the biggest group of people you have to fool wasn’t in that press room. They were in the corridor outside the press room.”

Alex frowned.

“It’s our staff. It took only two phone calls for my secretary to get the scoop that you’ve never been to Eva’s apartment and she’s never been to yours.”

Alex’s face scrunched in disbelief. “What?”

“The staff knows you’ve basically just met, so it’s not like they expect you to be sleeping together, but they’re gossiping about the fact that the only times you’re seen together are when you’re expected to be.”

“Really?”

“There’s a betting pool. All the stable boys believe you’ll never actually marry. The maids are divided. And even though Chef’s a romantic she’s betting against the marriage too. That’s not good for your charade.”

He sat up, totally confused by the fact that he hadn’t thought of this. “I guess not.”

Dom rose. “Convincing the staff here at the palace should be your first priority. In fact, if I were you, I’d put on such a show that the stable boys start changing their bets and the maids can’t resist gossiping to their neighbors.”

Alex leaned back in his chair. He appreciated the heads-up. He would have figured it out for himself in another day or two, but he was glad he hadn’t had to.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and brought his schedule onto the screen. He cancelled every event he had arranged for the next week.

He glanced up at Dom. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to see any plans the guard put in place for Eva’s protection, and the names of the men in her security details.”

“I’ll tell the lieutenant.”

Alex rose. “Great.”

As Dom turned to the door, he said, “And don’t forget what I told you about the staff.”

“I won’t.”

After Dom left, Alex thought for another second, then strode out of the office.