The Royal’s Pretend Wife (3 page)

Why yes, yes it does
, she could have said.
When you put it like that, it sounds just a bare step away from something truly unsavory.

“You think that I'm doing all the work,” she said instead. “Are you aware that you are going to be doing the same?”

She was gratified when Apolo looked a little startled at that.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, it isn't going to work at all if I'm a loving and devoted wife, but you are bristling whenever I touch you or watching me as if you think I might steal something.”

A slightly guilty look crossed his face as he realized he had been doing exactly that, but she continued.

“From what Tonya told me, the therapist will be helping us get used to each other, not just having me get used to you. If you want people to believe that we care about each other, we need a flow, a kind of energy that is apparent even if you can't define it. Because of that, I'm afraid that you are going to be working at least as hard as I am.”

For a moment, she wondered if she had oversold her ability. He was utterly still in the driver's seat. She wondered if she had tipped him over the edge and that he was going to call the whole thing off.

Then he shook his head, a wry grin on his face.

“Well said, little actress,” he said. “I'll try to keep your professional advice in mind.”

“If you are really planning to, may I offer another piece?”

“Of course.”

“Don't call me 'little actress.' You should always start as you intend to carry on.”

“What should I call you instead?”

“Trinity,” she said promptly. “You can shorten it if you like, but I've never found a shorter version I liked.”

“Trinity,” he said experimentally. He rolled her name over his tongue as if it were a fine piece of candy, making a strange shiver roll up her spine. “I like it. Can I call you anything else?”

She blinked.

“I'd…rather you didn't rename me, if that's what you're asking.”

“No, no, nothing so demeaning. I meant pet names, endearments. Honey, sweetheart, princess…”

She laughed a little. “I'll admit I don't like those names…”

“How about gata?”

There was something about the way he said that word that brought her up short. Somehow, she felt a strange warmth fill her up, and she could feel a blush spread over her cheeks. To Trinity's relief, he didn't seem to notice.

“I don't hate that,” she admitted. “What does it mean?”

“It's Spanish for cat, but it also means a beautiful woman,” he said. “I don't know, there's just something about it that suits you.”

“I think that will be fine,” she said, smiling a little. Her reaction to the word was stronger than it had any right to be, but perhaps that just meant that she was getting more into her role.

“You're very agreeable,” he said. “Perhaps now you would like to say my name.”

As light as his voice was, Trinity wondered if she detected some kind of challenge in it. Well, never it be said that she backed down from any challenge, artistic or otherwise.

She scooted closer to him, leaning across the seat so that she was a breath away from touching him. She heard him take a breath at her sudden nearness, and she pulled her sunglasses off. His gaze flickered at her bright eyes, and she smiled with all the charm she could manage.

“Apolo,” she murmured, letting her tongue caress each syllable.

Then she pulled back, and watched with some satisfaction as he took a deep breath and looked even harder at the road.

“Do me a favor,” he said abruptly.

“Yes?”

“While we're shooting, don't say my name like that unless you expect things to get a lot more adult than we bargained for.”

Something about the way he said it made her laugh, and then he was laughing as well, shaking his head.

This is going to be all right
, she thought.
This is going to be just fine.

Chapter Three

He had described the villa as one of his family's more modest homes, and though Trinity had definitely seen homes that were larger and more luxurious, she had never felt the sudden sense of peace and happiness that she felt upon seeing this one.

It was a gorgeous structure that had roots dating back to the time of the Romans. The walls were pure white, while the green clay tile roof recalled dark forest moss. Inside, the rooms were tall and spare, while the red tile floors were covered with woven rugs from all over the world.

“Oh, it's beautiful,” she breathed, walking through the house. Though she could easily see the modern accessories and conveniences, there was an old world touch to the villa, something that made her think of a kinder, slower time.

“It is that,” he said proudly, coming up behind her.

“Did you spend any time here when you grew up?” she asked. “This must have been an amazing place to be a child…”

He laughed a little. “We did. My entire family would come here sometimes so that we could swim in the lake, eat, connect. We have a few places like this in Greece that we go to, but there's something special about this villa. My father asked my mother to marry him here.”

The sun was starting to set, throwing rays of golden light through the tall windows. It gave everything a warm glow that made Trinity smile.

“Do you think that's how you asked me?” she wondered.

She meant for it to be a joke, but he looked serious for a moment.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I dismissed the staff for the weekend, but I made sure that there would be plenty of food in the house.”

She started to say no, but then her belly betrayed her by growling loudly. She laughed helplessly.

“I guess I am. Let's see what's available.”

As it turned out, the enormous double-door fridge was stocked with plenty of food. Eagerly, the two of them put together a tray of olives and cheese. While she sliced up a small baguette, Apolo cut pieces of spiced sausage for the tray.

When they sat down to eat, Trinity realized how hungry she really was and dug in. She had almost forgotten her question before Apolo spoke up.

“All right. I'll admit that I like the circularity of asking you to marry me here. Perhaps we had spent the day swimming in the lake, just the two of us. My family might have been visiting, but they left for Barcelona, leaving just the two of us here.”

She pictured the day the way he described it. She could see herself in a demure one-piece, perhaps a little retiring but perfect for conservative relatives.

“I've been having a wonderful time all day,” she said, her eyes half-lidded. “I've been playing with your cousins' kids and chatting with your aunts and your mother. I'm spending less time with you than I want, but it feels good to chat with the women in your family, the ones who have raised you and loved you…”

Apolo looked startled at that, but nodded.

“When they leave at sunset, we're a bit relieved. Suddenly, it's completely quiet.”

Trinity laughed a little.

“It makes me feel a little shy,” she admitted. “Somehow, even though we've been seeing each other for almost nine months, it feels like I'm getting to know you all over again.”

“I never thought you would be shy,” he said, his voice soft and warm. “I have the ring in my pocket, and I know that I'm going to give it to you tonight.”

“Do…do you think I'm going to say yes?”

He thought for a moment.

“I hope,” he said at last. “I don't know anything when it comes to this. That is one reason why you have captivated me. You are perfectly natural, perfectly yourself. Sometimes that is hard to predict. I am startled when I realize that I don't have to predict you. I only want to offer you what is in my heart, whether you accept it or not.”

Trinity unexpectedly found herself swallowing down a lump in her throat. She knew how this story was going to go, but she felt oddly tense, as if it were totally real.

“I start to say that we've had a long day…”

“I ask you to walk out on the terrace with me,” he continued. “Where we can see the lake. The first stars are coming out.”

“Something's going to change,” Trinity breathed. “I don't know what. You're hard for me to predict too. Sometimes, you go so quiet and still, it is hard to imagine what is going on in your head. I'm a little scared.”

“I drop down to one knee. I had a speech planned, but it goes out of my head. I simply offer you the ring, and I look up into your eyes.”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes. Yes, for the rest of our lives, yes.”

In the silence that followed, Trinity had to remind herself that they had created the story together; it wasn’t something she was watching or something that had truly happened. She took a deep breath and then another, startled by how her heart was beating.

“I like that, I think it'll work,” she said after a moment.

“Yes,” he said, and she was a little gratified that he seemed a little uncertain as well. If she was thrown off balance, at least she wasn't alone.

They continued to eat for a little longer, and in fairly short order, Trinity felt a deep sleepiness come over her. She stifled a yawn, but Apolo looked up.

“You said that you've been up since three a.m. Los Angeles time,” he said.

“No, I was up earlier. The flight was at three…”

He nodded decisively. “You're tired, and you're also suffering from jet lag. It's time to put you to bed.”

She started to protest automatically, but when she thought about it, she knew that he was right. She had stayed up for almost a full twenty-four hours, and if she was lucky, sleeping at this point might help her get over her jet lag.

“All right,” she said, yawning again. “Where am I sleeping?”

“The room next to mine,” he responded, giving her a hand up. “That's where I put your bags. You travel light.”

She smiled.

“You haven't seen the half of it,” she said. “When we get to London, there's a whole wardrobe waiting for me that your assistant has purchased.”

Trinity started to say good night at the door, but then something occurred to her.

“So what did the ring look like?”

“Wait for just a moment, I can show you.”

He disappeared into his own room for a moment, and he came out with something sparkling in his hand. When he showed it to her, she gasped.

It was a gorgeous star sapphire, the blue of the gem and the white of the star achingly clear. It was surrounded by a ring of what she knew must be blue diamonds and set in a narrow platinum band.

“Here, let me have your hand.”

Without thinking about what he intended to do with it, she offered him her hand. With a single smooth motion, he slipped it on her finger.

“And there you are, little gata. We're both in.”

She felt that same funny thrill run through her at his pet name. She held her hand out, examining the ring.

“How beautiful,” she said. “I have to say, you have perfect taste…”

“I do my best,” he said with an easy grin. “Do I get a kiss goodnight?”

It was on the tip of her tongue to say no. It felt…vulnerable somehow. She was going to be acting as this man's devoted wife for almost a month, and before it began, she wanted some time to be herself, just for another night.

Then she found herself nodding, because her body had no interest in preserving her space and every interest in kissing this man.

“Good night, Apolo,” she whispered, tilting her face up.

With a gentle deliberation, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Through the thick muffle of their clothes, she could feel the warmth of his body and the power of his frame. Reflexively, she ran her hands down his sides, settling them on his narrow hips.

When he kissed her, there was nothing hurried or timid about it. Instead, his warm mouth slanted over hers as if they had been kissing since the beginning of time. It was a soft kiss, sweet even, with the slight brush of his tongue along her lower lip. She could taste the salt of the olives on his lips and the sweetness of the bread. Without thinking about what she was doing, she leaned in, deepening the kiss even more.

They crossed some kind of line together. Suddenly, she was clinging to him harder, and his arms around her tightened. There was something demanding about the way he was kissing her, and she could feel the need inside her, quiet for the last little while, rise up again. She had felt the beginning of it when she first took his arm, but now this was the real thing, a desire that swept through her like a forest fire.

She didn't realize that they were moving until her back hit the door behind her. Their mouths had grown ravenous, as if they would devour each other, and she found her hands sliding up his chest, marveling at the muscle there.

She didn't know how far things might have gone if he hadn’t pulled away. For a moment, she didn't recognize the man in front of her as the cool sophisticated man she had spent the evening with. There was something wild in his eyes, something needy in the way his hands reached for her before he forced them down to his sides.

“That was…unexpected,” he said. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, of course, I am,” she said, but she knew how unsteady her own words sounded. “I am,” Trinity said with a little more confidence. “That was unexpected though.”

“You're a very good actress,” he said, and though there was no hint of censure in his voice, she felt a slight pang at that. There had been no acting on her part, nothing but a genuine heat she had never felt before.

“Thank you,” she said after a moment. “But perhaps we should wait until the cameras are rolling before we do that again…”

“I don't know,” he said. “I was thinking that practicing might be important…”

She looked up, startled before she saw the slight humorous quirk in his lips.

“But you're right,” he said with regret. “We…we shouldn't forget ourselves. Goodnight, gata.”

“Good night, Apolo,” she said, slipping into her bedroom.

Closing the door behind her was surprisingly hard. As she undressed and got ready for bed, she realized that the only thing that separated her from Apolo was a wall—a wall with a door in it.