Wedded for His Royal Duty (7 page)

He stepped back. He wasn’t letting one slip-up cloud his brain. So he liked her? He liked a lot of women. This was a charade. To protect her. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—let these feelings for her grow.

He shifted another step away from her. “No point in going overboard.”

Especially since these feelings were amazingly different. Warm. Happy. The kind of feelings he’d run from his entire life.

CHAPTER SIX

A
LEX
DIRECTED
HER
to a powder room, where she removed her gown and slipped into the sundress she’d squished into her little clutch purse. She walked out, handed her gown to him and watched him drop it to the floor about halfway down a discreet hallway. Then he walked her to a back door.

He motioned for her to go before him into a thin, quiet hall. “This corridor is private. Even servants aren’t allowed to use it.”

They reached the elevator and he pressed the button. The doors opened.

She waited a beat. Not quite sure what she wanted until she realized she was waiting for him to kiss her good-night—though she wasn’t quite sure why. This was a ruse with a purpose. Not real. The only time they had to pretend they liked each other was when someone was watching. And no one was watching—

Hadn’t he reminded her of that?

He stepped back. His hand on the elevator door, holding it open, but now a good two feet away from her, he said, “Good night.”

Disappointment fluttered through her. “Good night.”

She stepped into the elevator, believing herself certifiable. Why the hell would she possibly have stood there like a ninny expecting him to kiss her...?

Because she’d seen the odd looks he’d given her, caught him staring at her face and gazing into her eyes, and knew he was beginning to like her.

Still, only an idiot would have missed how he’d changed when he started talking about the woman he’d loved. The one who had died.

As the elevator rose to her floor, her heart caught a bit at the thought of his loss. She’d never lost anyone. Never really had her heart broken, but he had. He hadn’t just lost his first love. His mother had died. He’d been through things she’d never even considered. It was no wonder he lived a surface life. Hid his feelings. Tried to pretend he didn’t have feelings. He was protecting himself.

She couldn’t fault him for that, even if it did disappoint her that he’d rushed her out, and hadn’t made good on the promise that they’d make a trail of clothes.

She almost giggled at the devilishness of that, but caught herself. He wouldn’t have swooned at the sight of her stripping. Though she couldn’t say the same for watching him take off his shirt—

The elevator arrived at her floor and she sighed. Why was she thinking like this?

Because he was good-looking.

Because he was smart.

Because he trusted her enough to tell her about her dad, to make her a co-conspirator.

And tonight he’d told her about his lost love.

The few days they’d spent together they’d been forced to be brutally honest. She hadn’t just been honest with him; he’d been honest with her. And, God help her, she’d liked it.

Like it? Or liked him?

She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t know. But the evening had been different than she’d expected. Very different. Instead of struggling to keep her dignity while he tried to impress the servants with his sexual prowess, they’d talked.

And it had been nice.

No, better than nice. It had been one of the best nights of her life.

She shook her head as a crazy thought filled it.

What if pretending to be involved, being co-conspirators, put them in each other’s company enough that they actually grew to like each other?

He was confiding in her. She was relaxing with him. Was it so far-fetched to think that a charade actually set them up to fall in love?

It might not be far-fetched but it did sound a hell of a lot like wishful thinking. Especially since a few short days before they’d been at odds.

Still, when she went to bed that night, she thought of telling him that her palace was cozy and she smiled. She wouldn’t mind sitting in front of a fire with him.

* * *

The next day Eva had breakfast with her mom, and spent the morning with her and Queen Rose, looking at table arrangements for the engagement party to be held in less than two weeks and the wedding two weeks after that. When Alex called and told her they would be going to dinner that night, both mothers made kissing noises.

Remembering that they believed this wedding was real, she blushed. They thought it was cute, but actually it was lying to her mom that embarrassed her. Still, it was for a good cause. And any day now her mom would know that.

And any day now, she and Alex wouldn’t be in this game they were playing out to help her dad. That was probably the best reason to keep her wits about her. They didn’t have the four weeks everybody thought they did. Her dad could call tomorrow, and they’d never see each other again.

When Alex came to her apartment to pick her up, he immediately glanced around to see if anyone was there.

“Mom is having dinner with your dad and stepmom.”

He visibly relaxed. “Good. Because I wanted to apologize for being abrupt last night.”

She said, “That’s okay.” Then after a slight pause, she carefully added, “I was kind of glad you shared.” She didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. She especially didn’t want to say so much that he’d realize she was getting feelings for him. The man was a playboy. And she was someday going to be a queen. She couldn’t be falling for a guy who would very publicly break her heart. But she did need to acknowledge the obvious. They’d shared some secrets.

“Nina died five years ago. I’m over it.”

“I get that. I still appreciate that you told me.”

He mumbled something under his breath, walked over to the door and opened it for her.

“I’ll tell you what. We’ll put the top down on the Mercedes.” He dangled his car keys. “And I’ll even let you drive, if you promise to forget I told you any of that.”

Walking to the door, she snatched the keys out of his hand. This was what they did best. Argue. Playfully, of course. She finally figured out that was the way he liked life, conversations, maybe even relationships. Easy. Silly. Meaningless.

“Oops. Looks like you just lost your leverage.”

He laughed but didn’t try to take the keys back. Once she settled in behind the steering wheel of his car, she started the engine and Alex pressed the button that folded the roof down.

She breathed in the warm Xaviera air. “I’m gonna miss this.”

He laughed. “I thought you liked being snuggled in front of fireplaces.”

She waved to the bodyguards, put the gearshift into Drive and drove to the gate which opened in front of her, then off palace grounds. The air was warm and sweet, and the way Alex remembered that detail of her life made her feel soft and squishy inside.

But she didn’t say anything.

“No comment on the fact that I remembered your palace is cozy?”

“No.” She stole a peek at him. “That would sort of be like flirting.” And what a hell of a time for her to finally catch on. “If we were in public where the press could overhear, I might have said how nice it was you remembered, and maybe tease you into admitting you’d like to sit with me under a blanket in front of the fire. Where we could, you know, snuggle up and
accidentally
rub up against each other. But since we’re alone there’s no point.”

She glanced over at him again. His eyes were wide. His mouth was sort of open.

“What?” She shook her head. “The whole flirting thing is new to me. I got that wrong, didn’t I?”

“No. No. You were fine.”

“The part about rubbing up against each other under the blanket... That was too much?”

“Nope. That was pretty much spot-on. Class-A flirting.”

She cast a quick look at him, knowing she was grinning like an idiot. “So I’m getting it?”

“You never tried to flirt with the geek?” Before she could answer, he shook his head. “No. Of course, you didn’t. You probably were like a deer in the headlights around him.”

* * *

She laughed and attraction sharpened all of Alex’s senses, but he ignored it. He’d sorted all this out the night before. He could not fall for her. He was not the kind of guy who had relationships. It was best to just do what he needed to do, but otherwise maintain his distance.

The best way to do that would be to keep them both busy. So he took her to a casino after dinner, and showed her how to play blackjack. She wore a pale pink gown that made her look sweet and innocent. Her long black ponytail heightened the effect, and he was glad. She was tempting, but also innocent, and the visual reminder that he could hurt her if he acted on his impulses got his head in the game.

The dealer dealt her an ace, then gave a card to the other four players at their half circle table. When he came back to Eva, Alex said, “Take a card.”

She sat and he stood behind her. He’d had to lean down to look at her card. But that was okay. He could smell her perfume, feel the smoothness of her shoulder as he brushed it, but he was in control now.

She peeked up at him. “Take a card?”

“Say hit me.”

She laughed. “I’ve never before asked to be hit.”

In the few days he’d spent in her company, he knew there were a million things she’d never done. A million things he’d love to show her.

He kept all that to himself. “So, go ahead. Say it.”

With a giggle, she faced the dealer. “Hit me.”

The dealer laughed too as he pulled a card from the dispenser. “Ten.” He met Eva’s gaze. “Twenty-one.”

She peeked back at Alex.

“You win.”

She jumped off her seat. “I win!” She spun to face Alex. “I win!” Like Rose on steroids, she enveloped him in a fast hug. But when she pulled away, their gazes caught, and he could see in her shiny silver-blue orbs the very second she realized she had her hands wrapped around his biceps.

Time stopped.

They stared into each other’s eyes, both of them silently acknowledging that having her hands on him felt good.

But she didn’t step back, didn’t pull away. She just kept gazing into his eyes, as if spellbound.

And he wanted to curse. The innocence that was so tempting was the very thing that would keep her safe from him. Yet tonight he wanted to be with her. To just let his guard down and see where the night would take them.

But he wouldn’t do that. No matter how much he thought he wanted her tonight, they potentially had weeks of being together. He would not make this into something it wasn’t supposed to be. Something that might hurt her.

He plucked her hands off his arms and directed her back to her seat. “All right, Cinderella. That was just your first hand. You’ve got a whole night ahead of you.”

She laughed but there was a hesitancy to it. What passed between them had been a powerful, but normal, male/female thing, yet it had thrown her for a loop.

The odd protective feeling he felt around her grew, swelling into something that had him looking around. There were three bodyguards playing blackjack at the surrounding tables. He knew there were another six or so at the casino entrances and stationed strategically nearby. But anxiety caused his nerve endings to jump.

He pulled back from Eva and casually motioned to his lead guard. When he came over, Alex whispered, “Do we have a female guard?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“It’s something we might want to consider for tomorrow.”

When the guard frowned, he whispered, “For the ladies’ room and other places she goes that we can’t go.”

He looked around the casino floor and saw more flaws in the security. Not because his team was inept but because he’d decided on a whim to teach her how to play blackjack, and his people weren’t as prepared as they normally would have been.

“We’ll need a meeting tomorrow morning.”

The guard bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

* * *

A few days later, the rumor finally got out that housekeeping had found Eva’s gown on the floor of the hallway leading to Alex’s bedroom. A firestorm erupted in the tabloids. Alex couldn’t take Eva to lunch without reporters shouting questions at them. From that day forward, they never went anywhere without a plan.

After every outing Alex held a debriefing. His father and Dom attended the first meeting. Dom was still in attendance after the third. But four days in, Alex was handling Eva’s security on his own.

And rightly so. Because he was with Eva everywhere she went, he considered himself to be her number one bodyguard. Her first line of defense. No one questioned why he stood so close or held her hand every time they walked. He was her fiancé. But really, he was watching, waiting, ready to stand in front of her or pull her out of the way if anything happened.

Two days before their engagement party, he automatically caught her hand as they walked out of the casino at the end of their evening together. Night air warmed them as his limo driver strode around the hood of the vehicle to open the door for them.

Before they could get into the car, a guy in jeans and a big T-shirt with a camera strapped around his neck ambled up to them. “You know it’s funny. I’ve never seen you steal a kiss.”

Alex’s bodyguards instantly tensed. But Alex smiled. He’d seen this kid in press conferences and knew he was credentialed, not a threat.

“Did you ever stop to think that there’s a reason for that.”

The guy laughed. “Yeah. You’ve never kissed her.”

“He’s kissed me,” Eva said, then she blushed, and Alex felt his own color rise. Not because he was embarrassed but because that kiss had been such a scorcher. With his mind wrapped up in her security, he’d forgotten that kiss. But the reminder brought all his feelings back to life. The innocent way she’d responded. The challenge she’d be if he really wanted to woo her. It was all so fresh in his head, as if it were yesterday, not almost two weeks ago.

“Come on,” the guy wheedled. “One kiss.”

Eva glanced up at Alex expectantly.

And his hormones sat up. Eager. Ready to pop.

“Let me get
the
picture. There’s a bounty on this. Quarter of a million dollars.”

He gaped at the kid. “
Quarter of a million dollars for one kiss?”

“Yep. And it would go a long way to pay off my student loans.”

Eva smiled encouragingly, as Alex’s blood bubbled with enthusiasm. But that was the point. He wasn’t supposed to want to kiss her. Yet he did.