Wrong Prince, Right Lover

by Glover, Christine

  “You said you have a vested interest in getting me to the premiere in one piece. Why?” Sabrina asked when they finally reached the Tuscan hills dotting the countryside around them.

  “I have a financial stake in the film.”

  Sabrina raised her seatback into an upright position and loosened the trench coat’s belt to wiggle out of it. “Trevor said he had a silent partner. Never would have guessed it was you given how you’ve never attended any of our premieres, or even met the rest of our family. Plus, I read an article a while back where you dissed the industry despite your friendship with Trevor. I don’t figure you for financially backing a movie production.”

  “I’m a businessman. This was a calculated risk.” Her bare legs flashed into view as she shoved the coat into the small area behind their seats. Dio, his blood rushed south and he struggled to focus on the road ahead. “However, I prefer to keep my various investments private.” He also preferred to keep the paparazzi in the dark about what he was doing professionally and personally. Trust—especially corporate trust—had been hard to regain after his parents’ embezzling scandal destroyed their family’s fortune.

  “He could have told me. It’s not like I’d have blabbed it to the world.” She crossed her arms. “I wonder when my family, especially Trevor, will ever stop seeing me as the baby and treat me like an adult.”

  “Maybe when you start behaving like one,” he said a bit harshly—more out of concern about the possible consequences of his rash decision to spring Sabrina. Because the woman sitting next to him wasn’t a baby at all. Her brother might want to think she was fragile. But Sabrina was tough and wanted to fight for what she thought was right, which meant parking her ego for the sake of the movie’s premiere.

  She inhaled a sharp breath. “I was behaving like an adult,” she said. “I went to the party to get Jack out of trouble. When will you get that through your thick, alpha brooding skull?”

  “You claim you’re innocent, but there’s nothing innocent about the enormous stash of cocaine the polizia discovered last night.”

  “How was I supposed to know Jack’s new bestie is the Italian Cartel’s most notorious drug lord?”

  She crossed her arms. The movement raised her full breasts a notch and though her burgundy cocktail dress had a high neckline, he could make out the cleavage. His ears thundered and his cock hardened. Damn. Focus on the road, not her sexy body. She’s your best friend’s sister and totally off limits. No fooling around with a public figure who is entangled in a major scandal. “Doesn’t matter what the truth is when no one wants to hear it.” He exited the freeway and drove onto a two-lane road which wound toward his secluded villa. Slowly, the heat building inside him lowered to a simmer. “I didn’t have time to wait for your toxicology report before pulling every string and calling in every favor I have in the books.” If he kept telling himself she was trouble with a capital T, he’d tamp down his attraction to Sabrina.

  She pulled out her iPhone and began texting. “This is ridiculous. I didn’t do any drugs. I’m stopping Trevor’s PR campaign right now.”

  Rafe waited a beat, then heard her mutter a curse. “No cell phone coverage here,” he said. “That’s a good thing because getting you out of jail wasn’t easy, but it was necessary to pull you away from the limelight.”

  She whipped her head around and jabbed his arm with her index finger. “I. Am. Innocent.” Each word cost him a poke. “I deserve a chance to prove it to the world. Turn around right now and let me have my day in court.”

  “You want to wait six months? Maybe a year? To have your day in court?” He slowed the vehicle to a crawl. “You think that holding cell was bad, Sabrina? Try prison in Italy. It rivals the United States for being one of the worst systems in the world. You think you can handle our jails, then I’ll do exactly as you ask.”

  She huffed a breath. “Trevor will never forgive me if I screw up the premiere. Hell, I’ll never forgive myself if I lose my next part because of this mistake. But…” her voice wavered ever so slightly. “I hate the idea of people believing the tabloid reports. That Sweet Tart isn’t me.”

  “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you were high when you were arrested,” Rafe said gently, then placed his hand over hers and almost removed it when a zip of awareness tingled through him.

  “You don’t?” she asked, then looked down at their linked hands before jerking hers free. “Thanks, I guess.”

  Remorse stabbed behind his sternum. Trevor had been adamant about getting his younger sister out of jail before something terrible happened to Sabrina. Insuring the movie’s successful release had been a secondary consideration.

  “You’ve exhibited no signs of coming down off a cocaine high.” And he would know after what his parents did during the worst of their fall from public grace. “Your eyes are clear, there’s zero lack of jitters in your movements. You’ve remained calm, focused on the task at hand, and other than arguing your point, you’re not agitated.” Ahead he could see the first outcroppings of buildings and the olive groves surrounding his villa.

  “What I am is frustrated and disappointed, but Trevor has my best interests at heart. The longer I remained in custody, the greater the damage to my reputation. But he still treats me like a little girl.”

  “I know how hard it is to stop playing the big brother role,” Rafe said. He’d protected his younger sister for years, hiding the truth about his mother and father’s ongoing affairs, and their bitter arguments behind closed doors.

  But he agreed with Sabrina on one major point. She was a full-grown woman—sexier than he’d anticipated when he’d agreed to hide her—who deserved the benefit of the doubt. “I’m sorry. You deserved a chance to develop a counterattack as equals.”

  “Thank you,” Sabrina said. “So, this no Internet access thing… does it extend to the villa as well?”

  He had a workaround, but no way would he share that detail with Sabrina. The deal he’d made with Trevor meant keeping her off the grid for three weeks. When he accepted the responsibility of hiding Sabrina, Rafe also decided to avoid giving her the temptation to counteract the current charges online. This meant preventing her from seeing the current social media barrage of posts about her crime and minimizing the possibility of Sabrina linking his name to hers. Any hint of scandal associated with his name—even guilt by association—could put an end to his current contract negotiations. He’d waited too long to make things right with his family’s former associate to lose now.

  “Old world charm at its finest comes with a price tag,” he said as he pulled into the driveway which circled a central fountain placed in a neatly landscaped circle of fresh green grass and flowering plants. “The village ten kilometers from here has Wi-Fi, but we won’t go there unless there’s an emergency.”

  She unbuckled her seatbelt. “So basically I’m your prisoner until my movie premiere in Los Angeles. God, I so want to belt my brother right now.”

  Rafe stilled her hand and held her gorgeous blue eyes with his. “You’re here as my guest,” he said as electricity zipped through his skin and charged low. “I will make sure you’ll enjoy your stay here. You’ll want for nothing.”

  Her gaze turned molten. “Hmmm, no Wi-Fi and an infinite amount of time to hang around,” she said, withdrawing her hand from beneath his. “And you’ll take care of all my needs while I’m here. Sounds intriguing.”

  Merda. She made him want things, imagine things he’d never expected. Things like slowly undressing her and kissing every inch of her body, then covering her body with his and taking her fast, hard, and fast again. Suddenly, Rafe wondered if he’d made a monumental mistake when he’d agreed to spring Sabrina from her jail cell.

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  Tempting the Heartbreaker: Rafe & Sabrina’s Story

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  Hollywood Heartbreakers’ Series

  Reforming the Heartbreaker: Ryder & Addison’s Story

  Tempting the Heartbreaker: Rafe & Sabrina’s Story

  Seducing the Heartbreaker: Jax & Fiona’s Story

  Resisting the Heartbreaker: Trevor & Samantha’s Story

  Sweetbriar Springs’ Series

  The Movie Star’s Red Hot Holiday Fling: Book 1

  The Maverick’s Red Hot Reunion: Book 2

  The Marine’s Red Hot Homecoming: Book 3

  Stand Alone Books

  Royal & Reckless Boxset: Wrong Prince, Right Lover

  The Tycoon’s Red Hot Marriage Merger

  The Marriage Ultimatum

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  Acknowledgments

  Many thanks to Carmen Falcone, my critique partner, who encouraged me to write this book a part of a group endeavor. That led to my attaining the dream of becoming a USA Today Bestselling Author!! We worked incredibly hard and I’m so glad I said “yes” to this opportunity. Together, we created these fun royal stories and I had a blast.

  I’m blessed with Pam Mantovani’s critique too. She helped me improve my novel with all her Picky Alerts and more!

  Big shout out to my readers, especially my awesome Street Team, Christine’s Crushes!! Y’all rock that team! You’re the reason I sit in my chair for hours, alone in a room to write these love stories. This journey is all the sweeter because of you!

  As always, major appreciation goes to my fabulous family, especially Chuck and Mallory who support me 100 percent. And so many thanks go out to my friends, both writerly and non-writerly. They keep me laughing and going every day!

  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling Author Christine Glover writes sexy, intriguing contemporary romances. She loves discovering how her determined heroines and super sexy heroes with heart journey toward their own happily ever afters. Her characters are real people from all walks of life who embody classic love stories with a modern twist. She enjoys finding the silly in the serious, making wine out of sour grapes, and giving people giggle fits along with heartfelt hugs. When she's not writing, you can find her traveling the world, cooking gourmet food, and desperately seeking a corkscrew.

  If you enjoyed this book and would like to leave an honest review, Christine would really appreciate it because that’s how other readers discover their new Happily Ever Afters.

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