My High School Royal Boyfriend: A Sweet YA Secret Identity Romance (Boyfriend Series (River Valley High) Book 5)

by Kylie Key

  “It’s special when you connect with someone,” Shelby said.

  “Oh man,” I said, “when she said she rode horses, all I could think was that Mum would fall in love with her.” My smile was about as wide as you could make.

  “Your Mum will fall in love with her,” Shelby said, her eyes brimming with moisture.

  “I’ll be going home soon,” I said, a statement that Shelby let hang. Seconds ticked by, a silence that prompted me to say my innermost thought out loud. “Would it even be worth telling her the truth?”

  Shelby was smiling over the rim of her reindeer mug, but she gave me no answer. It was a decision only I could make.

  Our lives had collided in a random encounter—two people running from their realities. But I had helped Blaire fix hers, or so I hoped. Tomorrow the truth would be revealed and set her free, her reputation intact. She’d be able to return to her life in Covington Heights, go back to her posh school, quit taking the bus and drive her car again. Of course, she’d do that.

  Whereas I’d stay at River Valley for another two months, and then return to Langley Estate, finish my school year and complete my A Levels without the hounding and pressure from the media. And hopefully I’d be older, wiser and more mature for my experience.

  Yeah, it would be easy to disappear from River Valley, perhaps leave a legacy as that English exchange student with the funny accent. But probably not. As the senior class graduated, they’d not remember Zombie Number Eight in the Winter Concert.

  THE SOUND OF MY RINGING phone and a glance at Blaire’s name set my heart beating at a frenetic pace. I allowed a few moments to calm myself before picking it up and answering with a cheery, “Hey, hi.”

  “Alex! Guess what?” My name on her lips sent me into a spin, and then her accent turned British. “You were right! Detective Lord cracks the case. The video footage clearly showed Zara Raymond at my locker. Blair Pennington is vindicated and allowed to return to Covington Prep.”

  My joy at her innocence was equal to the sadness that she would return to her old life.

  “That’s great,” my voice said, disconnected from my heart that was pleading NO! DON’T GO BACK!

  “Yeah,” she said, her accent back to normal. “It’s great. Thanks to you and Jack.”

  “That’s great,” I repeated, not wanting to rain on her parade. She’d had to endure a lot, the wrath of her parents, the shame on her family name, the humiliation from her school friends. Yeah, she deserved this good news. She deserved her life back.

  “Yep.”

  “Good luck with everything,” I said. Oh wow, was I cutting her off? Why not? If I let her get back to her life now I could save myself from revealing my own secret identity, and go back to England with a tiny broken heart, rather than a gigantic broken one.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “We’re going up to the Cutter’s family lodge for Christmas. Soon.” It wasn’t till later this afternoon, but it was better to let go here and now, no prolonged goodbyes. She’d never go back to River Valley—I mean, who in their right mind would? Blaire lived the dream life in Covington.

  “Oh. Have a great time.”

  “Yep.” It was all I could choke out. Best to keep the secret safe, avoid drama, avoid sentimentality.

  “Merry Christmas Alex,” she said.

  “Merry Christmas Blaire,” I said, my voice on the verge of cracking. With a swift action I tossed the phone over to the bed, throwing away the temptation of adding I love you. Within seconds the familiar beep of a dead phone sounded.

  Game over.

  Secret safe.

  Keep calm and carry on—the British way to do things.

  GRANT WAS JUST AS HAPPY as me to leave for home the day after Christmas. He wanted to get back to the animals, and I didn’t want to miss Lily’s Snow Party. I had no idea what a Snow Party was, other than it being a Bloomfield family tradition.

  Christmas Day with Shelby’s extended family had been nice and I appreciated the warm welcome, but I missed my own family and I think I was reeling from the sting of Blaire’s news. Maybe that was a reason I wanted to be at Lily’s party. To cement my best friend status with her and Ethan, and yeah, Chloe and Olivia, too. Their friendships would get me through, and I’d audition for a part at the local repertory theater that Ethan had told me about. That would keep my mind on things other than Blaire. I probably wouldn’t even run into her again, either, unless she went to the mall. But something told me that’s not where she shopped.

  Anyway, two months was such a short time. I’d be going home before I knew it. I’d look back on River Valley as being the right place for me and my parents at that point in my life, but I imagined that in a year or two it would be a faded memory.

  Lily had texted a list of things to bring for the Snow Party: I would have brought them anyway—hat, gloves and scarf, and it was cold enough for a trench coat. There was no snow in the forecast, but that wasn’t going to hamper the fun.

  There were a few patches of snow on the Bloomfield’s lawn, leftover from the light snowfall on Christmas Day, but not enough to hold their snowman making competition. Never mind, Mr Bloomfield said, they’d modify the event, but first we had to start with a marshmallow eating race.

  The food table had a snowy theme to it, a gingerbread house with white icing, snowflake cookies and white chocolate cupcakes. It was all very similar to the party at Blaire’s house, albeit way less grand. Way less.

  I thought I had a good chance at stuffing my face with soft marshmallows, but Donovan Valdez made us look like amateurs. It was like he inhaled those things. I hoped to get my revenge in the Snowflake Frisbee throwing contest, but mine went over the neighbor’s fence and was disqualified. Somehow Lily won, no doubt years of practice with that one.

  I couldn’t even place in the Snowball Toss game. For lack of real snowballs, we had to throw baseballs at a snowman target. I’d never thrown a baseball in my life—and it showed.

  Mrs Bloomfield called us in for hot chocolate and snacks and I was one of the first around the fireplace. I hadn’t mentioned Blaire to anyone. It wasn’t up to me to reveal that our friend was a billionaire’s daughter who went to Covington Prep. It was possible she’d just text everyone and say that her ‘mother’ had recovered and she wasn’t returning to River Valley High. She’d dye her hair and wear her contacts and resume at her old school, and nobody would be any the wiser. Lily would miss her, of course, but she was confident in herself now. Blaire had helped with that, given Lily a sense of self-belief.

  Everyone chatted about their Christmas day, all the food they’d eaten, the gifts they’d received.

  “I suppose you’re missing your family,” Lily said, squishing herself into a small space next to me on the couch. I nodded, my hands wrapped around the warm mug. And then she squeaked, “And Blaire?”

  I brought the hot chocolate to my lips, a mistiness coming to my eyes. I missed a lot of people, Mum, Dad, Victoria, Chester, William, my friends, my teachers, and yeah, Blaire.

  “I miss her too,” Lily said, resting a comforting hand on my jeans. “I wish she was here.”

  I nodded again, taking a gulp of the sweet drink, not trusting my voice.

  “Hey, what’s that truck doing out there?” Lily’s brother, Finn stood at the living room window with three of his friends. “Dad? There’s a man on our front lawn.”

  Mr Bloomfield wandered over, pushing back the curtains to peer out.

  “Probably a courier,” he mumbled as he took his coat from the hook and headed out the front door.

  Another plate of cookies was handed around. Surprisingly, I passed on it, my appetite not its usual self. I must have been the only person who hadn’t overeaten on Christmas Day.

  A few minutes later Finn let out a shout. “Mom! It’s a snowmaker. It’s snowing in our front yard!”

  Everyone stormed for the window, and a moment later there was a mad rush for hats, gloves and coats as we stampeded out the front door. La
ughter chimed through the air as fake snow shot out from a cannon-like barrel, showering the yard in a blanket of snowflakes.

  “Dad!” Lily cried excitedly, “This is amazing.”

  “Kevin,” Mrs Bloomfield said, “how’d you manage to keep this a secret?”

  “It’s a mistake,” Mr Bloomfield was saying to the man who had set the machine up. “You’ve got the wrong address. We didn’t order this.” Mrs Bloomfield was frowning and shaking her head.

  The snow machine man checked his phone and read out the address. The Bloomfields all nodded in verification, but insisted his records were wrong, and were quite adamant they hadn’t paid for it, and weren’t going to. In the meantime the kids were running through it, squealing in delight. Lily grabbed my hand and pulled me under the snow, her joy contagious, and encompassing the true spirit of Christmas. She took her phone out of her pocket and held it up to take a selfie of us under a flurry of snow. I crouched a little to be at her height, and that’s when I saw the flash of silver, a Mercedes pulling up beside the curb.

  My heart rate sped up and I was no longer looking at the camera. Lily was laughing and rapidly clicking, but then her eyes widened and she broke into a run. Wearing a gray beanie and a black puffer jacket and black pants, Blaire stood with her arms open, anticipating Lily’s embrace. High pitched squeals resounded above the noise from the snow machine.

  Lily hadn’t noticed the presence of a Mercedes, but it wasn’t lost on Ethan, Chloe and Donovan, who had sidled up beside me.

  “Blaire’s here?” Chloe asked. Olivia had raced ahead and joined in the hug, but I was doing a snowman impersonation—frozen and numb. And nervous as to why she was here. Was this a goodbye to Lily? To me? To all of us?

  “Is that her car?” Donovan asked.

  I feigned deafness, but driving Blaire’s car was a sweet memory. I was swept into a group huddle and we jumped and danced and slid under the falling snow. Neighbors lined the sidewalk and Mr and Mrs Bloomfield encouraged the young children to join in.

  That was our cue to move aside, and it was only then that Blaire and I took a moment to truly connect. She pushed her glasses up her nose and smiled, but it was only fleeting, surely not long enough to see how much I ached for her. Lily, Chloe and Olivia hooked her arms and giggling, guided her into the house. It looked like a girl thing, so I stayed with Ethan and Donovan, who was still in admiration of the Mercedes.

  Then Chloe was tugging on Donovan’s arm, and motioning with her head that we should join them inside. I’d started to shiver, but I wasn’t sure if it was from the cold temperature or anxiety over Blaire’s farewell. I had a crazed thought that I couldn’t live without her.

  Blaire was sandwiched between Lily and Olivia on the couch. Ethan squeezed next to Lily, his arm going around her back, meaning my best option was to join Chloe and Donovan on the floor. Except Chloe sat down in front of Donovan, her back pressed against his chest, his arms around her. Okay, so that was a new development. I was awkwardly on my own. Sitting cross legged, I examined my socks.

  “It was Blaire who hired the snow maker!” Olivia said, her excitement at a frenzied level. “Isn’t that so cool!” She patted Blaire’s knee and shoulder. “It’s so awesome.”

  I raised my eyebrows to show I was surprised, and in a way I was. Not because it was an extravagance, but Blaire’s generosity and kindness really was special. And the way Lily was beaming showed it meant the world to her.

  “So, guys, I have something to tell you. And I hope you won’t be mad at me or anything, but I need you to know the truth,” Blaire said, and though she was dressed like Blaire Ashley, she had the confidence of a Pennington.

  Mouths hung open as Blaire told everyone her real name, no sounds were uttered as she recounted the accusation of theft and her suspension from Covington Prep. She didn’t mention Zara Raymond by name, nor the lawsuit, but she brought herself to tears as she revealed the shame she’d brought upon her parents and the rejection from her friends.

  I wanted to reach out and take her in my arms, but everyone was transfixed and trying to absorb the information that their new friend was actually a billionaire’s daughter.

  It was Donovan who broke the silence. “So, that Mercedes is yours?” Everyone laughed and Blaire apologetically rolled her eyes.

  “I’m sorry that I lied to you,” she said, her teary eyes casting around the group and finally resting on mine. “And please don’t think I was being deceptive.” It was like the words were meant just for me. We both blinked several times and I was grateful when she turned to Lily and clasped her hand. You see, I thought I was going to break down and lose it. I sucked on my lower lip in a bid to keep my emotions from escaping. “Lily, your friendship has meant so much to me,” Blaire said, “It really helped me get through this. Thank you.”

  Now Lily was the one crying and hugging Blaire tightly. “Thank you? I’m the one who should be thanking you. You accepted me for who I was. And you pushed me to do better. And because of you I have all these wonderful friends.”

  “No, you have all these friends because you’re awesome,” Blaire said, tenderly tapping Lily’s cheek. Blaire truly staggered me, so sweet, so sincere.

  “Yeah Lily, and you throw awesome parties,” Olivia said, reaching over to squeeze Lily’s hand. We cheered Lily, and I got up from the floor to give her a high five.

  Lily blushed in embarrassment at the attention, but couldn’t anyone see the real issue here? That Blaire was going to announce that she was returning to Covington Prep, to her life of glamor and prestige, abandoning us all. I didn’t want to see the despair, the sadness on Lily’s face when that happened. The pit-a-pat of my heart was dangerously out of kilter. The heat of the room was stifling. I needed air, I needed space.

  I headed to the front door, jamming my feet into my boots with force, not bothering to tie the laces. The chill immediately hit me in the face and I needed it—a burst, a wake up call. Blaire was ditching us, and I needed to get over it. Besides, in a few months I’d be gone too.

  That’s how life was.

  You met people,

  you loved people,

  you lost people,

  you moved on.

  As the press had back home. There were bigger fish to fry now. The Viscount of Brookby and his son had been caught up in some financial scandal which had the tabloids in a frenzy. Langley Estate was no longer news. The coroner’s report ruled that William’s death had been an accidental drowning, likely triggered by an asthma attack. The findings deemed there was no negligence or misadventure involved, rather praising the prompt actions of those at the scene. It couldn’t bring William back, but it had eased all of our minds, and though the incident had scarred us forever, healing would come. Phone calls with my family and friends yesterday had been full of love and hope.

  Three little kids were running back and forth under the snow, carefree, happy, without a worry in the world. I took off my beanie, shoved it in my pocket and joined them. I raised my head up to the sky, the snow hitting me on the face.

  It was all so beautiful, but all so fake.

  Like Alex Lord.

  Yeah, I’d take home good memories from my time as an exchange student, and my parents would welcome me home. It still jolted me that it was something William’s parents would never get to do again.

  Looking up once more, the snow fell in my eyes, making me blink. I wondered what it was—a mixture of foam or soapiness or something? We didn’t get a lot of snow where we lived, but when it did fall, William was always the most excited. There was no snow in Hong Kong.

  He would’ve loved this. He would’ve squealed like the kids around me and it wouldn’t matter that it wasn’t real.

  I stretched my hands up high, like I was reaching up to the sky. I don’t know, maybe William was up there somewhere—I didn’t know what I believed in about life after death. But I did know that he was a friend I would always love and miss.

  I felt a brush against my coat, and my f
ooting slipped, and then I was falling, tripping over my untied laces. In a bid to maintain balance, my arms floundered about me, but my hand got caught—with someone’s arm trying to grab me and keep me upright.

  There were moments of sliding, a glimmer of hope of being saved, then realization that I was going down anyway...

  My eyes looked back

  And then flicked up to the heavens

  I had an uncanny sense that everything was going to be all right

  Yeah, I was going down

  But the person I was going down with was Blaire Ashley...

  Chapter 20

  Alex’s reaction to my arrival was muted. Okay, so maybe there wasn’t much of a chance for him to show his excitement when Lily and Olivia were jumping all over me, but it would have been nice if he’d smiled, or waved, or even looked directly at me.

  The phone conversation we’d had before Christmas had thrown me. It was because of Alex that my father had demanded the school check the security cameras, yet when I told him that it had cleared my name, he’d displayed little joy—just as he was doing now.

  He’d sat wordlessly as I confessed my true identity to everyone. Once the truth had sunk in, of course he would feel deceived. And let’s face it, I’d misled him. Well, I’d misled everyone, but especially him.

  Because I knew he’d given me a piece of his heart. Our connection hadn’t been nothing, our kisses hadn’t been nothing. He’d been falling for Blaire Ashley, only to find there was no such person.

  And now Lily was holding back the curtain, making me peer through the window. Alex was standing in the snow, his hands in his pockets, looking up above. It had been Margaret’s brilliant idea about the snow making machine. I didn’t even know they existed.

  “Go to him,” Lily whispered.

  “No, I can’t. He’s mad at me,” I whispered back. Apprehension had crept its way through my body. I dreaded facing him, his words already formulated in my mind. Alex was going to say that nothing we had could have been real. That I’d been pretending the whole time. He was going to break up with me. Gah, he probably already had!