by Avery Wilde
“Don’t cry, please. Listen,” he started, rubbing my back comfortingly. “I’m sorry about last night. I should have never pushed you that far or said the things I said to you.”
“Edward,” I started as he leaned back and framed my face with his warm hands, a lopsided smile on his face.
“Rose, you are probably the closest thing to a friend that I have right now, and I really would hate to lose that.”
My heart wrenched tightly in my chest, seeing the earnest look on his face. He was killing me. I desperately wanted to stay in blissful ignorance forever, to forget Brent and everything else that was going on and to simply stare into his eyes. I loved the man, and I was going to ruin him at the same time. He was going to hate me for this, but I had to tell him. He deserved to know what was going on. “Edward, we have a problem,” I said softly, my eyes searching his. “I fucked up. We really need to talk. But not here,” I said as I noticed a few of the committee members lingering by the exit.
Surprise flared in the depths of his eyes as he released me, clearing his throat. “Of course. Shall we go to my flat then?”
I nodded and allowed him to lead the way, climbing into his car instead of going to mine. I could always come back and get it when he kicked me out of his place. We drove in silence until we reached his residence, not even saying two words to Jim as he opened the door. I could feel the tension in the air when we climbed into the lift together, a thousand apologies running through my mind as we entered his place. I didn’t even know how to approach this, so I just figured there was no reason to sugar-coat it.
“I’ve ruined your life.”
Edward turned toward me, wariness on his face as he looked at me. “What? Is this about the photo in the paper today?”
I shook my head, thinking of all the other damaging photos to come. “I-I’m about to ruin your life,” I tried again, tears springing to my eyes once more. “I’m about to ruin everything you’ve done, Edward, and I am so sorry for it.”
“What are you talking about, Rose?” he asked calmly. “You’re not making any sense.”
“The p-pictures,” I forced out. “Last night. Someone else has them, and they are threatening to go to the press with them. You will be ruined. It will be the scandal of the century… sex photos of royal. Oh, god.”
Edward’s jaw worked, and I wiped my eyes, so scared of what he was going to do next. My heart was breaking at the thought of being solely responsible for his demise with his father, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Edward’s face was clear in those photos, however innocent they were. No one was going to believe that nothing else happened between us or the reasoning as to why they had happened. “Who?”
“My ex,” I said, my voice breaking. “He still had access to the Dropbox account, and I forgot to delete them before they synced to my account.”
“You didn’t give them to him then?” he asked, his voice quiet.
“What? Of course not!” I said immediately, hurt that he would think I would do such a thing. I thought I’d already proven to him that I was no blackmailer, nor did I want to see my boobs or nether regions plastered all over each and every front page in England… or worldwide, for surely that was what would happen; a story like this would be unstoppable.
Shit, I would have to tell my family first, just in case I couldn’t talk Brent out of it. They were going to be so disappointed in me, and the thought of them turning their backs on me, disowning me, made me want to vomit. I couldn’t go through that again, and I couldn’t weather this scandal without them, either.
Edward finally lost some of the coolness he’d been clinging to and kicked the nearby chair, sending it across the room. “Dammit!”
I watched as he stalked across the room and threw open the fridge door, grabbing a couple of beers before slamming it shut. “Beer?”
I shook my head. I would be sick. “I’m so sorry, Edward,” I tried again as he popped the top and guzzled one of them. “I never meant for this to happen.”
“Don’t be sorry, Rose,” he said harshly, putting the bottles on the counter before walking toward me. I shrank back as he grabbed my upper arms, his touch gentle but firm on my skin. “You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s me that should be apologising to you, for putting you in this predicament. It was my idea to have our mini-photoshoot, after all. I don’t give a shit about my reputation. I’m more pissed that you have been dragged into this.”
“But you will lose everything,” I reminded him as his hands trailed down my arms to encircle my waist. His touch was devastation and salvation all at the same time.
Edward chuckled, anger and what I thought was lust etched on his face. “I doubt that. I might lose my father’s backing, his money, but I won’t lose everything, Rose.” He then leaned down and brushed his lips over my stunned ones, whispering against them. “I can fix this.”
“B-but how?” I asked, stunned that he was reacting this way. Didn’t he understand the implications? Didn’t he understand that he would be ruined?
His thumbs caressed my hip bones as he gave me a grin, one that sent sparks spiralling down to the pit of my stomach, easing and all but vanquishing the earlier nausea, replacing it with a warm glow instead. “Easy. We will announce our engagement. No one will think twice about the pictures then.”
It took a full second for the brunt of his words to sink in. “What?” I nearly shouted, stepping out of his arms, the mere suggestion throwing my feelings into a tailspin. “No, no that is not going to fix this. They’re still nude pictures of us—”
“Oh, it will. I know what the press are like,” Edward laughed, watching me as I paced his floor. “Just think. If we are engaged, everyone will think the pictures were a private moment between two people who are in love. Your bastard of an ex will look like the world’s most jealous person for intruding on our privacy and that of the royal family. Think about it, Rose. It’s the perfect solution.”
“B-but I’m not even royalty. I have no lineage, I’m just me,” I sputtered out. His family was going to hit the roof, not only at the announcement but also the scandal that was sure to follow. “This isn’t going to work.”
Edward looked at me, a strange look coming over his face. “Do you not want to be engaged to me?”
My mouth dropped open, surprised that he would even consider that as a reason. He was sought after by so many women that one would have to be stupid to not want to be engaged to such a man. And I’d had the benefit of seeing the hidden side of Edward, too, the side that no one else really knew existed.
Him as my fiancé? I wouldn’t want anything more. But reality was a fickle creature. No one would believe an engagement between the two of us was real in the first place. “It has nothing to do with you,” I finally said. “It’s too far-fetched to believe, Edward.”
He walked over and snatched up the paper lying on the table, thrusting it toward me. “Apparently not. I would imagine there are already bets being taken to figure out how long it’s going to take.”
I took the paper, my heart hammering in my chest as I read the headline. …Tamed the Black Sheep? Me? The picture was definitely not one of mine, which made me wonder how we hadn’t seen someone following us. Though it was an innocent picture, I could see where the mistake would lie. We had been discussing his next steps, our heads bent together as we had walked back to his car. To any passer-by we looked like a couple even though he wasn’t even touching me.
“My brother wanted to know what was going on between us just this morning,” he continued as I clasped the paper to my chest. “So it wouldn’t be such a surprise, Rose, if you could stomach the idea of being engaged to me.”
The hurt in his voice was evident with his biting words, and I sighed inwardly, wishing he could understand. This had nothing to do with that and everything to do with my growing feelings for him. Could I go along with a sham engagement not knowing for sure how he truly felt?
My eyes, full of renewed tears, widened as Edwar
d took my hand and knelt down on one knee.
“Rose Victoria Mathis, will you marry me?”
17
Edward
I waited. What else could I do? I thought she would throw her arms around me and tell me yes a thousand times over. No, I thought as I looked at her wrestling with my proposal, Rose would never throw herself at anyone. She was level-headed and smart about everything she did. I couldn’t imagine exactly what was going on in her mind right then, but no doubt she was rationalising and considering every aspect and whether they made sense or not.
Damn her ex. Those pictures were supposed to be a way for me to show her that she was beautiful and to break her out of her shell, not shame her publicly and drag her into the nasty world of the tabloids that I already lived in! I could kill the bastard for what he was threatening to do to the both of us. And her worry about me was ill placed at best. While Father would be pissed about the newest scandal, we could weather the storm as long as she accepted my proposal. Without it, well, the entire ordeal was about to be ugly. And I would be lost without her.
“Edward…”
“Please, Rose. Don’t leave me hanging here.”
She reclaimed her hands and stepped away. “It’s not being engaged to you that has me worried,” she finally said, a nervous tremble in her voice that had me on high alert. “It’s the thought of people actually believing it.”
“The hell with all of them,” I said, annoyed that she was worried what others thought, but I could read between the lines, too. She didn’t think I meant it. Thought I was just trying to protect her. But the thought of marrying her, making this real, made me feel like the luckiest fucking man on the planet. “I didn’t ask them for their opinion, I asked you.”
“Edward,” she said, exasperated with the situation. “Can we just slow down for a moment and rationally think through this?”
I ran a hand through my hair roughly and stalked over to her, settling my hands on her shoulders. “I’ve thought about it,” I said, looking into her unusual eyes. “And it’s a damn good plan, Rose. Let me protect you. Let me help you through this. Let me be yours?”
“What if he’s calling my bluff?” she asked softly, her eyes searching mine. “Then you would have done this, shackled yourself to me for no reason at all.”
“What if he isn’t?” I shot back gently. “Worst case is that he doesn’t do it and we break our engagement quietly after a period of time… if that’s what you wanted.” If she was so damned determined not to be engaged to me, I could let her go in the end regardless of the outcome. Hell these tender feelings were new to me, as well. I wanted to shelter her in one instance and let her go so she could be happy in the next. Shit, she scared the hell out of me.
“We really need to think about this, I need to think about it. Alone,” she said, exhaling. I stepped away from her then and gave her a shrug, trying hard not the let the hurt of rejection shine through.
“Sure, anything you want.”
“Can I give you an answer tomorrow?” she asked. I nodded and she turned toward the lift, jabbing at the button like she was trying to flee the devil’s lair.
“It’s going to be okay, Rose,” I called after her, causing her to turn to look at me. “I will protect you; we can make this work. You can trust me.”
“I know,” she replied softly as the lift doors opened. I turned away then, resisting the urge to run after her and force her to accept my proposal.
I waited until she was fully out of the building, watching her from the window until she disappeared down the road sheltered by big elm trees. I picked up my phone and dialled my brother’s number.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Andrew, I need your help,” I said, struggling to contain my anger and frustration. “Can you meet me at the club on St. James’ in a few minutes?”
Andrew sighed and I knew he was looking at his watch, no doubt checking to see if he was going to be late to any appointments if he gave in to my request. That was another difference between the two of us. I could barely make anything on time, and Andrew liked to arrive ten minutes early. “White’s? Yes, I have some time. Should I bring any bail money?” he said, laughing.
“Funny. Just get there—oh actually, I do need something,” I said sharply and explained what I needed him to do. His help would be paramount to me being able to weather this scandal. It was only a matter of time before Rose saw that this was going to be the best thing for her, and I wanted to be prepared for the backlash that was going to happen from my own family as a result.
Shoving a hand through my hair, I stood in my living room, then smoothed down the creases of the suit Rose had forced me to wear for the charity meeting that morning. It was a good thing, too. It saved me from having to get changed to be allowed into the exclusive gentlemen’s club that was White’s. They just barely tolerated my existence and membership, but it wouldn’t do to go in there in my scruff—a jeans and t-shirt… that would’ve turned into a scandal in itself.
With a plan forming in my head, I felt like I was actually on the edge of something great. I truly wanted to be engaged to Rose. Hell, I was both ecstatic and sick to my stomach at the same time. I didn’t want to fail her. That was the thought that was popping into my head now. I didn’t want her to see me as a complete and utter failure as the man in her life. I wanted to wow her. I wanted her to be proud to be by my side. I wanted to be the man she dreamed about at night. I wanted to be her everything.
Exhaling a slow, steady breath, I walked to the lift. It was time to meet my brother, break the news to him, and get him on my side.
“What the hell were you thinking? I thought you were trying to get on Father’s good side, not drive the wedge in further!”
I polished off the last dram of whisky and sat back, lacing my hands over my stomach and looking up at the barrel-shaped roof of the club’s coffee room, where lunch was being served. Usually I would’ve joined Andrew and had a serving of grouse, but I opted for a liquid lunch instead. I needed to keep my nerves steady and my courage up as I delivered the news to him. It wasn’t a rare occurrence for Andrew to be in attendance at the club, so most of the members paid us no mind, but as soon as my words registered, Andrew’s outburst had heads turning. Of course, they didn’t dare say anything about it—he was, after all, in line for the throne. They merely carried on with their own meals.
“I know it sounds crazy, but if those photos go out, it’s going to be a shit storm, Andrew.”
“How the hell do you get yourself into these messes? It’s like you purposely seek them out,” he said roughly, his cooling meal all but forgotten. “Are you sure she didn’t set this thing up herself to get her hooks into you?”
“Don’t,” I warned, my voice low. I had complete faith in the fact that Rose had nothing to do with those photos getting into the hands of her ex. It had been my idea to take them, and I remembered her reluctance to allow me to do so in the first place. No, she had nothing to do with it.
“You have to at least consider it—”
“I have. And no. She would never do that.”
“Fine,” Andrew said, slumping in his chair. “But Father is going to hit the roof. If I didn’t know better, I would think you were trying to give him a heart attack.” I sighed, my patience wearing thin. “However, I do think that you are right by trying to take some of the heat out of the potential scandal.” He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a packet of papers. “Here. I got the information you asked for on that boyfriend of hers. He won’t be too hard to intimidate. I have a few friends in MI5 who’d jump at the chance to do me a favour.”
“Ex-boyfriend,” I muttered, taking the papers. I had texted my brother to do some research before he came to meet me so that I would have ammunition when I met with the asshole who was threatening to ruin Rose’s life. And I planned on meeting with him in the very near future. “Thanks, Andrew. But that’s a little heavy-handed, don’t you think? I’ll take care of it myself n
ow that I have these.”
“Well, if you’re sure, just let me know if you change your mind,” my brother responded, cocking his head to the side, then adding, “You’re really into this girl, aren’t you?”
“Damn right I am,” I said, setting the papers down beside my empty glass. “Rose is… she’s everything. I would like for you to meet her properly this time.”
Andrew nodded, and I thought back to how she and I had left it that morning. I knew no amount of talking with her or showing her the benefits was going to persuade her that this was the right thing to do. Rose was going to make up her mind when she was good and ready. I just hoped it was soon, before my heart shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.
Andrew took a sip of his water and then stood, smoothing out his jacket even though there wasn’t a wrinkle in sight. “I better go. Someone has to warn Father before it leaks.”
“Don’t tell him yet,” I begged, wanting to give Rose some time to think over the proposal and actually accept it before the hounds of the royal family set upon her. “Let her decide first.”
“Then hold off those photos,” Andrew replied. “You know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, Edward, but I only want what’s best for you, brother. I know you have your reasons why you do some things, and I can respect that. Just know I will be here for you. I’ll make sure you’re protected, too, no matter what.”
“Thanks, Andrew,” I said, my throat suddenly tight. It meant a great deal for my brother to show his support. I hadn’t been the easiest of people to get along with over the years, and he had bailed me out more stupid situations than I cared to admit. He nodded and walked off, leaving me to brood in silence. This was going to work. It had to work. If it didn’t, I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do.
18
Rose
I stared at the front page of the paper and smiled, touching Edward’s face gently as he grinned up at me. The news of Edward’s involvement in the orphanage’s fundraiser had made it to the press, and he was on the front page again. His smiling picture had been one of mine, one that showed off his handsome features and that strong jaw that I was so fond of. The fluff piece that followed would make anyone proud, talking about all the good Edward was going to do with the money they were about to raise. And while I had written it, it had been Edward’s own humble and honest words I had interjected into the article. I fully believed that he was going to accomplish all of those things. Edward wasn’t a type to say one thing and do another.
