The Reckless Prince (Royal Billionaires of Mondragón Book 4)

by Jewel Allen

  “Okay.” I reached for her hand, squeezed, and let it go. “I’m here when you need to talk.”

  She sniffled and flashed me a grateful look. The fact that she’d been hurting made my heart hurt for her. “That was sweet of you to come and see if I’m okay.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “And I’m sorry I didn’t invite you to have dinner with my family. I was scared of all their questions, and…ugh…it’s complicated.”

  I pushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “I know.”

  She gave me a sad-sweet smile.

  “Does this mean we’re officially ‘together’?”

  “Even better.” She ran her fingers along my stubble. “Sunday-dinner together.”

  The moment was quiet and ripe with possibilities. I was prepared to get up and get back out on the field, but something sparked in her eye. A gleam of affection. A glow. It was as though she were pulling me toward her by some unseen magnetic force. I swallowed and glanced at her parted lips.

  I moved closer, and when she didn’t pull back, I planted a soft kiss on her mouth. A caress for a couple of heartbeats.

  When we parted, she gazed at me with wonder.

  I reached up and trailed a finger on her cheek, feeling her tremble. Standing, I held out a hand to help her up. As she got to her feet, the movement rocked her directly into my arms.

  No longer able to fight my feelings, my mouth captured hers.

  Her body stiffened with shock, and then she melted against me. She kissed me back, our bodies pressed together with an air of desperate need.

  I had missed her so much.

  For a few intense seconds, I kissed her, my hands settling at her waist, our sides leaning against the building wall. Luxuriating in her warmth and taste and the feel of her body next to mine.

  She pushed at my chest and broke the kiss, her lips well-loved and swollen, tempting. When I reached for her again, she shook her head with a wry smile. “We better head back.”

  “All right.” I pulled her close and leaned my forehead against hers to let her know that she continued to rock my world.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Gemma

  The rest of the afternoon, it was hard to train the kids near Diego without following him with my eyes. Cherise was no fool and gave me knowing glances. Mike glowered as he probably sensed that things had changed. Shifted.

  In the middle of a drill, Diego bumped into me playfully. I let him steady me at the waist for a good two seconds before I shoved him out of the way, sticking my tongue out. He chuckled and tried to chase me, but I weaved around the kids so he couldn’t get to me.

  We were acting silly, and I didn’t really care. Well, I did, but my head was in the clouds, and I didn’t feel like I had a care in the world.

  My eyes drifted constantly to Diego, watching him interact with the children. At least we were even—he kept looking my way too, so the distraction was mutual. Finally, the day was over, and the kids safely matched up with their rides. Two strong arms capture me at the waist, and I turned around.

  “Finally,” Diego said, pulling me close.

  As much as I would have liked to continue being held by him, I had to maintain a sense of decorum. The other staff were still around, putting things away, and Mike was watching us.

  “Diego,” I scolded him. “Not here.”

  “Sorry.” He let me go with a wink, and we went back to helping the others.

  Minutes later, as Mike passed Diego, he shoved him. Diego’s hand shot out, grabbing the front of his shirt. He opened his mouth as though to say something but instead shut it.

  Mike shrugged out of Diego’s grasp with a smirk and walked off to finish cleaning up.

  I watched Mike walk away from his tantrum and turned my gaze to Diego. “I’m proud of you for not lashing out at him.”

  “Believe me, it was hard.” Diego caught my hand and squeezed it. “What do you say we have dinner tonight. Just you and me?”

  I bit my lip. Jason was due to leave the next day for his conference, and he’d been hounding me to finish the marketing materials. Fortunately, they would all be in digital form, but I still needed to do one final pass-through.

  “Let me check in with Jason. Maybe we could grab a bite to eat and then come back?”

  “Sounds good.” Diego’s eyes shone.

  I smiled on my way to Jason’s office.

  He looked up from his computer as I tapped on his door. “Got it for me?”

  “I can in a bit. I just wanted you to know that I’m going to grab a bite to eat—”

  “Unbelievable.” He shoved his chair back and made an impatient sound. “I give you this one task, and you fail me. I knew I shouldn’t have given you the assignment.”

  Tears stung my eyes at his attack. “Now listen,” I said, “I’m still getting it done. I just need to proof it. I’d hate for something glaring to show up on your presentation. I thought I would break for dinner like a normal person.”

  His mouth twisted. “I still have to pack, and I didn’t want to have to come back to the office. Never mind. Just give me the file, and I’ll do it, seeing that you aren’t up to snuff.”

  I couldn’t breathe. My skin felt hot. It was as though I was burning from the inside out, torched by this man who had no decency to treat me with respect.

  “Jason, that’s enough.”

  His expression hardened. “Excuse me?”

  “I said, that’s enough.” I balled my fists. “I’ve taken enough abuse.”

  “Let me get this straight. You consider me expecting you to do your work abuse?” He made a scoffing noise. “That’s rich!”

  “It’s one thing to demand the best of your employees, but it’s another for you to belittle me. I won’t stand for it.”

  “Those poor children out there. You won’t dare leave this training camp—and them.”

  “Watch me. And I’ll make sure they know where I am so they can train with me.”

  His face turned red. “If you do, I’ll sue you for breach of contract.”

  “I don’t have a no-compete clause. I checked.” I felt like a jerk for doing this, but today I was glad I’d checked ahead of time. Jason didn’t deserve my consideration.

  “Way to bite the hand that feeds you.” His face turned red. “I’m going to fire you, I swear.”

  “Too late. I quit.” I left him with his mouth hanging open.

  I marched off into my office to gather my things. I was so angry I had to calm myself down for a minute just to not drop anything. I didn’t have much in the office. I’d always meant to get around to decorating it, but now I realized I just hadn’t felt it was my happy place. Despite the unknowns of what I had done and a niggling worry about the children, I had to do what I had to do. And it felt great.

  I hefted my belongings in a crate and went straight to Jason’s office. Fear filled his eyes, which made me want to laugh, but I simply set a white thumb drive on his desk. He looked at it like it was a gigantic hairy caterpillar.

  I probably should have said something nice like, “Good luck,” but I couldn’t trust myself to speak. I barreled out of the building with my belongings, right into view of the rest of the staff. Diego’s smile died. Cherise cocked her head.

  “I just quit,” I announced.

  Man, it felt awesome to say that.

  Everyone’s mouths fell open. Ali blinked like an owl through her thick lenses.

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” Cherise exclaimed.

  “No, I’m not.” I walked straight up to Diego. I wanted, more than anything, to be held in his arms. But not in front of everyone. “Still want to go to dinner?”

  His eyes held concern. “Of course.”

  “Great.” I nodded, trying to keep everything in. “Let’s go.”

  “I can carry that,” Diego said, nodding at the crate.

  “Aren’t you going to explain?” Cherise wailed.

  I handed my crate to Diego and turned to
her. “I promise to tell you in a bit. I need to calm down, and I figured dinner would be good for me. Can I come over in an hour or two?”

  “How about us?” Mike interjected.

  “Us?” I frowned.

  “I mean, aren’t you going to tell Ali and me?”

  Ali nodded, blinking.

  “I will. I guess, my favor to all of you,” and here I swept Diego with my glance, “is to think if you want to stay with Jason or work for me in my own camp.”

  Cherise held a hand to her chest. “No question. Team Gemma all the way.”

  “Thanks, Cherise.” She really was sweet. “See you guys in a bit.”

  With that, I followed Diego to my car.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Diego

  I held Gemma in my arms between my legs on a picnic blanket she liked to carry around in her trunk for times like these, our burgers and fries half-eaten beside us. We’d picked a spot away from the bustle of the park, sheltered somewhat from Brigid and the crew. Gemma was about to tell me what led to her quitting the camp while I was planting kisses on the side of her face.

  “Diego,” she protested, not very convincingly. “Stop.”

  I pulled away and gazed into her eyes. “But why?”

  “I can’t concentrate. I’m trying to tell you a story.”

  “Okay. I’ll be good.” I contented myself with holding her, stroking her arms.

  “I’ve just put up with a lot from Jason from day one. I don’t know why I stayed so long.”

  “Let me guess. The children?”

  She nodded and burrowed her head in the crook of my neck. I held her even tighter. My heart felt like it was going to burst with love for this girl.

  Love.

  I really do love her.

  I punctuated the thought by kissing her full on the mouth—a salty, delicious kiss. “Sorry,” I murmured against her lips. “I couldn’t resist.”

  She surfaced for breath with a crooked smile and shook her head ruefully. “Anyway. Tonight he yelled at me for not getting him his file right then. Told me he knew I was incompetent and he shouldn’t have trusted me to do this job. Which really was an unjust accusation. I busted my chops for his stupid presentation! And that was when I couldn’t handle it anymore, so I quit.”

  “Good for you! Brava.”

  She sighed. “Only thing is, I have no plan B. In the back of my mind, I think I was aiming to quit someday. When I had all my ducks in a row.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She rubbed her cute nose against my cheek like a kitten.

  “You’re making it awfully hard for me to allow you to concentrate.” I made sure I communicated how much I wanted to kiss her at the moment.

  She watched me, fascinated, and then averted her eyes with a blush. “I’ve always had a dream of doing my own training camp.”

  “That makes sense. You’d be great at it. You practically run Jason’s.”

  “Yeah. I have all the mad skills, but no capital.”

  “No problem. I know someone who can invest in it.”

  “Oh?” She pushed away and gazed into my eyes. “Who?”

  “Me.”

  “No,” she hedged. “That’s…I couldn’t accept your money.”

  “I’d be a partner or something. I’m sure I can get my lawyer to draw it up.”

  “You would be my partner?” She blinked.

  “In more ways than one.” I couldn’t resist planting a kiss on her soft lips.

  “Diego, I don’t know.”

  “We’ll look into it, okay? I have more money in my trust than I know what to do with.”

  It was like I put the brakes on in a car. She stopped short and gaped at me. “Your trust?”

  “Yes. That’s where a bulk of my investment and charitable giving is tied up.”

  “I couldn’t possibly. I’m sure your family would have a fit. I mean, we’ve known each other for only two weeks.”

  “So? My brothers have a track record for whirlwind romances. My mother’s pretty tolerant of them by now.

  I hoped.

  “But what if—”

  “What if what?”

  She raised fearful eyes to mine. “What if we break up?”

  I raised her hand to my lips and kissed it while staring deep into her eyes. “Then we wouldn’t want to break up, would we?”

  “But breakups happen in real life.” Her eyes looked troubled.

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. To get your camp off the ground, you’ll have plenty to do. At least we’ve got the money part squared away.”

  She laughed and then groaned. “I’m crazy, that’s what I am. I can’t possibly do this. Conjure up a camp from thin air! I have no equipment, staff, nothing! I don’t even own a single decent ball!”

  “We can buy all that.”

  Her body relaxed. “Okay. Thanks for the encouragement. I think I can do this.”

  “You totally can.” I hugged her close.

  She pushed slightly away and studied my face. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

  I took a deep breath like I was just about to skydive out of a plane. “Because I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Gemma

  I didn’t doubt the sincerity of Diego’s words. Between his solemn gaze, his tender touch, and the way his solid arms made me feel secure—I could believe him. But everything was happening too fast, combining in alarming ways. All on the same day, I quit my job, discussed a partnership with this man, and had him declare he was falling in love with me. In the back of my mind, I wondered if he had done this with other women. Google hadn’t brought up any previous scandalous relationships, but still…

  “Anyway,” he said, “as important as that is, I have another reason to invest. You love the children, you love the sport, and I know you’ll get this business up and running successfully.”

  “Profit can’t be the top concern, I’m afraid.”

  “As long as you can operate it lean and the business pays for itself, it’s not a problem.”

  “That’s really generous of you.”

  “Of course.” His gaze caressed my face. “I’ve seen you with those kids. You’re a natural with them, and it would be a shame if you had to work for some other imbecile again.”

  I laughed. “I shouldn’t laugh, but that’s a pretty fitting word for him.” I sobered. “We’ll have to do things pretty quickly. I have enough credit to float us in the meantime.”

  “We’ll replenish it with my share.”

  The thought of all the aspects to take care of overwhelmed me. “There’s so much to do!”

  “Just take it one thing at a time. I’ll help you.”

  I cocked my head. “Have you run a soccer camp before?”

  “No, but I’ve been in plenty. Plus, I imagine if you tell people you will have a La Liga player on your board, they’ll sit up and hop on it.”

  “A player that’s been suspended for reckless behavior,” I teased.

  “Well, yeah.” He shrugged. “At least it’s not for a crime or a DUI or a celebrity gone bad—”

  I pulled him into a kiss and silenced his words. He was adorable. And it was true: for all his reputation, he was about as perfect as a guy could be. After a moment of surprise, he started kissing me back, until he had me weak and woozy and happy.

  “Well, that was nice,” he said.

  “You’re wonderful.”

  “And that warranted a kiss?” He chuckled. “I expect kisses, then, all the time, because that’s how wonderful I am.”

  “There’s one thing…”

  “Yes?” He looked like he was bracing himself.

  “What will happen to us after the five weeks is over?”

  He gazed at me for several seconds. “I don’t know. I want to say this will be a forever thing—”

  “You mean fling?”

  “Gemma.”

  “Sorry. I…I try to not overthink ever
ything, but when I remember that you’re leaving, I…never mind. Just hold me for now.”

  I held her, but the mood had changed. There was still that wedge between us. I wanted to promise her the moon, but she was right. There were no guarantees in life. “Even if the future is uncertain, I know you mean a lot to me. I want this to work for both of us. For that to happen, we need to give us a chance.”

  I digested his words, hoping he was right.

  He pulled me in for a sweet kiss. When our breaths settled once again, I traced a pattern on his muscles over his shirt. “This afternoon, when you saw me crying, I told you I would explain.”

  He nodded, his eyes full of concern.

  “Cherise had asked me if I would invite you to my sister’s wedding. I told her I was planning to go with Mike.”

  His brows came together. “What?”

  “Don’t worry. I think plans have changed since.” I kissed him. He tried to chase my mouth back when I pulled away, but I put my finger on his. “I told her I didn’t see why I should ask you, or encourage our relationship, because you’re leaving.”

  He pushed my hair away from my face. “And then?”

  “I said…I hate to admit this…but here goes. I told her I didn’t see how I could be happy with you anyway because you’ll live a life full of sports while I can’t…I can’t run anymore.”

  “You can’t?”

  I shook my head. “I actually need surgery to repair my meniscus. Again.”

  “Are you in pain?” He ran his warm palm over my knee.

  “Just when I move suddenly. Or twist wrong.”

  “Ouch.” He kissed my knuckles. “You poor thing. I’ve had my share of surgeries in my lifetime.”

  “I bet.”

  “We can compare scars someday.”

  It was an innocent remark—at least, I liked to think it was—but I felt myself blushing. “Anyway, back to my envy of you.”

  “I would be envious too.” He squeezed me tenderly. “But wouldn’t it be fun to eat, live, and breathe soccer together?”