by Heidi Rice
Anticipation fired through his system—making him feel like a child on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa to arrive, even though he’d never been allowed to believe in Santa as a child.
He would whisk Jade away to his father’s old lodge. It was beautiful and secluded. And would allow them the privacy they needed—heat blasted through his system—to finally feed the hunger that had been building for the last five days. And in the days afterwards, he would have Jade all to himself to get her to accept his proposal of marriage.
CHAPTER SIX
‘JUNO, IT’S SO good to hear your voice.’
Juno pressed the phone to her ear, the sound of her sister’s breathless voice turning the butterflies in her stomach into a battalion.
‘Sorry I couldn’t get to the phone straight away,’ Jade added. ‘It’s... It’s pretty early here. And I thought we agreed we wouldn’t contact each other, just in case?’
Juno had started to panic when her sister hadn’t picked up immediately and the call had gone to voicemail. Why hadn’t Jade answered straight away? Her sister was usually so on it, especially first thing in the morning?
Chill out, Juno. You’re projecting.
‘Jade... I... It’s wonderful to hear you too,’ she said, the sting of tears roughening her voice. She took a calming breath to beat down the butterfly battalion. ‘I’m sorry I woke you up,’ she added. ‘And I know I’m not supposed to call, but...’
But what, exactly? Juno stalled.
She’d rehearsed this conversation a thousand times since she and Leo had agreed to a no-strings affair three days ago and she still did not know what she wanted to say to her sister...
She was so confused, so conflicted—racked with guilt and yet at the same time full of excitement, anticipation...yearning.
Agreeing to jump Leo and let him jump her tonight after the ball was wrong on so many levels it wasn’t even funny but at the same time felt so right.
She had so many questions she didn’t have answers to, the most glaring of which was like a ten-ton elephant that wasn’t just in the room any more, it was now sitting on her chest and twirling.
Should she tell Leo who she really was before they did it? After they did it? Not at all? Wouldn’t the truth risk ruining everything, not just for her, and Leo, but for Jade, too? But if she didn’t tell him, would she be able to live with herself? Live with the guilt?
If this connection was just about sex, would it be so wrong to continue to pretend to be her sister? If they’d already agreed that the discussion about marriage wasn’t a part of this development? And really what she’d discovered about Leo, and what Leo had discovered about her, was all true. He’d loved the way she handled herself during their engagements, and they’d found it harder and harder to keep their hands off each other in the last three days. Why couldn’t tonight’s ball and what happened afterwards be about who they were, instead of who they were not...?
The hypothetical arguments had spun around in her head over the last three days like out-of-control dodgems at a fairground, getting faster and faster, banging into one another, but never finding a place to stop.
‘Juno, what’s wrong?’ her sister said, picking up on her unease from over four thousand miles away, and the hypothetical dodgems slowed, momentarily.
‘Something, something’s happened,’ Juno blurted out. ‘Something... I really did not expect...’ Her voice trailed off. How to explain that combustible chemistry and the connection she’d established with Leo in the last seven days? How did she make sense of it to Jade? When she didn’t really understand it herself?
‘Is this about Leo, and your state visit to Severene?’ her sister said. ‘You make a great couple.’
‘We’re not a couple,’ Juno said, instantly. Not only were they not a couple yet, but even if they became one, tonight, after the ball, as planned, it could never be more than a fleeting, physical connection. That she knew for sure.
‘Are you certain?’ Jade’s voice was gentle, coaxing—and so devoid of judgement, the dodgems started revving their engines again. ‘You look happy together in all the press coverage. And by the way you’re doing a stunning job impersonating me. Better than I could do myself.’
‘I’m just good at faking it,’ Juno said.
‘You’re not faking anything, Ju, you’re a natural,’ her sister replied, the wistful tone confusing Juno more. ‘I always told you Papa was wrong not to consider you as his successor, and now I get to say I told you so.’
‘Aren’t you angry with me?’ Juno asked.
‘Why would I be angry?’ Her sister sounded genuinely puzzled.
‘Because I’m not supposed to be in Severene? Because this swap was never supposed to get this complicated? Because I could end up completely screwing up Monrova’s diplomatic relationship with Severene.’
If Leo found out who she really was—and went ballistic—which was a distinct possibility.
The truth was, she had no real clue how Leo would react.
He might think it was funny, sexy, cool. But what if he didn’t? What if he got super mad and ended up hating her? What if it caused a diplomatic incident? And he punished Jade, too? If this was just about sex would it be better never to tell him the truth? Just in case? To protect herself and her sister? She’d been rejected before, she knew just how much that hurt. And did she really have the right to risk Jade’s reputation, when she had been the one to push for this swap in the first place?
Every day she’d kept the secret, every day she’d got closer to Leo, discovered more about him, and herself, the stakes had got higher. It had never been her intention to hurt anyone. But in the last week, all the possible ramifications of what could happen if she told Leo the truth—good and bad—had begun to torture her.
Three days ago, Leo’s offer of a private no-strings fling had seemed like the perfect solution. If the marriage was off the table, how could sleeping with him do any harm?
And Leo was the one who had suggested it.
Now every time he looked at her as if he wanted to devour her, and she melted in response; every time he winked at her or smiled at her, and she became breathless; every time she looked at him and saw the traumatised child as well as the man he had become, she knew this thing between them was about her and Leo, not Jade and Leo, and certainly not some arranged marriage...
‘No, I’m not angry about any of that,’ her sister said at last, interrupting Juno’s frantic qualifications. ‘I’ve come to realise, seeing the press reports of you two, that Leo and I were never meant to be together,’ Jade added. ‘I’m really glad you persuaded me to come to New York.’ She paused. ‘It’s been an eye-opening experience for me. I also think it’s super cute that there seems to be something developing between you two.’
‘There’s nothing developing between us. Nothing permanent anyway,’ Juno murmured.
Whether she told Leo who she really was or not, nothing could come of their liaison. ‘It’s just... There’s a lot of chemistry between us,’ she said. ‘And I like him more than I ever expected to.’
Leo wasn’t the man she had thought he was. He had depth and layers, he was complicated, with a past not nearly as easy and entitled as she had assumed. He had struggled with his place in the world, just as she had. In fact, he’d struggled more.
She had been dismissed by her father because she was never going to be Queen, and King Andreas had considered his responsibilities to the Crown more important than his responsibilities to his daughters. But Leo had been abused by his own father; if King Constantin had believed that maintaining a dignified front at a funeral mattered more than comforting a grieving child she very much doubted it was the only time he had hit his son.
Their shared pain had given them a connection—but they had dealt with that pain in very different ways. While she had rejected her royal heritage and reacted to her father’s neglect b
y being more rebellious, more reckless, more irresponsible, Leo had done the opposite. He didn’t even seem to acknowledge the extent of his father’s abuse, nor did he resent his duty to the Crown. And while a week ago she would have thought less of him for that, now she felt more. She’d watched Leo in the last week taking on his responsibilities, refusing to shirk them, even though she now knew how hard some of that was for him. And that had made her think of Jade too, and how Jade had done the same.
While Juno had always taken the easy route, the selfish route, the path of least resistance and done precisely what she chose.
If this week with Leo had done one thing, it had given her a maturity she hadn’t realised she lacked. Made her realise there was more to life than personal freedom, that some things were bigger than yourself. Leo had taught her that. And she hoped in return she’d helped Leo to lighten up a little, to not take every element of his job so seriously, and to forgive that little boy for crying at his mother’s funeral.
‘Are you sure there’s nothing more between you?’ Jade said, sounding wistful. ‘From the press reports I’ve seen, he looks at you in a way he’s never looked at any of the other women he’s dated.’
Juno’s heart galloped into her throat at the softly spoken question. She swallowed heavily, trying to push down the foolish bubble of hope.
That’s because he thinks I’m a real queen.
‘No, there’s nothing more,’ she said.
Don’t go getting even more delusional than you are already, Ju.
As much as she had come to care for Leo, anything more than satisfying the chemistry that had been driving them both nuts for seven days was not going to happen. Because she would always be a fake... And he was the real deal.
‘Jade, I just...’ Juno began again. Just get to the point. ‘What I need to know, the reason I called, is...’ Juno swallowed—could this actually get any more awkward? ‘If Leo and I jump each other tonight. I mean, he’s asked me and I... I really want to go for it. Because, you know, chemistry,’ she said, trying to sound pragmatic when she was struggling to breathe. ‘We’ve agreed it won’t mean anything beyond the physical. That it won’t have any political implications. That the marriage is a whole separate issue. But if you’d rather we didn’t... I mean, I don’t want to mess things up for you... With Leo.’
‘Juno, you’re not serious—what possible claim would I have on Leonardo?’
‘Well, you know, you were considering marrying him a week ago,’ Juno said.
Jade laughed, interrupting Juno’s guilt trip.
‘The marriage was always just about securing a trade relationship and uniting our two kingdoms,’ Jade said easily enough. ‘I can’t believe I ever thought that would be okay.’
‘Jade, you don’t sound like yourself,’ Juno said, noticing the strange tone in her sister’s voice for the first time, a tone she’d never heard before. Jade had always been so certain about her role in life, her duties and responsibilities. Juno had wanted to shake things up with this swap, but now she wondered if she’d shaken them up too much. ‘Are you sure everything is going okay in New York?’
As usual she’d made this call about her. Why hadn’t she asked Jade for details about what was happening Stateside?
‘It’s... Yes, it’s been really transformative in a lot of ways,’ Jade said, but Juno couldn’t tell from her sister’s tone whether that was a good thing, or not.
Juno’s concern increased.
‘I’m discovering things about myself I didn’t realise,’ Jade added. ‘Not all of which I like.’
‘What things?’ Juno asked, getting more concerned by the second. ‘There’s nothing about you not to like.’
‘I used to think the same thing.’ Jade laughed again, but the brittle note jarred.
‘If something’s happened, Jade, you can tell me, or we could swap back. Now.’
‘No. I don’t want to swap back, not yet. I’d really like to stay until New Year’s Eve, like we agreed,’ Jade added. ‘Unless you want to...’
‘No, I don’t want to swap back yet either,’ Juno admitted, glad that Jade at least seemed very sure about staying in New York as long as they’d originally agreed.
‘Listen, Ju, I’ve got to go,’ her sister said. ‘I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. But whatever you and Leo do, or don’t do, you have my blessing. Okay?’
‘Okay,’ she said, knowing she should be pleased her sister had given her carte blanche to do whatever she wanted with Leo tonight.
‘But do me a favour, don’t underestimate your feelings for him,’ Jade added. ‘They might be stronger than you think.’
Before Juno could reply, the line was dead, and her sister was gone.
Juno’s heart rate increased as she put down the phone. The giddy rush of anticipation at what tonight might bring ramping up.
But as she spent the next hours getting primped and prepped to within an inch of her life, she couldn’t shake the growing feeling of vertigo, as if she were standing on the edge of a precipice and Jade’s blessing had just brought her one step closer to the fall.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE CHRISTMAS BALL was Severene’s premiere event of the year and one of Europe’s most sought-after social occasions. Dignitaries and VIPs, politicians and A-list celebrities were flown in from all over the globe to attend. The palace ballroom—considerably larger than the one in Monrova—glowed with the twinkle of a thousand tiny lights, the walls festooned with ribbon and garlands, silver baubles and gold leaves, to ring in the festive season. A thirty-foot fir tree from Severene’s pine forest stood like a beacon in the far corner aglow with green fairy lights and scarlet bows.
Beautiful people danced to a thirty-piece orchestra in the main ballroom, and mingled in the adjacent antechambers while being served cordon-bleu cuisine created by a battalion of Michelin-starred chefs and vintage champagne and wine curated by a world-renowned sommelier.
Juno floated through the evening on a wave of desperate hope and frantic excitement—while burying the unanswered questions deep.
As soon as Leo’s hand had folded over hers at the top of the wide sweeping staircase, where they were the last guests to be announced, and he led her down onto the marble floor of the ballroom, she’d made a conscious decision to live for the moment and deal with the decisions she had to make on an as and when basis.
She would play it by ear. Figure out what was the right thing to do when she needed to, and not before. Tonight was about living the dream and forgetting about the reality. Whatever happened it would be her last night with Leo; tomorrow she had to return to Monrova and, whether she told him who she really was or not, she could never see him again.
Whatever she did or didn’t tell Leo though, it gave her a giddy thrill to know that no one here even suspected a girl from Queens was masquerading as a queen among them tonight.
See, Father, for all my wild ways, I could have made a good queen. Just not your sort of queen.
Leo monopolised every one of her dances, and she could see the assembled throng going glassy-eyed at the romantic couple they made. Him in his red dress uniform, and her in a ball gown of rich emerald velvet that matched her eyes.
Their romance might be fake, but tonight the fairy tale felt real. And even if none of these people would ever know who she really was, she would know. And that was enough.
He’d helped her to prove her father wrong. And that mattered, even if tonight was their last night together.
She would miss him. In many ways he was the ultimate Prince Charming, handsome, dashing, demanding, unknowable, larger than life in every respect. But she couldn’t fall into the same trap as her mother—believing she could have more—when this was all there was.
She’d seen the press photos from the Christmas Ball over the years, a ball her sister had rarely attended, and locked the yearning to be here inside her�
�determined to believe she didn’t want the life that had been denied her. But tonight she could indulge every single one of those secret desires.
As the guest of honour at the ball, she had to mix and mingle, but Leo made no secret of the fact he wanted her in his arms as often as possible, so their royal duties were cut to a minimum.
Giddy with her new confidence, Juno fed on the adrenaline rush as he whisked her round under the twinkle of lights, and they played out the last of her Cinderella fantasy.
Anticipation skittered over her skin, every time his strong arms held her a little too close, or his subtle cologne filled her lungs, or his large hand rested on the small of her back.
As the clock struck midnight, and the revellers let up a cheer, a golden sleigh was hauled into the centre of the ballroom by six footmen, loaded down with elaborately wrapped gifts. As the guests began to help themselves, sighing and gasping at the kingdom’s largesse, Leo grasped Juno’s hand and tugged her towards the staircase they had descended together four hours before.
The adrenaline rush became turbocharged. Finally, they could be alone. The ball would wind down now, her state visit over. And the night they had committed to three days ago could begin.
There was nothing to stop them doing whatever they wanted into the early hours of the morning—and no one to see it.
He leaned down, his hand settling on her back, and whispered against her ear: ‘I have to say goodnight to a load of boring diplomats. But I’ll see you upstairs in fifteen minutes.’
The intense gaze that had been focussed on her all evening made her pulse jump and jitter. ‘But I’ll need to get Jennie to help me get out of this gown,’ she said.
His gaze dropped to her cleavage, and the emerald velvet compressed her ribs. ‘Give her the night off. Getting you out of that gown is a job I’ve been looking forward to all evening.’
Bowing, he made a point of kissing her knuckles and bidding her a formal goodnight. The camera clicks from a nearby photographer faded into the background, as Juno’s heart pummelled her chest in hard, heavy thuds.
