Oh dear. He definitely thinks I’m going full Megxit. I set my fork down, the buttery lobster suddenly sitting heavy in my stomach.
He gives me a hopeful smile. “I want to start a life with you, Belle. I want to give you everything you ever dreamed of—adventure and freedom and the ability to make your own decisions and spend your days doing whatever you want. It’s why I went to London in the first place. And Italy, and then to Thailand. And to be honest, if I had gone back to London with Kenneth, I’d be well on my way to having my own outdoor gear line, which would have set us up for life. But I knew you needed me, so I rushed back.”
“He offered you your own line of outdoor gear?” I ask, my heart pounding in my chest.
Shrugging, Will says, “Yeah, but I would have had to spend at least a month in England hashing out the details and there was no way I was going to do that to you, not with how bad things have been going since the show started.”
“Oh, Will, I don’t know what to say.” I reach for his warm hand and squeeze it. “That must have been such a disappointment for you.”
“It’s okay. I always land on my feet,” he says, lifting my hand and brushing his lips across my knuckles. “Besides, ABN has offered me a three-year contract which will mean steady money. It’s not ‘buy our own castle’ cash, but we could probably afford something nice.”
“Was the deal from Abernathy a ‘buy our own castle’ deal?” I ask, even though part of me doesn’t want to know.
“Pretty much, but there wouldn’t have been any point in having all that cash if I didn’t have you to help me spend it?” He leans in and gives me a kiss, and I know, without a doubt, that this man loves me.
And I love him so much. “I can’t believe you gave that up for me.”
“You’re worth it. I’d give up my life for you.” He pulls me onto his lap, and we snog each other senseless for a few minutes, but as we’re kissing, there’s a tiny voice in my brain screaming that I’m kissing him under false pretenses. I’m letting him think he’s going to be the one bringing home the bacon when in fact, I can more than afford to buy the entire pig farm.
The voice grows louder now, telling my lady bits to cool down because he may have turned down the deal to rush to my side, but that’s not where he ended up, is it? Lady bits are begging brain to shut up, but brain refuses, and, in fact, starts shouting.
I pull back and stare at his impossibly handsome face. Fuck me but being a strong independent woman sucks dirty tennis balls sometimes. “I’m sorry, but I do need to ask you something. And I’m not trying to start a row and I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate you giving up the Abernathy deal for me, because I do. I utterly, completely do. Incredibly romantic grand gesture really.”
“But?” he asks, his hands sliding off my body and onto the arms of the chair.
Deciding it’s far too awkward to have this talk whilst sitting on his lap, I get up and sit down in my own seat again. “It’s just that you didn’t come see me when you left Thailand. You came back to Valcourt to do promotional work for the show. And I’m having a bit of trouble understanding how that was for me.” As soon as I say it, my hurt starts to bubble to the surface.
“Look,” he says with a deep sigh. “I had a very good reason for coming back here, but I really don’t want to get into the details, okay? Can’t it just be enough that I went zipping all over the world to give us a better life, but then when you made it clear you needed me, I was willing to turn down the biggest opportunity of my life? And I fully intended to meet you in Austria, but something really bad happened and I needed to come back and deal with it immediately.”
I stare at him for a moment, trying to process what he’s saying. I nod my head a little, then shake it. “Yes, the thing is, I really do need you to tell me what was so bloody important, because judging a baking contest and going to a football match doesn’t fit my definition of urgent.”
“That’s not why I came back. Something else happened.” Will rakes one hand through his dark hair, frustration written all over his face. “To be honest, I think it’s better for you not to know about it because it’ll only upset you,” he says, quickly adding, “Now, I know that’s not going to make you happy to hear because you’re an independent woman, but please trust me on this one, okay? Some shit went down, and I dealt with it so you wouldn’t have to.”
I fold my arms and harden my gaze, shivering a bit from the cold and the emotion of it all. “What shit, Will?”
He pauses and looks out in the direction of the water for a moment before answering. “It’s not going to make you feel better.”
“Tell me anyway,” I say in a calm tone that surprises me.
Will looks into my eyes. “They have audio of our entire time in the jungle.”
Every cell in my body freezes while my mind races to comprehend the severity of what he’s just said. “Everything?” I ask in a whisper.
“Yes, but they’re not using it. They wanted to include some kissing and rustling sounds, but I forced them to cut it.”
I search his face, seeing there’s more he doesn’t want to tell me. “I don’t understand. How did you find this out?”
“After you…called to tell me about the audio of us on our first night, I kept racking my brain, trying to figure out how I could’ve accidentally recorded that. I was so sure I had taken the batteries out of the GoPros. Then, when I was at the airport in Thailand—about to get on a plane to Vienna—I wandered into a store and saw one of those Bearz backpacks. When I picked one up, it hit me. The backpacks aren’t heavy at all. They’re actually surprisingly light. I realized that Dylan had the crew sew recording equipment into them.”
My limbs go numb as reality sinks in. “That skanky ho,” I say, suddenly furious. “Does she have no soul at all?”
“Apparently not,” he says. “And don’t worry, I made sure she knows it. I told her what she did was conniving and evil.”
My mind is spinning so fast, I wish I had skipped that last glass of wine. Memories of our time in the jungle come back in large chunks, each one feeling like a brick falling on my head. “But…everything we said to each other out there.” I gasp loudly and clutch my hand to my upper chest. “They all listened to us having sex! The whole production team?!” I feel dizzy with rage and humiliation. “Over and over again. Do you even realize how much sex we had out there? And they…” I stop myself, feeling my eyes fill with tears of embarrassment. “So much sex.”
A light coughing sound comes from the other side of the yard. Will and I both turn to see Bellford walking along with a flashlight. Oh terrific. Now he’s heard about the sex.
Will purses his lips and gives him a look of utter resentment. “Perfect timing. So nice to be surrounded by staff at a time like this.”
I stare at him for a moment, my rage turning toward him. As if I really need to hear him complain about my security team right now. “He’s just doing his job,” I snap.
“A completely unnecessary one if you ask me.”
“Oh really? You don’t think it’s necessary for me to have protection?”
“Not when you’re with me.”
I roll my eyes. “Do you have any idea how many death threats are made against my family each year? Or how many lunatics out there would kidnap me to get at my father?”
“Well, no one is going to get near you with me around.”
Okay, my mind is literally about to explode. “Are you serious right now?” I scoff. “My need for a security team is no reflection on your manhood, Will, so just get over yourself already.”
“Could you please calm down?” Will says, glancing at Bellford, who is now walking along the shoreline. “He can probably hear you.”
“Calm down?” I whisper yell. “Calm down? Sure, of course, sweetheart,” I say, giving him a phoney smile and blinking quickly. “I just found out that several people at a major television network have spent hours listening to us do it, and that you kept it all a secret from me wh
en I had every right to know. And now you’ve decided I don’t require a security team even though you don’t know the first thing about being a royal, but yes, of course I’ll calm down because I certainly wouldn’t want to be some hysterical female who’s prone to overreacting.”
“Sorry if I don’t like constantly being surrounded by your staff, but in case you didn’t know, regular people don’t live like this. They have something really nice called privacy.”
Wow. Just wow. “Sarcasm is hardly going to help things.”
‘Think back about twenty seconds. I’m pretty sure you’re the one who got sarcastic first.”
Shit. He’s right. “Well, you don’t have to stoop to my level!”
“Look,” he says, glancing at Bellford. “This may be normal for you but I sure as hell don’t want to have them around all the time.”
“Well, unfortunately, they’re part of the package, so deal with it,” I snap. “And you know what? If they had been in the jungle with us, they certainly would have found the bloody recording devices and we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
“Oh, really?”
“Really.” I stand up and start clearing the dishes. “But I just had to run off, thinking I knew better, didn’t I? Thinking I didn’t need them when very clearly I did.”
Will gets up and starts to help me load the dishes onto the tray, including my sad little uneaten piece of cheesecake. “They wouldn’t have been able to stop this.”
I freeze in place. “Of course they would have. What do you think they do? Just stand around with guns strapped to their hips waiting for danger?”
“Well, don’t they?”
Letting out an irritated sigh, I say, “That’s only in movies. In real life, your security team spends most of their time making sure every situation you’re about to enter is secured, which includes sweeping rooms and…other things for recording equipment.”
“No need to be condescending.”
“Sorry!” I yell. “I’m just…furious that I put myself in that situation and now…Argh!” I can’t even say it. My entire head and neck heat up with humiliation. “And I’m mortified, Will. Totally and utterly mortified.”
Will blows out a long puff of air. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you what was going on. I knew you’d get upset.”
“Of course I’m upset! What I can’t figure out is why you’re not. We were totally violated by that…that…bitch.” “She needs to pay for this. We can’t just let her get away with it.”
“I am angry,” Will says. “I’m furious actually. But I also know when I’m beat. Dylan won. I had no choice but to play nice so I could make it all go away.”
“You did have a choice, Will. You could’ve told me,” I say, raising my voice again. I pick up the tray and clomp to the door, my fury picking up with each step. “Because if I had known, there would’ve been no playing nice and she would’ve gotten what’s coming to her for once!”
“Believe me, I wasn’t exactly easy on her,” Will says, opening the door for me and moving aside to let me in. “She’ll think twice before she tries something like that with us again.”
I stop in my tracks, holding the heavy tray. “Wait. Did you already sign the deal?”
“Yes, I already told you that.”
“No, you said they offered you a three-year deal. You didn’t say you accepted.”
“Well, that’s what I meant,” he says, shrugging. “Sorry if you misunderstood.”
Setting the tray down on the counter much harder than necessary, I turn to him. “Tell me everything. What they had on us, what you agreed to, everything.”
“I agreed to do an exclusive contract with ABN for three years, including whatever promotional stuff they need, and…I also had to sign us up for another series.”
My jaw drops and my eyes fly open, but before I can say anything, Will holds up one hand. “Hang on. Don’t get mad before you know what it is.”
“How about if I decide when I get mad?” I say, shooting daggers at him with my pupils.
Will closes his eyes for a second, then starts to explain, sounding far too calm. “It’s actually going to be pretty amazing. It’s called The World’s Best Survivor Challenge. You and I will compete as a team against the best of the best. The prize is a million dollars and, even better, it’ll get you away from your family for a month and give us a chance to be back out in the wilderness together.”
I cross my arms and let my nostrils flare. “And you said yes on my behalf without talking to me about it?”
“I had to if I was going to save you and your family from a shit ton of embarrassment.”
The words ‘save you’ stick in my brain, bouncing around until I’m furious. “Do you actually believe I need to be saved?”
“In this particular situation, you did,” he says. “And don’t turn this into some patriarchal, ‘he’s trying to run my life’ thing, because it wasn’t like that. I, of all people, get how tough you really are, but because I had left you to deal with the fallout from the show, and because you were tied up at the conference, I decided to do what any good partner would do—which was to handle it on your behalf. If I had waited until you came back, it would’ve been too late.”
“That’s a decision we should have made together! You knew how to reach me. You should have told me what was going on so I could decide if I should leave the conference or not.”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” he says, his voice rising. “I’ve been flying all over the world trying to make a better life for you, and trying to protect you from the enormous hurricane of shit that was about to come your way—and trust me, it would’ve been a game changer for your family—but instead of being grateful, you’re actually pissed at me.”
“I could have stopped them!”
Will raises his voice. “How exactly? Because turning on the water works wouldn’t work on someone like Dylan.”
“Water works? Wow. Nice, Will,” I say, my voice shaking with anger. “I would have used my position and power to threaten the network. And it would have worked too. And I wouldn’t have had to sell both our souls back to the devil.”
“What are you talking about?” he asks, walking away from me and pacing. “I made an incredible deal for us. I spent over seven hours sitting in an editing booth, fighting with her over every tiny bit of audio. And in the end, I won. They’re not going to air the part where you told me your mum committed suicide!”
I gasp and my entire body goes numb.
“Yeah, that’s what the big secret was. Your mum’s death. Do you have any idea how hard I had to fight for them to give that one up?”
“Oh my God,” I whisper, feeling like I’ve been punched in the gut.
“It’s the first thing I thought of when I realized what they had done,” he says, his voice quiet now. “I was standing in that airport holding that stupid backpack, and I remembered the moment you told me the truth about your mum. And immediately, I could see a future of hurt and anger for you and your pain becoming something public for people to judge and poke fun at. So I literally ran to the ticket counter, spent thirty-six hours on planes, and went directly to the studio the second I landed, and I made them take it out. Me. And I managed to get them to sign an agreement so they’ll never share it. And here you are, totally pissed at me for doing the right thing. I didn’t sell either of our souls. I turned a crisis into an opportunity.”
I cover my face with both hands and close my eyes, exhaustion overtaking me. “This is too much,” I whisper.
“I know it is,” he says, his tone becoming more gentle. “I’ve been living it for days so you wouldn’t have to. But it’s okay now. I fixed it and no one will ever have to know.”
“I’m the one who betrayed my family. I should’ve been the one to fix it.”
“In the end, does it really matter?”
“Yes, it does.” I pick up his plate and dump the rest of his cheesecake into the garbage, then toss out mine, even though it looks so del
icious. Soon, the two of us start doing the dishes, silently stewing while we work. By the time the dishes are put away, we’re both moving slower and more carefully, and the mood has shifted. I’m less angry but that feeling has been replaced by utter defeat. I turn from the sink and lean against the counter.
Will leans against the island opposite me with his head down. Rubbing his jaw, he says, “I needed to be the hero this time, not just for your sake, but for myself, too. Do you know what I loser I felt like after the pre-show? Having the world know you bought me a yacht and all I’ve given you is a stupid shell?”
“Do you think any of that matters to me?” I ask.
“But it matters to me. It matters to your dad who could barely be bothered to talk to me, or your brother, who went out of his way to make sure I know I’m not good enough for you.” He lowers his tone and looks at me with an earnest expression. “I want to give you the life you deserve. I want to give you your freedom so it can just be the two of us again.”
The words come out before I can stop them “I don’t want my freedom.”
His head snaps back. “What?”
“I know I said I wanted to get out, but I don’t. Not anymore,” I say. “The truth is, my life is much better now than it was when I met you. I’m finally calling my own shots and doing important work for once, and I can’t give that up.”
His face hardens. “Wow, and you’re sitting here accusing me of keeping secrets when you’ve been holding onto a pretty big one.”
“I haven’t had a chance to tell you I changed my mind because you haven’t been here,” I say in the most accusatory tone I can muster.
“Excuse me for flying all over the world trying to make a life for us.”
“Oh please,” I scoff. “You’ve been flying all over the world doing exactly what you want to.”
“What? Is it a crime to love my job?” he asks.
“No, but please don’t pretend everything you’ve been doing is for me when a lot of it is actually for you.”
Royally Wild (Crazy Royal Love Romantic Comedy Book 2) Page 20
