A Very Merry Princess

by Susan Mallery

  “I am,” she told him. “Last night was...amazing.”

  “Yeah?” His grin turned smug. “For me, too.”

  “I’m glad.” She drew in a breath for courage. “You’ve been an unexpected part of my trip here.” She plucked at the collar of his shirt. “I don’t usually do this sort of thing.”

  “Dress like a man?” he asked, his voice teasing.

  She wanted to smile back and laugh with him. She wanted to know it was going to be all right, but it wasn’t. She’d put off telling the truth long enough.

  “Cade, I’ve really enjoyed my time with you. More than I should have, I think. I like you a lot.” Which was the coward’s way of avoiding saying she loved him, but one confession at a time seemed the most reasonable path.

  He leaned toward her and took her hand in his. “I feel the same way, Beth. I like to tease, but the truth is you’ve made a big impact on me. I know it’s happened fast and we have to get to know each other better, but I’m hoping we can figure out a way to make that happen.”

  “First I have to tell you something.”

  He stiffened slightly and drew back. “What?”

  “It’s not bad.” Or maybe it would be to him. “I mean, I’m not married or dying or anything else. I’m exactly who I said, with one small difference.”

  His phone beeped. They both glanced at the screen and saw the gate notification.

  “I’m not expecting anyone,” he said, pushing the button to activate the speaker at the gate.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Cade? It is I, King Malik. Good morning. Or should I say good afternoon? I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by to check on how things are going with you and Rida.”

  Bethany fought against sudden nausea. She couldn’t breathe, which was fine because if she passed out she wouldn’t have to face what was about to happen.

  Cade stared at the phone in obvious surprise. “Um, okay. Let me buzz you in.” He pushed a button on his phone, then glanced at her. “Did you know about this?”

  “No. I talked to my mother last night and she didn’t say a word.” Her mother had been dressed for a state dinner. How on earth could her father have attended that, then flown all the way here? He must have gotten on a plane the second she and her mom had hung up. But why? What had she said to make this happen?

  She tried telling herself that she was imagining the connection, but couldn’t make herself believe it. She knew her father too well. The timing was more than suspect. He had a reason for showing up today and now she would have to deal with a lot more consequences than she’d anticipated.

  “Why would your mother know if King Malik was coming here or not?” Cade asked.

  Bethany glanced down at what she was wearing—or not wearing. She thought about bolting for her room, only there wasn’t time. Even as she considered her options, she heard a car pulling up in front of the house.

  “You’d better go let him in,” she said quietly, willing Cade to... to... What? Believe in her? Trust her? She’d had her chance. She’d had chances every second of every day since she’d arrived. Whatever happened now was her fault and no one else’s.

  Cade gave her a confused look as he got up. She started to follow, then stopped halfway as Cade opened the door.

  King Malik wore a dark suit with a white shirt and red tie. He looked powerful and successful, very much the man in charge. Cade shook hands with him and said something she couldn’t hear before they both turned to her.

  Her father looked her up and down, then raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything.

  In her gut she sensed he might play along if she introduced herself as Beth Smith and pretended they barely knew each other. She had a feeling she might be able to stretch out the lie a little longer—only she was done playing that particular game.

  She crossed to her father and raised herself on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

  “Hi, Dad. This is unexpected.”

  “Bethany.” Malik glanced between the two of them. “It seems I came at a bad time. Would you like a moment to go get changed?”

  “Yes.”

  She drew in a breath, grabbed on to what little courage she had left, then faced Cade.

  Anger darkened his hazel eyes. Anger and something else. Something cold and unforgiving and very much like a sense of betrayal.

  “I’m sorry you had to find out like this,” she began. “I’m not Beth Smith. I’m Bethany Archer, otherwise known as Princess Bethany of El Bahar. King Malik is my adoptive father.”

  Cade opened his mouth but before he could respond, Malik moved to stand between them.

  “Think carefully, young man, about what you’re going to say. Whatever you and Bethany have going on, she is still my daughter and I protect what is mine.”

  Bethany winced. Of all the things her father could have said, that was absolutely the worst. It would remind Cade of everything Lynette did and make him hate Bethany even more. But it was too late now. Still, she had to try.

  “Cade, could I speak to you for a moment?”

  He looked at her as if he’d never seen her before, then slowly shook his head. Without saying a word, he turned and walked out of the house.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CADE WASN’T SURE how he got through his unexpected meeting with King Malik. He knew they discussed Rida and how well he was adjusting, along with the training program Cade and Bethany had developed for the horse. But for the most part, he was simply going through the motions.

  He couldn’t believe it—he’d been played again. And by Beth. No, he told himself. Not Beth. Princess Bethany of El Bahar.

  She’d known. That was the real killer in all this. He’d told her about his past and she’d sat there, blinking at him, when all the while she’d known. Damn her. He wasn’t sure if he was more hurt or angry. He’d trusted her, believed in her. He’d thought they had something together. He’d thought about asking her to stay. He’d been worse than a fool—he’d actually believed in her. At least Lynette hadn’t lied about who she was.

  “I’m very pleased,” King Malik said as they walked out of the stables. “Rida has settled in nicely. Selling him to you was a wise decision. I hope we can continue to do business together.”

  “Thank you, Your Highness.”

  The polite response when the real one was “Are you kidding? It will be years before I can afford another horse like him.”

  He thought about Bethany, then tried not to think about Bethany. He wanted to say something to her father, but what? There were no questions he could ask, nothing to be said. Not when—

  He swore silently. King Malik wasn’t here because of a horse—he wanted to check on his daughter. Only he wouldn’t say that. Cade would be a moron to think otherwise.

  “You came a long way to check on a horse,” he finally said, wondering if the older man would take the bait.

  “I was in the neighborhood.”

  “Happily Inc isn’t close to El Bahar.”

  “Distance is a matter of perspective, as is much of life. Rida has left our stable to become part of yours, yet he will live on in both. At first, he would have been uncomfortable here, but now this is his home. So it is with life.”

  “You’re not making any sense.”

  King Malik surprised him by smiling. “I’m the king. I don’t have to.”

  “I guess no one’s going to argue with that.”

  King Malik surprised him by putting his hand on Cade’s shoulder. “You have done well and I am pleased.”

  Words that shouldn’t have mattered, yet somehow eased a tiny fraction of the gaping hole inside his heart.

  “Thank you.”

  With that, Malik walked back to his car, nodded at his driver and got in. Seconds later, they were gone.


  Cade stared after them wondering what on earth had just happened. Malik had flown halfway around the world for a ten-minute visit? He hadn’t even spoken to Bethany—there hadn’t been time.

  He started toward the house, only to realize that if she hadn’t left with her father, she was still here. He stopped outside the back door, not wanting to go inside, yet wanting to see her. Only he couldn’t want that because the Bethany he’d known, the Bethany he’d started to care about, wasn’t real.

  He’d understood Lynette was vain and selfish, but he’d told himself her love for him would overcome all that. He’d ignored the problems in their relationship, her willingness to sleep with him without ever talking about the future. He’d assumed she would grow up a little and see they belonged together, and he’d been wrong.

  In hindsight, he’d been lucky to escape as easily as he had. If she hadn’t dumped him, he might have been tempted to hang around and try to change her mind. What a disaster if he had.

  But with Bethany, everything was different. He knew her. Knew she was a hard worker, knew she was kind and funny and determined. She was fearless, affectionate and it had all been a lie.

  Maybe not all of it, but enough. He had no idea which parts of her were real and which were just a game—the princess playing at being like everyone else.

  He walked into the house and found her waiting in the kitchen. She’d dressed in jeans and a T-shirt—her usual work uniform. He took in the thick braid, the big blue eyes and felt a stabbing sensation in his gut. He wanted to tell himself he’d gotten off easy a second time, that his luck was holding, but he knew better. Forgetting Lynette had taken a couple of weeks and then he’d been over her. With Bethany it would take longer. Possibly several lifetimes.

  She stood with the kitchen counter between them. She placed her hands on the worn tiles—hands that were almost as strong and scarred as his own.

  “I’m sorry,” she began. “I want to be clear that I’m not going to say I didn’t mean to lie to you. Of course I did. I came here as Beth Smith. I didn’t want you to know who I was. I didn’t want anyone to know.”

  “Everyone has fun in her own way.”

  She flinched. The movement was small, but he caught it. Caught the intake of breath, as if he’d hurt her. He tried to find pleasure in that, and couldn’t. Instead he wanted to go to her, pull her close and tell her he was sorry. That they would figure it out. Only he knew that forgiving her would begin a spiral from which he would never escape. Better to let her talk, then send her packing.

  “It wasn’t for fun,” she told him. “From my perspective, it was for survival.” She hesitated. “At the risk of playing the ‘poor little princess’ card, it’s not easy being in my position. I’m an American at heart, living in El Bahar as the daughter of the king. I straddle both worlds and I don’t do it well. I love my family but I want more from life than an arranged marriage and having babies. The problem is there are limitations to what I can do as Princess Bethany.”

  Her expression turned pleading. “Imagine how things would have been different if I’d come here as her. You wouldn’t have talked to me or let me stay at the house. You would have treated me differently.”

  He wanted to say that wasn’t true, but it was. He wouldn’t have teased Princess Bethany or taken her to dinner with his family. He wouldn’t have kissed her or...

  “You lied,” he said, more to distract himself than accuse her.

  “I did.” She continued to hold his gaze. “I’m sorry about that. I was wrong, but I’m not sure I could have made another decision.” She drew in a breath. “I like being plain Beth Smith. I like being the same as everyone else. I like being accepted for me and not having to worry that people are pretending to like me because I’m a member of the royal family. I’m not famous enough to be recognized in my regular life. Not outside of El Bahar and I want to keep it that way.”

  She glanced down, then back at him. “Do you remember when I told you about the guy in college who took pictures of me?”

  He nodded.

  “He didn’t just post them on the internet. He sold them to a tabloid. It was a big juicy headline.” She made air quotes. “I Deflowered a Princess.”

  Rage exploded. Cade took a step forward, then realized he had no one to attack and no reason to defend.

  “I was so humiliated. My parents never said anything, but I knew they were disappointed. It was horrible. I left college. Maybe I should have stayed, but the press was everywhere. I felt so naked every second of every day. I just wanted to hide. That’s when I started working in my dad’s stables. There nobody cared. When I delivered my first horse to a new buyer, I went as Beth Smith and it was great. I wasn’t recognized. I was just that girl with the horse. It never mattered before. Not until I came here.”

  He wanted to believe her. That was what got him. He wanted to say it was fine, that he would forgive her and they would go on as before. Only he knew that was a joke. Just like them.

  “I get it,” he told her. “You wanted to escape the whole royal thing and you did. Good for you.”

  Her expression turned wary. “What aren’t you saying?”

  “That it doesn’t matter. You had your reason, Princess Bethany, but at the end of the day, you lied about everything and we have nothing. We never did.”

  * * *

  BETHANY SUPPOSED THAT on her list of sins, taking one of the ranch trucks without asking was the least of it. She would have told Cade she wanted to borrow it, but since he’d walked out of the kitchen two hours before, she hadn’t seen him.

  She was already packed and had a car coming to pick her up and take her LAX. From there she would fly home. But until the car arrived, she had unfinished business.

  She drove through Happily Inc, doing her best to memorize all the cute businesses, decorated for the holidays. It was a great little town with lots of character and warm people. She thought maybe she could have been happy here.

  She parked outside of Wedding Out of the Box. She’d already texted Pallas to ask if she could stop by. She didn’t want to leave until she’d spoken with her friend. Although to be honest, she wasn’t sure if she and Pallas would still be friends after Bethany told her the truth.

  Pallas greeted her on the stairs and brought her up to what looked like a small break room. “What brings you to town?”

  “I wanted to talk to you.”

  Pallas grinned. “I should probably be subtle, but I think I can guess the topic. I saw the way you and my brother were looking at each other at dinner the other night. There were some serious sparks.” She paused, then laughed. “Okay, I want to know everything right up until the kissing starts. Not that I’m not going to be a good friend, but Cade is my brother and there are some things a sister simply doesn’t want to know.”

  Pallas poured them each a cup of coffee, then opened a small box of Oreos. They settled at a round table.

  “So?” Pallas beamed at her. “You’re crazy about him, aren’t you?”

  Bethany was shocked to feel her eyes fill with tears. Pallas was at her side in a second.

  “What?” her friend demanded. “Did Cade do something stupid? I hate it when men are stupid. What happened?”

  Bethany sniffed. “It’s not him, it’s me. I lied to him.” She looked at her friend. “I’m sorry. I lied to you, too.”

  “Oh, please. About what?”

  “About who I am.”

  Pallas returned to her seat and grabbed a cookie. “What does that even mean? You’re an alien? You have antenna and a tail?”

  “I’m a princess.”

  Pallas froze, the Oreo partway to her mouth. She stared at Bethany, then put down the cookie. “A what?”

  “Princess. My father is the king of El Bahar. My mom met him when I was nine and we moved there so she could teach a
t the American school. They got married and when my biological father died, Malik adopted me. I’m really Princess Bethany of El Bahar.”

  “Wow. That’s so cool.” Pallas picked up the cookie again. “No offense, but you don’t act like a princess at all. You’re so like a normal person.”

  “Thanks.” Bethany felt some of her tension ease. “I’m sorry I lied to you and everyone. There are a lot of reasons.”

  Pallas waved her hand. “You don’t have to explain it to me. Of course you wouldn’t want everyone to know. That must be a drag. As Beth Smith you got to be yourself. No one fawned, you didn’t have to guess if we liked you, you could burp in public.”

  Despite everything, Bethany laughed. “Exactly.” Her humor faded. “Your brother doesn’t see it that way. He feels betrayed.”

  Pallas rolled her eyes. “Then he needs to get over it. I mean, come on. It makes perfect sense.”

  Not to Cade, Bethany thought. He would only see that she lied about who she was. He would feel that she tricked him, mostly likely for sport. He would judge her by Lynette.

  “Thank you for understanding,” Bethany said. “I wanted you to know the truth. I hope we can stay in touch.”

  “That sounds like you’re leaving.”

  “I am.”

  “What? Why? I thought you were happy here.”

  “I don’t belong.” Bethany shook her head. “Sorry. I need to be honest. I love it here, but Cade doesn’t want me and at the risk of sounding too much like a pathetic coed, without him, there’s no point in staying.”

  Pallas narrowed her gaze. “Okay, I’ll accept all the rest of it, but not that. You are both too involved for you to just walk away. Have you told him how you feel?”

  Bethany didn’t bother wondering how Pallas had guessed. When it came to love, everyone was smarter than her.

  “He won’t care.”

  “You don’t know that. Bethany, I’m serious. You have to tell him. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life. Cade’s one of the good guys. He’s worth fighting for.”