“Devon’s studying in London, and Adrian is an informal ambassador to Brazil,” I explained. “I envy both of them right now.”
“But Blake seems to like living here,” she commented.
“Blake doesn’t ever have to worry about becoming the king,” I said flatly. “He’ll always have more freedom than I do. He spends his time traveling, working out, and doing whatever the hell he wants. But enough about my brothers. Are you ready to meet my father?”
Gwen gulped. “I — I think so.”
“Don’t worry. He’s just your run-of-the-mill king. Nothing special.”
She smacked me on the arm. “You’re being a royal pain, Carter!”
“Ooh, good one,” I said sarcastically.
I knocked on the door to Dad’s library. He was inclined to hole himself up here reading old books when his guidance as ruler wasn’t needed. Ever since Mom passed away, he’d become a somewhat solitary creature.
“Yes?” his voice called out faintly.
“It’s me, Dad,” I said, opening the huge double doors and gesturing for Gwen to enter ahead of me. “I’m here with my friend, Gwendolyn.”
The massive library was musty and smelled a little like a haunted house. Dad never let anyone in here to clean, so the thousands of books on the shelves were coated in a thick layer of dust.
He stood up from his desk and made his way over to us. “Stay put, I’m coming!” he said as Gwen and I began to walk towards him.
Dad was a little more gray and frail than the last time I saw him. His beard was completely white. He was also shorter than I recalled.
“Carter, you look great!” he said, giving me a hug. “I’m so glad you returned.”
Gwen seemed a little surprised by his affection. My dad wasn’t your average king. In his younger days, he was considered a fairly revolutionary force in an extremely traditional, backwards country. His power had waned over the years, but he was still an admirable and unique individual.
“And you’re the pretty young lady I saw on television this morning,” he said to Gwen, bowing slightly.
In response, she awkwardly curtsied. Maybe I should have filled her in on royal etiquette before introducing her to a monarch. “It’s such an honor to meet you, Mr. Alliston. I mean…sir.”
He looked into her eyes and smiled. Dad had a knack for knowing if people were good or bad upon first meeting. He must have taken a liking to Gwen instantly.
“You’re Duke Henry’s cousin, eh?”
“Y-yes, that’s me,” she said, laughing.
“And yet…you look nothing like him. No. Not a bit!” Dad said, examining her face from all angles. “How could such a lovely woman have come from his cursed family line? They all have ears like elephants.”
Gwen touched her own ear, confused by his statement.
“But never mind that,” Dad chuckled. “All I can say is that I’m quite relieved that you’ve come to your senses, Carter. After all those years wasting your time in New York, you’ve finally returned home to accept your destiny.”
I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying anything rude. “I don’t believe I wasted my time in New York. As a matter of fact, that’s where Gwen and I met.”
“And she’s part of your destiny, isn’t she?”
Gwen and I exchanged nervous glances.
“Part of my destiny?” I asked uncertainly.
“Yes,” Dad said, nodding vigorously. “To think, after all those years living as a wild, carefree playboy in the big city, you happened to meet Duke Henry’s cousin! It was fate, my son. There’s no other explanation. And now that you two are engaged, we have much to celebrate.”
“Engaged?!” Gwen and I cried simultaneously.
“Er…at least, that’s what I assumed. Why else would you have brought her here to meet me?”
There was a knot in my throat. Gwen nudged me, silently urging me to tell the truth. There was despair in her eyes. But the last thing I wanted was to disappoint my father. He knew that she and I had been staying at the same hotel, and he wasn’t born yesterday. Dad would never approve of Gwen if he knew that we were casual sex partners who barely knew each other and had met under the influence of copious amounts of alcohol. Hell, I wouldn’t have approved of myself either.
I was torn between honesty and honor. After some deliberation, I opted for the latter. “Yes. Gwendolyn and I are engaged to be married.”
Gwen’s jaw dropped and she whipped her head around to stare at me in disbelief.
“That’s wonderful news!” Dad exclaimed, clapping his hands. “Look, Carter — she’s just as surprised as I am!”
“I’m just…reliving my proposal, I guess,” she ad-libbed. She wasn’t smiling.
“We can make the official announcement at the ball!” Dad said. “And this will only strengthen our case against Jasper taking the throne. Thanks to you, Gwendolyn, the Alliston family line will continue, unbroken!”
She let out an icy fake laugh. “Lovely! How many sons am I having, by the way? Just so I can start buying baby clothes.”
Uh-oh. She was starting to get surly. I hooked my arm in hers and began to pull her out of the room. “All right, Dad, I think we’ve gotta go for now. We’ll see you later!”
The second we were out of earshot, Gwen grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me violently. “Why the hell did you say we were engaged, Carter? That wasn’t part of the plan!”
“I screwed up,” I sighed. “But engagements can be broken. Right?”
She put her hands on her hips and gave me the meanest look I’d ever seen. “Does this mean I’m going to be trapped here forever, like you, because you were too afraid to tell your father the truth?”
“Look, Gwen, you can leave whenever you want to. They’ll understand that your life is back in New York. Just…play along for the week. And hey, won’t this make a good story to tell your grandkids someday?”
“It won’t be a good story to tell my grandkids if my grandkids are fucking princes.”
The absurdity of her words struck us both at the same time, and we burst out laughing together. I took the opportunity to embrace her, caressing her cheek and staring into her eyes. As angry as she was at me, that simple gesture was enough to soften her up.
“I think you’re going to enjoy your time at the palace. And whenever you’re ready to leave, let me know.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Gwen seemed satisfied for the moment. I definitely felt guilty for dragging her into my intricate web of lies. On the other hand, it was nice to have her here with me. Facing my dad hadn’t been so bad at all with this little lady by my side.
13
Gwen
“Good morning, Miss Beckett. Would you prefer to enjoy your breakfast in bed, or in the dining hall?”
I didn’t even notice when the maid slipped into the room. As soon as I woke up, I began to search on my phone for any information I could find about Ocauria’s royal family. I felt woefully unprepared for my visit here. I knew nothing about etiquette or social norms among the Allistons. Carter had no idea how much pressure he’d put on me to perform. I was expected to impress everyone, and if I failed at being his ideal future bride, I’d become the laughing stock of the royals.
Unfortunately, the palace WiFi was incredibly slow, and I’d barely managed to get a single website to load when the maid appeared out of nowhere.
“I’ll take my breakfast in bed,” I responded.
She brought me a tray laden with pastries, cured meats, cheese, and fruit. The young woman diligently set up a plate with one of each food item. When she handed me five separate utensils, I panicked.
“Excuse me…as you may have heard, I spent my whole life outside of Ocauria, and I don’t know the customs around here. Which fork am I supposed to use?” I asked.
“The smallest one for the fruit, the the medium-sized one for the cheese, and the largest for the meat,” she said matter-of-factly, as if that was something everyone should know.
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br /> “Thank you. I appreciate it. By the way, what’s your name?”
The woman finished pouring me a cup of coffee and stared at me in confusion. “My name?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Yes, your name. You’ve been kind enough to bring me breakfast in bed, so I’d like to know who you are!”
“Ah. It’s just that…the guests usually don’t ask that,” she said, blushing slightly. “My name is Dahlia.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dahlia,” I said, ignoring my forks and picking up a ripe strawberry with my fingers. “I apologize in advance for my terrible manners. Do you want anything to eat? This is way too much for me!”
She was taken aback by my offer. “I…uh…I already ate. But thank you, madam.”
“How long have you been working here?” I said, my mouth full. This interaction was endlessly amusing to me. I suddenly found myself higher on the food chain than I had been back in New York, so I was oozing with confidence at me new, elevated role in society. Carter had asked me to play the part of an upper-class woman, so I was doing my best to be as saucy and headstrong as the protagonist of a Jane Austen novel.
“My mother works here, too, so I simply followed in her footsteps,” Dahlia explained, sitting down on a chair near my bed. “As you probably know, there are few decent-paying jobs in Ocauria. Working for the royal family has its benefits.”
I was starting to feel a little guilty for pigging out in front of her. “I see,” I mumbled, my mouth full of cheese.
“I should get back to work. But as long as you’re a guest here, I’m at your service, Miss Beckett,” Dahlia said.
“Call me Gwen.”
She smiled slightly. “Certainly, Gwen.”
Once she was gone, I began to think about how Dahlia reminded me of myself. She seemed like a “good girl.” Of course, her circumstances in life limited her to this role. As long as she was a palace maid, she would forever be cleaning up after other people and serving them food. I wondered who she became when she changed out of her uniform and let her black hair out of its tight bun. Did she even get to leave the palace?
I thought about how isolated this place was, and for a moment, I thought about how far from home I’d travelled. Only Anna knew that I was in Ocauria, and she had no clue that I was hanging out with the king’s fam right now.
Carter had no idea how perilous the position he’d put me in was. As the prince, he considered himself vulnerable, but at least he had a father who cared about him and wanted to protect him. I was surrounded by strangers who could turn on me instantly if they found out I wasn’t actually the cousin of a duke.
A duke with elephant ears, apparently. I snorted at the mental image this description created. I knew I would never meet this Henry character, but I imagined that he looked quite comical.
I stood up slowly, taking a moment to admire this beautiful room. I spent the night sleeping in a canopy bed with a mattress that made me feel like I was on top of a cloud. The walls were decorated with ornate paintings that must have been worth thousands upon thousands of dollars. As an art lover, I found them fascinating.
This was infinitely better than staying at a hotel. In fact, the royal palace made Ocauria’s finest hotel look pathetic in comparison. Now I knew how it felt to be on top of the world.
Too bad I still had the wardrobe of a peasant. I knew that it was time to get dressed and figure out where Carter was, although I wasn’t looking forward to putting on my jeans this morning. When I went to look for my clothes, I realized that I couldn’t find them anywhere. To my chagrin, my suitcase was missing.
I started to panic. What if the king and his advisors were going through my things, shaking their heads and muttering, “These are definitely not the clothes of a noblewoman! And it looks like she didn’t even follow the laundry instructions. Off with her head!”
Then I saw that my suitcase was sitting next to the door. It was completely empty. On top of it was a note which read, “Clothes being laundered. Please choose wardrobe for the day from the garment rack.”
I turned my head and, for the first time, noticed a rack of gorgeous dresses in my suite. I rifled through the garments, checking the labels. Damn. These clothes were even fancier than the ones Anna sold at the boutique. And, miraculously, they were all my size. There was also some fancy lingerie with the tags still on. I selected a black bra and panty set and a striking magenta dress with cap sleeves.
After brushing my teeth and my hair, I gazed at my reflection in the mirror, threw my purse over my shoulder, and decided that it was time to face the day. I certainly looked like I could be Carter’s fiancée in this fabulous get-up.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had this much fun picking out an outfit.
14
Carter
“Sir, Miss Beckett is looking for you.”
I was playing tennis with my brother, and I shouted at him from across the court to hold on a minute.
“What did you say?” I asked the maid. She was a mousy thing, and even though she tried to speak up, she had a naturally quiet voice.
The maid nervously fixed her dark hair. I understood why I intimidated her. I hadn’t been around in years, and here I was, the future king, a man who could get her fired in a heartbeat. She didn’t know me well enough to anticipate my reactions.
“I said, Miss Beckett is looking for you!”
“Ah. Well, bring her here! Blake and I were almost finished.”
Blake threw his hands up in the air. “Almost finished? Is that because you were going to lose?”
“I don’t know how to lose,” I said coldly.
“That makes two of us,” Blake countered.
The maid looked at both of us, mischief in her eyes. I could tell that she would have liked to relax and smile, but her role as a member of the royal staff prevented her from doing so. And as a member of the royal family, I wasn’t supposed to make small talk with her, so I simply looked at her until she got the message that it was time for her to go.
“All right, I’ll fetch her,” she said, scurrying off.
A few moments later, Gwen appeared. She was resplendent in her royal purple dress and matching shoes, her long auburn hair flowing behind her. She’d never looked more beautiful to me.
“Good morning, Blake,” she said cheerfully. “And good morning to you, Carter.”
She came up to me and gave me a peck on the lips, wrapping her arms around me.
“I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone,” Blake said. “But remember, Carter — rematch!”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “Whatever, bro.” I turned back to Gwen. “So, the clothes worked out?”
“The clothes are fantastic! Wait. That was…you?”
I shrugged. “Sort of. I knew that they were going to wash your clothes, so I asked the royal wardrobe designer to hook me up with some good pieces for you to wear while you’re here. Obviously, she’s the one who knows fashion, but I helped pick the ones that I knew would suit your body.” I ran my hands down from her waist over the curves of her hips. “And I think I know your body pretty well.”
She smiled up at me adoringly. “You guys have your own wardrobe designer? For Christ’s sake, you live a charmed life, Carter!”
I shrugged. “I guess I do.”
“Oh, and Dahlia brought me breakfast in bed. I couldn’t believe it!”
“Who’s Dahlia?”
Gwen seemed surprised. “Dahlia’s the maid who must have come in here to talk to you like, a minute ago. She’s been working here forever. Don’t you know her?”
I wasn’t sure what to say. Was Gwen the one who was out of bounds by befriending the servants, or was I the one who should have been treating them like humans, rather than anonymous drones who did my bidding?
“I’ve been gone a long time,” I said simply. “I forgot her name, that’s all.”
“Understandable. Anyway, what’s on the agenda for today?” Gwen asked, doing a little twirl in her new dress.
She was downright giddy this morning, a far cry from the unhappy Gwen who’d just found out we were supposedly engaged to be married.
“The good news is, I’ll have all evening to spend with you. The bad news is, my Uncle Jasper is visiting and he’s going to be here for a while. The even worse news is…he wants to meet you.” I grimaced. “Are you up for that?”
She cocked her head slightly to the left as she considered her options. Then she said confidently, “Bring it on! I’m ready to meet old Uncle Jasper.”
Her newfound boldness was hilarious. However, it was exactly the right attitude to have when meeting my uncle, a notoriously unsavory character who was constantly at odds with my father over his governing style. If Jasper got his way and took over the country, all of Ocauria’s gains would be lost. The kingdom would return to the feudal ages.
“Just don’t let him flirt with you,” I said. “The dude’s kind of a creep.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m a taken woman,” she replied. Then, glancing at her hand, she let out a sigh. “And you didn’t even put a ring on it. Carter, Carter, Carter…”
I laughed nervously. Gwen was good at this. Almost too good. She’d slipped into this role like she was trying to win an Oscar. I didn’t want her to get too attached to me, though. Her job was to play the game just long enough to ensure that my reputation wasn’t destroyed. As much as I liked Gwen, I couldn’t guarantee that we would see each other again once we decided to end our little ruse.
Since I didn’t want to hurt her, I kept those thoughts to myself and took her hand. “Come on. Let’s go meet ol’ Uncle J,” I said.
“Ol’ Uncle J?” she snorted. “Uh, that doesn’t sound creepy at all.”
Gwen and I entered the meeting at a seemingly crucial moment. My father had just started shouting at his brother — and it usually took a lot to make my father angry enough to raise his voice. I hoped that the presence of Gwen, a relative stranger, would keep tensions at a low boil.
Playboy Prince: A Royal Romance (The Brothers of Ocauria Book 1) Page 6
