The room fell silent as he pondered his decision. I was curious to see how Jasper was reacting to this, but the wretched man was nowhere to be seen. He must have slipped away when he realized that the tide of public opinion had shifted, and not in his favor. There was no way he was done trying to cause chaos in Ocauria, but at least he hadn’t been able to destroy the Alliston family’s honor tonight.
King Carter continued, “Now that I know it’s perfectly legal to do so, I would like to announce that, should they each agree to accept their new roles, I hereby declare my four sons the joint rulers of Ocauria. Please step forward and speak now if you wish to accept this honor. Yea or nay, my sons?”
“Yea!” Devon said instantly.
Adrian stepped forward. “Yea!” he cried with a fist pump.
With a little laugh and a shrug, Blake said, “Yea. Sure.”
And finally, Carter shouted, “Yea!”
The king took off his crown and handed it to Carter, who held it for a moment before passing it to Blake, and so on. The crowd went wild, the orchestra started playing a jubilant symphony, and photographers started snapping pictures.
“What am I even doing up here?” I mumbled to myself. I hadn’t had a single drink this evening, but I felt tipsy with joy. Sure, I wasn’t engaged to a prince anymore, and nobody was going to treat me like I belonged to the upper echelons of Ocaurian society. But I saw that Carter was happy. He could help his father and his country, and he wouldn’t need to do it alone. Although I doubted that the four brothers were ready to become the kings of Ocauria immediately, I sensed that with some training, they would be ready for their new roles.
I was pleased that nobody noticed me as I wandered off to a corner of the ballroom. I leaned against the wall and watched strangers dancing. It was all very romantic. And here I was, a total outsider, about to return to her home country and face reality. The thought of putting all of this behind me was unsettling, but at the same time, it seemed necessary.
Sure, life wouldn’t be as exciting in New York, a place I knew far too well. I wouldn’t sleep in an enormous canopy bed, receive breakfast in bed on a daily basis, or get to wear handmade gowns that fit me like a glove. But being Gwen Beckett wasn’t so bad. I was determined to start living my life to the fullest, using my unexpected adventures with Carter as a springboard to help move me forward.
Just when I thought I would spend the rest of the evening alone, a familiar voice said, “Would the lady care to join me for a dance?”
22
Carter
“Are you sure you can do this with bare feet?”
“Sure, I’m sure,” Gwen said, beaming. We moved along to the music, an upbeat tune in waltz time. “Actually, it’s way easier to dance when you’re not wearing any shoes. You should try it sometime.”
I didn’t know if she was kidding, and I didn’t care. I lifted Gwen up in the air, making her cry out in surprise, and carried her over to a secluded corner of the ballroom.
“Everything worked out perfectly, didn’t it?” she asked as she wrapped her arms around me and we got back into the rhythm of the dance. “Are you excited to figure out this whole ‘king’ thing with your brothers?”
“None of us knew this was coming, so yeah, it’s pretty exciting,” I said.
“You know, you didn’t need to take the blame for our fake engagement,” Gwen sighed. “I would have rather pretended that I was at fault.”
I shook my head vigorously, pulling her body closer to mine. “I couldn’t let you do that. After everything you went through to protect me…how selfish would it have been if I let you take the fall for my actions? The worst part is, I didn’t even get to say everything I wanted to say about you.”
“Hmm?” Her eyes shone brightly. “What did you want to say about me, Carter?”
I stared at this gorgeous woman and I felt like I could barely speak. Giving that emotional speech in front of entire crowd of royals and their friends hadn’t bothered me at all, but the thought of telling Gwen how I really felt about her was intimidating.
I wondered what I could possibly be afraid of. Gwen knew everything about me at this point — the good, the bad, and the extremely bad. Perhaps I felt vulnerable. No one had ever touched my life the way she had; no one had ever made me want to be a better person the way she did.
“You do something to me, and I can’t explain it,” I said at long last, holding her in my arms as we shuffled from side to side. At this point, we weren’t even dancing. Instead, we were simply drifting along to the music. “I feel like everything that happened to me the whole time I lived in New York was a total waste of time. The only thing that mattered was meeting you. You may not realize it, Gwen, but you’ve changed me. Before we met, I was only looking out for myself. Now I’m starting to see that the world is so much bigger than just me. And on top of that, I think…I think I’m really falling for you. I don’t want this to end.”
Gwen stopped dancing suddenly. She gazed up at me.
“Does it have to end?” she asked. “Because I don’t want it to, either.”
I gently pressed my lips against hers, and she kissed me back, a kiss filled with fire and intensity. Gwen practically flung herself at me, clinging to my body like a vine. I didn’t want her to ever let go.
As we embraced, I murmured, “Then let’s keep it going. What do you think?”
Gwen’s pretty lips curled into a smile. There was nothing more beautiful in the world than one of Gwen’s smiles. She stood on her tiptoes to rest her chin on my shoulder. When she spoke, I felt the vibrations of her soft, sweet voice on my neck.
“I think it’s a fantastic plan. And I can’t wait to find out what happens next.”
Epilogue (Gwen)
“You need to come over to the new place. It’s perfect. Probably twice as big as my old apartment…all right, Anna. I’m gonna go finish unpacking.”
I was finally onto the last box. When I opened it, I found the remnants of my trip to Ocauria — the handful of dresses I had chosen to take with me, including the pretty magenta one and the blue ballgown, along with some trinkets and souvenirs that the palace staff had given me before I went to the airport. That crazy adventure felt like it happened eons ago. Of course, some time had passed since then. Six months later, my life was slightly different.
Once I got back home, I doubled down on my job hunting, and eventually, I landed a pretty sweet gig working for an art dealer. She saw a lot of potential in me, so she was training me while I helped take care of her impressive collection of pieces. So far, things were going well there, and I finally had enough money to move to a better apartment.
Anna didn’t understand why I wanted my own place. For some reason, she assumed that Carter and I were going to move in together. And maybe one day, we would. But for now, I was enjoying my cash flow and my independence. Just because my boyfriend was a prince/king didn’t mean I expected him to pay my way in life.
Not that he wasn’t generous. A week after I returned to NYC, he flew back and he spent a full week wining and dining me. “This was how our relationship should have started,” he explained at the time. “Our first date should have been at the finest restaurant at the city…not at some random bar.” I definitely wasn’t complaining. Spending time with Carter was one of the things that truly made me happy.
Now that he and his brothers were training to become the joint kings of Ocauria, Carter had to take occasional trips back home. He also made sure that his future role would enable him to live part-time in New York, where he could also serve as a liaison between the government of Ocauria and the United States. Ocauria desperately needed to modernize, and closer ties with the U.S. were crucial to its future success.
As for his brothers, they were, surprisingly, enjoying their new roles as kings-in-training. Blake was spending less time playing tennis and driving sports cars around the palace grounds and more time learning about economics, law, and other important subjects. And according to Carter, thing
s were starting to get serious between Blake and that pretty noblewoman from the ball.
Before I left, I made sure to give Dahlia my contact information. She and I sent each other emails once in a while. In her most recent message, she said she was planning to use some of her savings to travel and see the world. I was thrilled for her.
According to Carter, no one had seen Jasper for a while. He assumed that his uncle was laying low, waiting to see how things unfolded before trying to get involved with politics again. Luckily, the new system of four kings meant that power was less concentrated and, as a result, far more difficult to compromise. Jasper’s influence would undoubtedly get weaker and weaker as the years wore on.
I was running my fingers reverently over the royal blue ballgown when someone buzzed up from the front door of the building. “Who is it?” I called into the intercom, knowing very well who was at the door.
“You know who.”
I felt a surge of excitement rush through my body. Carter was back from his most recent trip to Ocauria. I buzzed him up and waited expectantly in the doorway.
The second he appeared, Carter didn’t waste any time. He grabbed me, picking me up in the air and kissing me hard. When my feet landed back on the floor, I was dizzy with joy.
“Welcome home!” I said. “Look…everything’s finally unpacked!” I had just moved in the day before he left the country.
“Took you long enough,” he teased, giving me another quick kiss. Then he noticed the box of palace memorabilia on the floor. It was an odd coincidence that those were the things I happened to unpack last. “What are you planning to do with all that stuff?”
“Sell it to the highest bidder,” I said playfully.
“You know, I would have assumed you were joking before, but now that you’re working for that art dealer…I have no idea what you’re capable of,” he said, tickling my arms and making me squirm. He could be so cruel sometimes.
“I would never sell that stuff!” I cried. “You know that! Now…stop…tickling me!”
He picked me up suddenly and, holding me in his arms, began to pace back and forth.
“Where are you taking me, Carter?” I asked.
“Hmm…I’m still trying to decide. How does the bedroom sound?”
I clung to him tightly, gazing into his eyes. “I love that idea…”
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And stay tuned for Book 2 in the Brothers of Ocauria series…
ROGUE PRINCE
BLAKE:
So what if Helena, my bride-to-be, dumped me the day before we were supposed to tie the knot? I’m Blake Alliston, the second son of the King of Ocauria, and I can get any woman I want. That’s why I’m in Miami with my boys, living it up before it’s time to settle down again.
The only problem is that this uptight wedding planner seems to think I owe her money. Madelyn may plan parties, but she’s way too uptight to have a good time herself. She’s not my cup of tea, and I can tell she hates my guts. I’ll cut her a check…if she meets me halfway.
MADELYN:
I don’t know why I decided to come to Miami. I guess I wanted to be done with this royal wedding once and for all. Prince Blake is the type of guy I can’t stand: a self-absorbed, arrogant asshole. But maybe opposites do attract. One thing leads to another and all of a sudden, we’re falling into bed together.
After our little fling, I don’t intend to talk to him again, and I’m sure he feels the same way about me. Then I get a phone call: that bitchy duchess, Helena, has decided the wedding’s back on — but with a different groom. I have to go back to Ocauria to make it happen. And that means I won’t be able to avoid seeing the best man…who just so happens to be Blake.
The weirdest part is, the more I get to know him, the more I’m starting to like the guy…
Playboy Prince: A Royal Romance (The Brothers of Ocauria Book 1) Page 11
