Unprincely

by Eden Finley

  “When my family died, he said no more men. Only women.”

  “Can a royal be disowned?” I asked.

  “Grandfather would make it happen.”

  “Why?”

  “When I was third in line to the throne and never supposed to take over, they were willing to overlook it. Future king is another story.”

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “What do you have to be sorry about? My grandfather’s the one who’s a dick.”

  “I’m sorry you have to go through that, I mean. You’d think this day and age—”

  “You forget I’m royal. We were born from God and live by tradition.”

  I’d said last night that Xander got everything he wanted. I thought being royalty, a spoiled life was a given. In the harsh light of an exorbitantly decorated palace bedroom, I realised Xander’s four walls may as well have been a prison cell. His whole life was about pretending to be something he wasn’t. If I couldn’t give him anything else, I wanted to give him three months of being himself.

  “There’s only one thing that’d make this summer perfect,” I said.

  “What’s that?”

  “We need to find our Cinderella.”

  Xander smiled. “I’m two steps ahead of you.”

  Xander

  “Thank you for making me feel worthy of a king.”

  Fucking Roman. I knew the guy was familiar. Hell, as soon as I saw him, I thought Hey, he looks a lot like Roman, but two things had my mind telling me it wasn’t him.

  One: the guy was insanely ripped. Roman was always bulky, but the guy last night was insane.

  Two: it couldn’t have been Roman. He made it perfectly clear he wanted nothing to do with me when he spat my title at me. And, in the years he worked for me, he never once showed an interest in more. I thought he was straight, for fuck’s sake. Had I known he was my way inclined, I wouldn’t have had to leave the palace at all. The two of us wouldn’t have left my bedroom.

  With one sentence, he had me overanalysing our whole relationship. When I first heard the words, I thought we’d been found out. I thought some random guy knew it was me, and he was going to out me to the tabloids.

  I’d frozen in panic, and when I finally shook it off and followed him with my gaze, I saw him approach my cousin in a mask that did nothing to hide his identity.

  Idiot. The palace would kill Quin if it got out he went to those clubs. Then again, I was there. Hi, Xander, meet your inner hypocrite.

  If Roman thought he’d get away with giving me a blowjob and then walking away, he had another thing coming. It was Roman. I’d always thought he was hot, but I only ever joked around with him, knowing the answer would always be no because he was straight. Straight, straight, straight. Right?

  Now that I had him once, I wasn’t going to let it go. No fucking way. And with Delia on board to give me the summer, I had big plans. Which was why as soon as Delia left the palace to go home, I made my way to my grandfather’s office. I stared at the door, trying to build enough courage to knock.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I was silently relieved for the excuse to delay talking to Grandfather. But when I looked at the screen, all that relief was gone.

  Carl.

  “Not answering that.” I hit decline. It buzzed a second later.

  Carl:

  Ignoring me?

  “Yup.” I had been for a year. “Stop calling, asshole,” I mumbled.

  “Alexander?” Nanna.

  I jumped from fright and shoved my phone in my pocket. Turning on my heel, I bowed formally. “Grandmother.”

  For an old broad, she’d aged well. Her greying hair was pulled back into a bun, without a single strand out of place. Her blue eyes that resembled mine still sparkled with youth. My queen looked around the empty hall and leaned in and whispered, “Are we being watched?”

  “No, Nanna.”

  “Ah. You need something. Why else would you be pulling the formal card?”

  “A man can’t come and see his grandfather for no other reason than to say hello?”

  “A man can. A prince—particularly this prince—cannot.”

  “What’s the protocol for having a guest stay at the palace?” I asked.

  “Well, you know the first question he’s going to ask is—”

  “It’s a woman.”

  “Serious or a toy?”

  “Nanna!”

  “Just a question.”

  “I want her to be serious, but she’s told me I have my work cut out for me.”

  My grandmother smiled. “I like her. Would she be eligible to be queen?”

  “It’s Cordelia Hillington.”

  She pursed her lips. “The Hillingtons are a prestigious family. Although, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, dear, but …”

  Had Delia’s reputation already preceded her?

  “She seems nice. Maybe a little boring. For you, I mean. It makes me wonder what you’re up to.”

  Hmm, a half-truth. I was up to something, but Delia was far from boring. The fact Nanna wasn’t aware of her supposed scandalous past made Delia perfect for me.

  “I’m guessing you heard I slipped my security detail last night?” I looked at my shoes.

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “It was with her. So, she can’t be too boring if she’s willing to help me commit treason against my own crown.”

  Funniest thing I’d seen all year was my almost ninety-year-old grandmother rolling her eyes at me. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

  “Do you think he’ll approve it?”

  “Let me handle it.”

  “Really?” I always wondered how my grandmother—who was always sweet to me—could’ve loved a man like my grandfather. Then again, they were royal; they probably didn’t love each other. It was most likely an arranged marriage like the one I was trying to set up with Delia.

  My sister told me Grandfather treated his wife differently than the rest of us, but I had yet to see it. Annie tended to see a lot of things that weren’t there though. She was an optimist and took positives away from an undesirable fact. My grandfather was an asshole. Plain and simple. Being king didn’t mean he had to be an emotional robot. It didn’t mean his bigotry was okay.

  “One condition,” my grandmother said. “You come and have tea with me in my office.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, young lady.”

  If only I knew how hard a bargain it was. She walked me into her office and had barely placed the tea in front of me when the questions began.

  “How have you been?”

  “Well,” I stupidly said.

  “Is that why you’re drunk a lot, you’ve lost weight, and there are bags under your eyes?”

  I couldn’t tell her the bags under my eyes were from no sleep because I spent the entire night fucking Delia. “Who says I’m drunk a lot?”

  She cocked her head at me with a derisive “please” look. Was my security detail working as spies? Wouldn’t surprise me.

  “I may drink … occasionally.”

  “The anniversary of the attack is coming up fast.”

  “Sorry, Nanna, I thought you brought me in here to talk about Delia. I won’t … I can’t talk about them.”

  “You have to.”

  I shook my head. “No. I don’t have to.”

  “I know you were supposed to be with them that night. Not your sister.”

  An inappropriate laugh escaped. “She covered for me because Carl was in town.” I told my eyes to stop watering, but they didn’t. “I was literally having sex with a man when my family burned to death. Grandfather signed on to be an ally with a country which was notorious for pissing people off, but sure, Annie’s death was my fault because of the company I kept. That’s what he thinks, right?”

  “Oh, hon—”

  “Had it been me in that car and not Annie, she’d still be here, and she’d be the one taking the crown. Not me. That’s what he wanted. It’s probably what everyone wanted
.” I ran my hands over my hair. “Fuck, most days it’s what I want. I’d trade places with my sister in a heartbeat.”

  “Alexander.” Her tone wasn’t quite scolding, but it wasn’t sympathetic either.

  I figured she was admonishing me for swearing. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to say fuck. Uh … or again. Sorry.”

  “That’s not it. You need to talk about them. You need to let go.”

  I scoffed. “I thought kings didn’t cry or show weakness.”

  “Well, lucky for you, you’re still a prince.”

  I slunk down in my seat but refused to give Grandmother eye contact.

  “Your sister’s death was in no way your fault.”

  “Tell your husband that. Grandfather’s always seen me as a complication and a pain to the PR department, and now I’m going to be his successor.”

  She sighed. “He blames himself and takes it out on you. If he believes it wasn’t the alliance deal that brought terrorists to our country, he can live with his decisions. It’s not easy being king.”

  “So, he lets his abomination of a grandson take the fall. Nice.”

  “You weren’t the only person to lose someone.” For a queen, her raised voice was the equivalent of being yelled at. “You might’ve lost your parents and your sister, but we lost our son and grandchild. The country lost their future leaders.”

  “Yeah, and now they’re stuck with me.”

  “You have the ability to lead, and I know you could do it well—you could be great, even—but not if you don’t let go of what happened to us. This last year, you’ve drowned yourself in booze.”

  “That’s because I wasn’t allowed to drown myself in men.”

  Nanna flinched. “Alexander, please.”

  Was I unfair? Probably. But I’d spent the last year being thrown into my dad’s role when it should’ve been my sister. Each time I had to address parliament, I asked myself what Annie would’ve done and tried to make it look like I knew what the hell I was doing. I was supposed to have the awesome, carefree life where I’d fulfil my royal duty by doing publicity stunts like charity work and parades. I couldn’t take charge of the entire country. For someone who was never meant for this life, it was too overwhelming.

  “I didn’t mean to throw that in your face,” I mumbled. I was no better than Grandfather. Taking out my anger on the wrong person wasn’t the answer. Grandmother was Switzerland when it came to my sexuality. She never admonished me for it, but she wasn’t supporting it either. To her, it was as if it didn’t exist at all, and I let her live in ignorance because it was better than having her take Grandfather’s side.

  Nanna sighed again. I wondered if all her grandchildren gave her breathing difficulties or if that was a Prince Alexander specialty. “Do you think Cordelia Hillington will be enough for you?”

  “Do I have another choice?” I asked. “She’s fun and eligible. I want to spend the summer with her to make sure it would work.”

  “Can you see yourself falling in love with her is what I’m really asking.”

  I told Delia this morning that I wouldn’t—couldn’t—fall in love. The truth was, I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to go through the type of loss I’d been through this last year. Delia was wild, she seemed nice, and she was open to what I wanted in life. Last night was the first time in over a year I felt something other than pain. Even though I didn’t want to fall for her, I could see myself doing it.

  “Yes, I could fall for her, but that’s not really the point, is it? I have to end up with a nobleman’s daughter no matter what, and I want her. It’s not like I’m allowed to choose a bride off the street or someone I meet in a bar in Australia like Frederick.”

  “Then we best get Cordelia’s summer stay organised. She will accompany you on your royal duties, and—”

  “Wait, we’d have to go public right away?”

  “What, you want her chained up in the palace and kept a dirty little secret? You’re dating, correct?”

  Well, fucking to be exact. I couldn’t say that to my grandmother. “Yes. I’m just not sure how comfortable she would be with going public so early.”

  “She’ll have to get used to it if she’s going to be queen.”

  “That’s a big if. Like I said, she told me I have my work cut out for me.”

  “Does she think she’s too good for the crown?” Nanna asked.

  “I believe it’s the opposite. She doesn’t believe she could live up to you.” Nothing wrong with a little brown nosing.

  “I shall work on her. Leave me to the details. You can go now. I have work to do.”

  I stood. “Thank you. Oh, one last thing. She’ll need security detail. I want Roman on her.” In more ways than one. “He’s the only bodyguard I’ve ever truly trusted, and Delia deserves the best.”

  Nanna’s eyes narrowed, searching for the hidden meaning behind my demand for Roman, but I held stoic. Roman was a great bodyguard, and she and the king couldn’t dispute that. He should’ve remained on my detail a year ago, but because he didn’t have many years’ experience, they believed I needed someone better. There was no one better than Roman.

  “I will make it happen.”

  I tried to hide my triumphant grin. “You’re the best, Nanna.”

  Roman

  Since taking over Quin’s detail, I’d resided with him at Holbrook Manor where I used to guard Xander. It was weird being there without Xander, and often Quin would do something that reminded me so much of him. It tore my mending heart back open a fraction. I thought I was over him, or at least close to it. Then that night in the club shattered any progress I’d gained since Xander’s eyes turned cold at his family’s funeral.

  Now that I had my orders to head to the palace for a new assignment, I was in the middle of packing and had turned my bedroom upside down trying to find my missing horseshoe cufflink.

  The sole one I could find mocked me, as if it knew where its mate was. Deep down, I knew where it was too, but I wasn’t willing to accept defeat. I knew exactly when I lost it, and I’d been putting off searching for it, but now I was forced to. I wouldn’t be back to Holbrook Manor for a while—if at all—and Quin’s new secondary detail would move in here.

  Losing the only thing left of my father was going to kill me. They were the most expensive thing I owned, but the money was the least of my worries. When my father died, his bitch of a wife took everything: my inheritance, Dad’s house, the car—everything. Not that we were well off, but she contested the will, and thanks to a stupid loophole in the law where she proved she was financially dependent on Dad, she got everything so she could maintain the lifestyle in which he provided her. All she gave me were these white-gold cufflinks with glass horseshoes in the middle. Had she known inside the glass were real diamonds worth about five thousand dollars, I was sure she would’ve kept them too. She probably assumed the sparkly bits inside the glass were cubic zirconia. That didn’t take away from the fact they were a family heirloom, for fuck’s sake, and I’d lost one. In a sex club.

  Yeah, Dad, I bet you’re proud of me right now.

  Brad knocked on my door and let himself in. “Damn, I just heard. Another new assignment?”

  “The joys of being a public servant. You have to do whatever the palace tells you to,” I said absently, while trying to rack my brain about where else the cufflink could be.

  “Who you going to be watching now?”

  I shrugged. “Some nobleman’s daughter who’s staying at the palace for the summer. Cordelia … someone. They didn’t give me a reason why she needed a tail.” All they’d said was the king specifically asked for me. I couldn’t say no, even though I wanted to. Going back to the palace meant I was going to see Xander a lot more.

  “Hillington?” Brad whistled. “I bet they’re trying to force a love connection. She has future queen written all over her.”

  My brow furrowed. “How so?”

  “Boring as fuck. There are rumours she’s a kinky minx underneath her
clothes, but I don’t believe it. One look at her and I can tell it’s bullshit.”

  “Oh?” If this was a forced setup by the palace for Xander, he wasn’t going to be happy about it.

  “Yeah, I have a sixth sense for these things.”

  My gaze snapped to his. “You have a sixth sense for knowing if someone is kinky or not just by looking at them?”

  “It’s a gift,” Brad said.

  “Right. Well, uh, I’m gonna head off now. I’ll leave you to your … uh, gift.”

  “Remember not to screw the job.”

  “A boring socialite will be easy to watch over compared to Quin and Henrietta.”

  Brad laughed. “That’s not what I said.”

  “Huh? Oh. Don’t screw her. Right. I’ll try to keep it in my pants.” Like that was going to be an issue. If I didn’t cave in the two years I worked for Xander, I wasn’t going to be tempted by an uppity rich girl.

  On my way to the palace, my mind drifted to what type of girl the palace had picked for Xander. I’d always seen him with more women than men, but that was because he couldn’t have random, anonymous hook-ups with men. NDAs were a must with guys. Girls, not so much. It wasn’t ideal when a story leaked to the press about a woman and Xander, but part of me wondered if the palace leaked those stories themselves—anything to keep the press away from Xander’s bigger secrets.

  Pulling into the royal gates, I waved my credentials at my co-workers who knew who I was anyway, but it was protocol.

  I parked in the staff parking lot and went straight to the room I was told my charge was staying in. Apparently, there was an outing today with the prince, and I had to shadow her.

  Bryant, the guy who replaced me as Xander’s head detail, stood outside Cordelia’s door. “He’s in there with her. Told me to send you in as soon as you arrived.”

  “Thanks.” I figured they were drinking tea in the sitting area of the suite.

  I couldn’t have been more wrong.