by Calista Kyle
Mel’s face took on a frown and I could sense her mood slipping. I was so caught up in her admitting that she did have feelings for me that I nearly missed the second part of what she said. I stared at her blankly in confusion for a moment.
“Emilia?”
“Yes, you know the woman you were pictured all over town with?” she added.
My face cleared and I grinned at her. “I was never with Emilia,” I confessed. “She was just a friend.”
Mel looked like she didn’t believe me and narrowed her eyes. “A friend?”
“It’s the God’s honest truth. I never touched her. I couldn’t when all I could think about was you. It was actually her that came up with the plan to make you jealous.”
“I don’t know whether to thank her or hate her,” she laughed.
I reached across the table and covered her hands in mine as I stared into her eyes. She licked her lips and I had the sudden urge to kiss her. My head leaned forward, but she pulled back before I could make a move. “So, you’re not with her?” she asked.
“No, definitely not. I want to be with you.”
She looked up at me shyly and nodded her head. “I’d like that,” she said.
I’d kept my emotions pent up for so long that the joy and relief her words brought to me nearly took my breath away. I felt like shouting and punching my fist in the air. Instead, I stood up and pulled her up with me and spun her around. I didn’t care who saw or what they thought. Mel laughed as we spun and she pounded my back. “Put me down, Ryan, or I’m going to be sick all over you.”
I stopped mid-spin and placed her down gingerly. Grasping her face in my hands I leaned down and kissed her. She opened up to me immediately and pressed herself against me. I slipped my tongue into her mouth and soon we were lost in our own little world. It wasn’t until I heard catcalls from a distance that I finally pulled myself apart from her.
She looked up at me dazed, her lips red and swollen and looking so delectable. I had to give my head a tiny shake and looked over to where a small group of people had gathered to watch us. In the middle of the crowd was Rob, Lily and Roman. Mel blushed furiously and tried to hide behind me, but I pulled her forward and into my arms.
“Don’t you have better things to do than to stand around and spy on us?” I asked before planting a kiss on the top of Mel’s head.
“Get a room,” someone shouted. Everyone laughed before Lily stepped in and told everyone to scram.
“How long do you think we have to stay here?” I asked once we were alone again.
Mel looked at her watch and then back up at me with a wicked grin. “I don’t think they’d mind if we slipped off for a little bit.”
Epilogue
They say good things happen in threes. Or was it bad things? In any case, the good things kept piling up for me. I almost felt like I was living in a fantasy the past few months, and I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Every time I told that to Ryan, he’d laugh and say I was being paranoid. In fact, he went so far as to promise me that he’d never let anyone or anything hurt me again. And the crazy thing was I believed him. Even though I knew it was impossible to guard against every misfortune, somehow I knew Ryan would do his best to protect me.
Since he’d confessed his feelings for me at Lily and Roman’s wedding, we’d been inseparable. There was such an ease and comfort between us now that it felt like we’d known each other our whole lives.
Not only had my love life dramatically improved, but my job prospects had magically turned around too. Shortly after Lily’s wedding, I’d gotten a call from Emilia Holliday asking me to help style her for a movie premiere. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I hung up the phone. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be dressing Emilia, and I admit to being a bit apprehensive at first.
I didn’t know if she was playing some kind of game or was trying to use me for her own purposes. After all, Ryan had admitted they were just friends, but that was just his perspective. Maybe Emilia wasn’t so keen on the idea of a platonic relationship and wanted to find a way to worm her way back into his life? He was pretty irresistible, after all.
But when I met her, all my doubts and suspicions faded away. She was down to earth, intelligent and funny. Once I determined she wasn’t after Ryan, I relaxed and found that I actually enjoyed styling her. Even though Lily always told me I had a knack for it, I never took it too seriously. But after meeting with Emilia, a light bulb went off. I could actually see myself doing this for a career. It was something I enjoyed more than the magazine business.
Business had taken off after Emilia’s outfit was featured on all the magazines and blogs. She was even a hit with the Fashion Experts on TV. Soon I was getting calls from other celebrities wanting my services, and it had been nonstop since then. My phone was ringing off the hook and I had to get an office space and hire some staff to help me handle it all.
I’d gotten so busy that I even recruited Candace to finally jump ship and join me. She handled all the designers and sat at the fashion shows, cataloging all the new trends and outfits and accessories. We were a perfect team. I sometimes had to marvel at how quickly things took off for me. After years of struggling to find direction in my life, everything was finally coming together.
The only thing that put a damper on it all was my mother. She resigned from Chère and moved to the south of France to head a horse breeding magazine. When I heard the news, I was dumbfounded for a long while. Then I burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. My mother absolutely hated horses or animals of any kind. The only time she wanted to be near animals was when she was wearing one.
She’d called me once, a month after she left for France. It was late at night and she’d sounded miserable. She apologized for what she had done and hoped I’d forgive her. I sat there speechless. I had no idea what to make of what she said. Was she being sincere or was she trying to use me again?
In the end, I said nothing. Our relationship had been irreparably damaged by her actions. The best I could hope for was that we just remained cordial. There’d never be that closeness that I had always craved, and I was finally starting to realize that I was okay with that. There were too many good people in my life that loved, respected and cherished me to focus on the negative.
So my love life was perfect and my career was on the rise. That was two things so far. I wondered if the third good thing was going to happen tonight. I was meeting Ryan for dinner and a surprise. I tried not to get my hopes up. It had only been a few months since we were officially together, after all. But deep down I knew that even if it wasn’t tonight, that Ryan Marsden was the man I’d spend the rest of my life with.
***
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The Risk is the second book of The Wagered Hearts series. The first book, The Wager, is available now.
If you enjoyed The Wagered Hearts series, you may enjoy my bestselling novel, Married to a Prince. Turn the page to read a FREE sample.
Married to a Prince
Chapter One
Laila Greer had already said yes to her boyfriend’s proposal when he told her he was a prince. Growing up in New York didn’t prepare Laila for becoming a princess. There were no finishing schools or etiquette classes where she came from—no balls, soirees, or whatever else princesses did with their time. Her mother raised her by herself and she didn’t know who her father was. Laila’s mother worked two jobs trying to support them, and never inherited anything in life except a bad heart.
Laila knew she and Andreas came from completely different worlds when she first met him; she just didn’t know how big that
difference was. He seemed like any other pampered rich guy when he walked into The Standard Hotel in midtown to reserve a room. The fact that he could even afford a room at The Standard was tip off number one that they had nothing in common, with rooms starting at $500 a night.
She was working the front desk that day when she first spotted him through the glass revolving doors. He had an arrogant swagger about him that turned her off instantly. She’d seen guys like that too many times in her job—rich snobs who thought they could just snap their fingers and the world was theirs. She struggled trying not to roll her eyes, and stuck on her most professional fake smile as he rolled his suitcase up to her counter.
“Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you today?” she asked, her voice dripping with sweetness.
“Hello, yes. I’d like a room, please,” he said.
Tip off number two was his crisp British accent. He sounded like Prince William or one of those other stuffy upper crust Brits you see on TV, Laila thought. In short, he sounded like money. Lots and lots of old money.
“Do you have a reservation?” she asked.
“Uh…no I do not. I had to come to New York on short notice, and didn’t get the chance to make reservations. Do you have any rooms available?” he asked, giving her a sheepish smile.
“Let me check,” she said turning her head away from him to stare down at the computer screen.
Laila was surprised by the sudden heat she felt when Andreas stood before her. His hair was dark and wavy and a stray lock hung over his brows. He had bright piercing blue eyes, a strong jaw, and a chiseled chin that had a cleft on the bottom. His lips were surprisingly full and sensual, and he had straight bright white teeth when he smiled. She couldn’t deny that he was very good looking.
As she kept typing, she could feel his eyes on her. It wasn’t the quick cursory glance that guests usually gave her, but an intense stare. Her heart was beating fast in her chest. She didn’t know what the hell was wrong with her. She’d never had a reaction like this to a guest before. In fact, she’d never had this type of reaction to any man, period.
“How long do you plan on staying?” she asked.
“Two weeks, maybe longer,” he said.
Laila quirked an eyebrow at him. She was curious about what brought this sexy stranger to New York on such short notice and without any fixed plans for leaving again, but she knew better than to ask. One thing the hotel trained her to do was to mind her own business.
“You’re in luck. We do have a room available for check in today,” Laila said.
“That’s great! I’ll take it,” he said, his face splitting into a wide grin.
Laila couldn’t help but be infected by his happiness. He looked like she’d just given him the best news in the world. She smiled back at him, genuinely happy that she was able to help him out.
***
Her smile lit up her whole face and Andreas had to suck in a small gasp at how beautiful she looked just then. He’d noticed her as soon as he walked into the hotel. She stood behind the long marble counter, her dark brown hair tied in a pony tail, laughing at something a co-worker had said. She had a beautiful laugh. It was deep, sensual and earthy sounding. Nothing like the high pitched twitters he’d been surrounded by all his life—girls who had to laugh behind hands as they looked up at him pretending to be coy and shy when he knew they were anything but. No, somehow he knew this beautiful woman wouldn’t pretend to be anything she wasn’t.
He pulled his suitcase up to the counter suddenly feeling nervous. When he reached her, he knew he had a stupid grin on his face. If he’d thought she was beautiful 50 feet away, she was a vision up close. Andreas drank up the sight of her from her full thick lips to her hazel eyes that looked at him with intelligence and a little bit of sass.
He almost didn’t even hear her question and had to give his head a tiny shake to focus on what she was saying. Andreas felt like a schoolboy talking to a beautiful woman for the first time. It surprised him, since he’d had his fair share of beautiful women. Hell, they practically threw themselves at him where ever he went. Somehow, he had a feeling this woman wouldn’t be so easy to win over.
“I’ll need your ID to check you in, sir,” she said, recalling his attention.
He handed over his ID card. It was the one he always used when he wanted to travel under the radar and handing over his diplomatic passport would be asking for too much attention.
She continued typing in his information, a smile playing on her lips. Andreas had the sudden urge to pull her up against him and kiss that smile from her lips. God, he thought, I really need to get a hold of myself. Andreas had to shake his head again and clear it of all the lustful thoughts of this woman. He was in a rush to finish checking in before he really embarrassed himself.
“Are you almost finished?” he asked. His voice sounded harsher than he intended, and he felt a minute stab of regret for being an ass, but he had to get out of there fast.
“Yes, I’ll just need your credit card on file before I can check you in,” she said, the friendly smile on her face replaced by a cold mask of civility.
Andreas handed over his black American Express card and looked around the lobby as she entered it into the system. He knew he couldn’t look at her or he’d risk losing what little control he had over himself. He’d been a rude jerk to her and knew that she probably thought he was a stuck up prig, but he couldn’t stay and defend himself just now. He needed to get up to his room and take a cold shower.
She handed back his credit card and slapped his key on the counter.
“You’ll be in room 1212,” she said.
Andreas muttered a quick thank you and pulled his suitcase along after him. Once he got into the elevator he released a pent up sigh of frustration and relief. “Good grief!” he said to his reflection against the elevator doors. “What’s gotten into you? You’re acting like some horny little teenager.”
He let out a bark of laughter realizing the absurdity of his situation. One meeting with a beautiful woman and he was reduced to talking to himself. Maybe I am going crazy? Maybe all the stress of the past few months had finally broken me? Andreas shook his head ruefully. He needed to forget all about women, especially beautiful goddesses like the hotel clerk. They would bring him nothing but trouble, and trouble was what he was trying to escape.
***
At 29 years of age, Andreas Stefan Luca Carstens De Berg, second in line to the throne in Castonia, had already built a reputation for himself. It wasn’t a good reputation, by any stretch of the imagination, but he had slowly and steadily cultivated this reputation after years of hard partying and easy living.
He was known as a playboy, flirt, heart breaker, man whore, and someone who only cared for his own pleasure. In short, he was someone every parent warned their daughters away from. That had suited Andreas just fine. He wasn’t looking to settle down anytime soon. All he wanted was a carefree life free from responsibilities.
He would spend the weekends partying with friends in Sardinia, and when the impulse took him, could abandon them and jet off to spend the week with a group of models on a yacht off the Caribbean Sea. He was never with the same woman for longer than a month. Often, he thought if he could keep living his life like this, he would be a very happy man.
Sometime during his 27th birthday, Andreas began to feel uneasy about his reputation. He was a smart man; he’d been educated in the finest schools in Europe, and yet people treated him like he was an idiot. He knew people didn’t respect him, and that was partly his own fault. His parents regarded him as the black sheep of the family while his older brother and heir to the throne, Frederick, was the golden child.
He’d accepted his role as the “spare” all his life. In fact, he was grateful for it. It allowed him more freedom to live his life how he wanted to. Far from feeling jealous and envious of his brother’s position, he was thankful. He wouldn’t want to trade places with Frederick for all the money in the world.
A
nd yet, he wanted something more. Beneath the carefree devil-may-care attitude he wore in public, Andreas was a thoughtful man. The hard partying lifestyle was taking its toll with each passing year and he felt like he was wasting his life with his frivolous partying and sleeping around. But he felt powerless to stop.
He began to feel like the only way his life would ever change would be from a miracle or disaster. That disaster happened in the form of a beautiful woman. At the time, he thought she was his miracle. She was the sister of one of his school friends. Caroline Hess. He thought he’d fallen in love at first sight.
Andreas learned the hard way that appearances could be deceiving. Outwardly, she was every man’s dream come true. He thought she was a sun kissed golden goddess, with ice blue eyes the same shade as the cloudless sky. Her speech, manners, and the way she carried herself all pointed to a woman who had grace, elegance, and serenity. This was a woman who he could change his life for. She would help him be the man he knew he could be—one he’d wanted to be all his life.
But he’d been tricked by her beauty. Beneath the lovely exterior was the heart of a scheming, lying, social climbing whore who’d stop at nothing to get what she wanted. She was very good at making him believe she loved him, but the whole time she was plotting against him. Before he even realized it, the rug had been pulled right out from under him. He’d played right into her hands and gotten burned, badly.
In some way, he thought he deserved what happened to him. It was karma for all the bad things he’d done in his life. The scorn, ridicule, and judgment were heaped upon him in droves. He couldn’t go anywhere or do anything that wasn’t scrutinized and examined with a fine toothed comb.
Andreas gave an involuntary shiver just remembering that time. He couldn’t even bring himself to think of Caroline or what she’d done to him. No, the past was best left in the past, he told himself. He’d spent the past year feeling sorry for himself, drowning his sorrows in bottle after bottle of alcohol. His family finally had enough of it. A harmless playboy they could live with, even tolerate. But Andreas was slowly slipping farther and farther down a dangerous path. His family knew they had to stop him before he was lost to them forever.
