Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance Boxed Set (10 Book Bundle) (89 page)

Chapter 8

“Daryl, after what’s happened between us, I can’t…I have something I must tell you.” Taking my hand in his, he coaxed me to swivel to face him. He took my free hand in his as well. “I haven’t been exactly honest with you.” He visibly swallowed.

I’d never seen him like this. He looked unsure. Nervous.

Guilty.

My heart sank. A million possibilities raced through my mind, none of them good. A part of me wanted to clap my hands over my ears. Was this wonderful, magical thing about to fall apart? Already? Well…at least if it ended now, that meant I would avoid a crushing heartbreak, like I had suffered the last time.

It would only be slightly devastating.

My insides twisted. More than slightly devastating, maybe.

“What do you mean?” I asked, realizing, as my stomach churned and my heart thumped how much I did want this thing between us to go somewhere. As scary as it was, I didn’t want it to be over yet. I really, honestly didn’t. The thought of never seeing Tevin again…it made me feel a little sick.

“Well, I told you I owned a landscaping company. And I kind of led you to believe that I have less money than I really do.”

I sucked in a breath. Okay, this I could handle. Money. It was about money. He wasn’t telling me he had a fatal disease or was still legally married to some other woman or had asked for a date with me tonight so he would have the chance to dump me more gently before going out with one of the other girls. “But, you also admitted you’d inherited some money from a family member…?”

“The truth is I inherited a
lot
of money.”

“Okay.” So that was why he looked so torn? Was he feeling that guilty for lying to me? “Tevin, that’s not a big deal, though I wish I understood why you lied. It wasn’t necessary. I told you I understood your wishing to be judged based upon what you’ve accomplished for yourself, rather than what the balance of your checkbook reads.”

“I didn’t want you to think I was one of those guys who lives easy, drawing my trust fund payments and partying all the time.”

“Why would I think that? You haven’t given me that impression at all.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t. Maybe you’re different.” He shook his head. “No, I know you’re different. Now. Which is why I’m telling you the truth. In the beginning, I didn’t know if I could trust you.” Releasing one of my hands, he shoved his fingers through his hair. “I’ve had people judge me in the past. It got to the point where I didn’t know who was a true friend and who was after my money. This was especially true when it came to women. Women like
Alexis
. And
Katarina
. And
Josephine
.” He shook his head.

“Oh.” I swallowed, appreciating for the first time why he hadn’t responded to any of the girls Marguerite had selected for him. “In that case, I can’t blame you for not liking any of those women, if they gave you that impression. You apologized to me for pushing me into making that deal with you. Well, I’m sorry about pushing you into the Premier membership. I was being selfish, too.”

His gaze jerked away. “There’s more,” he said to the wall behind me. “A lot more.”

A huge lump caught in my throat. Where was this conversation going? He still looked so nervous and unsure and…guilty. What else had he been hiding from me? And why? “What is it?”

“My real, my full, name is Crown Prince Viktor Tijn of Mordova.”

Crown Prince?

Crown. Prince?

Crown Prince! Oh no.

Really? Really?

“What?” I felt like someone had just slammed me in the head with a brick. Crossing my arms over my chest, I held myself to keep from trembling as Tevin hurried through an explanation. I was so confused. I could hear what Tevin was saying, but my brain couldn’t comprehend it.

“I’m a prince, Daryl. Of a small country in Eastern Europe,” he said at the end of his speech.

My gaze zoomed up and down his body, looking for something, some sign that he was a prince, or wasn’t a prince. It had to be a lie. Or a game. Or a silly trick.
Why would he lie?
“No, you’re not. You’re not even foreign. You speak perfect English. American English. With an American accent. What is this? Some kind of trick?”

“I attended US boarding schools until I was thirteen.” His gaze finally found mine again.

“A prince?” I repeated, still not sure what to believe.

“Yes.”

“A genuine prince.” I could hear what I was saying but for some reason the words still weren’t sinking in.

A prince?

Really?

As in, royalty? As in…successor to some kind of kingdom?

No, please.

If he was a prince…my mind raced. I recalled all the media attention Kate Middleton got after becoming Prince William’s fiancée.

The press would have a field day with me. Daughter of two convicted murderers. There was no way his family would allow him to marry someone like me.

He cleared his throat. “Daryl, you aren’t saying anything.”

“I’m not sure what to say. Is this for real? Please tell me this is some kind of prank?”

“It’s real, Daryl.”

“Your name. It isn’t Tevin Page?” My hands were shaking harder than ever.

“No.”

“It’s…?”

“Viktor.”

Viktor. Did he look like a Viktor? No. Okay, maybe. Did this beautiful man with that gorgeous body look like a prince from someplace in Europe? No. Okay, maybe.

“Daryl, what are you thinking?”

What was I thinking? That I’d just stepped into some crazy reality TV show? That my dream, which I had only begun to believe might come true, was now completely obliterated? “Where did Tevin Page come from?”

“I had a friend named Tevin in school. And Page just popped into my head.”

“Does Marguerite know?”

“She does. She’s known me since I first came to the
US, since before Tevin Page. I’ve been living here for almost one year. Eleven months ago my parents told me I had to be married. They had selected three potential brides for me. Unfortunately, when I met them, I felt no connection to any of them. While arranged marriages are still very common in my culture, particularly among members of the royal family, I wanted more. I wanted a true marriage, based on respect, admiration, yes, but also friendship, chemistry, love.”

“Marriage? Love?” My head was spinning. It was too soon to be hearing those words. Much too soon. Like…a year too soon. When he found out the truth about my family, he wouldn’t be saying those words to me. “Tell me you aren’t--” I couldn’t get the words out.

“Asking you to marry me? No. Not yet. But I would like you to come to my country to meet my family.”

“Meet your family?” All I could do is repeat what he said. I still couldn’t grasp the reality of what was happening. Yes, I’d suspected he wasn’t telling me the truth about the house and the car and the plane and the boat. But I figured he was maybe some rich guy’s son who had been smart with his inheritance. I’d never, not in my wildest dreams, thought he might be from another country, let along the potential leader of that foreign land.

What countries still had kings and queens, anyway?

I looked at him then down at my hands. They were clenched together, knuckles white. As my confusion lifted, I gradually became aware of the disappointment simmering below it.

“Daryl, I’m asking you to meet my family because—“

“Tevin, Viktor, whatever, you don’t know me, and I obviously don’t know you. But you want me to hop on a plane and go to some foreign country?”

“I wanted you to know me, just me, first. Then I wanted you to meet Prince Viktor. Because if you had met Prince Viktor from the start, you most likely never would have known me as just a man. A man who wants you so much I can barely think about living a single day without you. Maybe it’s crazy to be saying this after such a short time, but I think I’m falling in love with you, Daryl.”

I was so shaken by what he’d told me, I couldn’t speak. Dozens of questions were whirling around in my head. What would he do when he found out about my mom and dad? What would his parents think? Did his potential girlfriends have to meet some standard? But one thing I knew for certain. Tevin, the man I had spent the last week dreaming about, believed he was falling in love with me.

And, as insane as it was, I knew I was falling in love with him. Already. After only spending a few precious hours with him.

God, I was petrified.

I had to tell him about my parents. He had to know.

Tevin took my hands in his once again. His thumbs stroked across the backs. This time, as his gaze met mine, I saw no guilt, no doubt, no shame. “Daryl, I’m sorry for keeping my true identity a secret. It was hard, and there were times I wanted to tell you everything. But I held back until I felt you knew me well enough to know whether you really liked me for who I am inside.”

“I kind of understand. Sort of. Because…” I swallowed. “There’s something you don’t know about me, too. And maybe I haven’t told you because I was afraid of how you would judge me.”

“What is it?”

My insides twisted into a knot. It was hard to breathe, let alone speak. “My parents are in prison.”

He didn’t speak.

I continued, “They were unfairly tried and convicted of something they didn’t do.”

“What happened?”

I took a deep breath. Let it out. “My brother died. It wasn’t anything they did, or anything they didn’t do. It was a terrible, horrific accident. My brother and I weren’t abused or neglected. But the district attorney, who I later learned was up for re-election, decided to go after my mom and dad as a way of improving his public image. I mean, it was a child cruelty case. Who wouldn’t respect him for that, right? Unfortunately, he was going after two innocent people. Didn’t matter. He was able to convince the jury they were guilty, after my parents refused a plea deal. My dad was sentenced to life plus fifty. My mom to life.”

Silence.

Just as I was about to ask Tevin if he wanted to take me home, he pulled me into his arms.

“I’m sorry, Daryl. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you, or for them.”

I sank into his warm, gentle embrace. “They’ve lost everything. And I’ve lost them, and respect and trust in the system. And friends. All my friends except for Sasha. Our courts and judges aren’t out to find out the truth. The whole system is just a big racket. Lawyers and judges rake in the cash while innocent people suffer.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t designed to be that way,” he said as he stroked my hair.

“Of course not. But that’s what it has become, if you ask me.”

“Have they tried to appeal?”

“They’ve tried and failed.” Anxious to see his face, to try to convince myself that he was sympathetic, I tipped my head back to look up at him.

His eyes were kind as he shook his head. “So you lost a brother and both parents, all within…?”

“A year and a half. In eighteen months my life went from perfectly normal to hellishly awful. But I’m not telling you because I want your pity.” I pushed myself upright, out of his embrace. I wanted him to see I wasn’t trying to play on his sympathy.

“Of course not.”

“I’m telling you this now because I’m worried.”

“About?”

“The press. If you’re a prince—who doesn’t seem to be hounded by paparazzi like the British royals are—won’t the press have a field day when word gets out about my family?”

“As you pointed out, I’m not hounded by American press. I’ve been living here for eleven months and haven’t had a single photograph published anywhere, not even on the internet.”

“Okay, so you’re not concerned?” My mood lifted slightly. Was it too much to hope that we had gotten all of our skeletons out of the closet now and could maybe move forward? That all the obstacles had been cleared away, and we could relax and let things develop naturally?

“As far as the
U.S. goes, no. My country is so small and inconsequential that I’m no more a celebrity here than you are. But in my homeland it’s different.”

My temporarily elevated mood fizzled. “I see. Then maybe I shouldn’t go to meet your family?”

“Oh no, I want you to. Nothing has changed. I’m still falling in love with you. But for your sake, I should keep you out of the spotlight for as long as I can.”

“But what would that accomplish?” Already, I could see things were unraveling. It was so unfair. If only Tevin was just Tevin, a guy with a lot of money, instead of a future king. Tevin didn’t have a problem with my parents. He liked me. He was falling in love with me. And I was falling in love with him. The two of us had something special. Something that might have worked.

But he wasn’t Tevin. This man, this prince, had a much more complicated life. With family. Obligations. Responsibilities.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“If things…well, if we were ever wanting to…” the words became lodged in my throat.

“Marry?” he finished for me. It seemed he had no problem saying that word; it was me who had the problem.