Feisty Princess (Sexy Manhattan Fairytale #2) (8 page)

“You didn’t want people to know that the two of you were married?” Diem questions with a confused expression as she watches Alexander cradle Jimmy in his arms. “If that’s the case, then you probably shouldn’t have made out in front of fifty people.”

“It wasn’t fifty,” he refutes instantly.

“Same difference,” she counters. “What’s the big deal? You meant to get married, right?” Alexander sighs as he takes a seat next to her. She tilts her head and studies her brother. “You didn’t, did you?”

King’s lips pull into a tight line and then his eyes flick to mine quickly before he turns his gaze to Diem. “No.”

My mouth drops open. I can’t believe he just exposed the secret he’s been hell-bent on keeping. I’m tempted to say something, but stop myself, knowing that it’s his secret. If he trusts his sister with it, that’s his business. I just hope she doesn’t go blabbing about it to the rest of the city.

“Yamada?” She only has to say his name like a question, and it seems to resonate with Alexander.

He nods. “Yes. And now it’s a fucked-up mess. The board will be all over my ass because of that stupid clause Father put in his will if it gets out that Margo and I rushed into this unintentionally. Jack is afraid the board will see it as a weakness, accompanied by poor decision-making, and swoop in to contest my sole authority to make decisions for the King Corporation.”

Diem’s mouth drops open. “They can’t do that, can they?”

“Afraid so, but Margo has agreed to help me convince everyone that we’re a happily married couple.”

Diem turns her attention to me. “That’s really awesome of you, considering I know the two of you don’t really get along so well.”

I open my mouth to reply, but Alexander cuts me off.

“Don’t toot her horn too much, Squirt. It’s not like she’s doing this out of the goodness of her heart. She’s getting something out of it too.”

“Just what’s rightly mine and you know it,” I fire back in my defense.

She lifts her eyebrows. “Oh? Well, I’m still glad she’s doing it. I don’t want you to have any issues with Daddy’s company. I knew it meant a lot that it would be in your hands when he was no longer here. And on that note—” Diem pushes herself up from the couch. “I’d better get going so you two can get ready.”

“Ready?” I asked confused as to what she’s referring to.

“For the King Corporation Education Gala, of course. It’s the company’s biggest event of the year, and they will expect Alexander to make an appearance with his new bride. If you ask me, it’s the perfect time to convince the board that you’re a happy couple.”

“You’re right,” Alexander says as he stands. “I hadn’t told Margo because I didn’t think it would be a good idea to have her there, but it might be best to confront the board head-on before the rumors get to them. Here.” He begins to hand Jimmy back to Diem, but she shakes her head. “Come on. What am I supposed to do with him?”

Diem smiles and begins to backpedal out of the room. “He’s your dog. You’ll figure it out. Good luck, you two.”

Once she leaves the room, Alexander turns to me. “The gala begins at eight. I know it doesn’t leave you much time to get ready, but there are new gowns in your closet that will fit the occasion. I had Aggie pick up a few for you just in case I needed you to accompany me to the gala. Choose whichever one you like.”

As much as I want to argue and tell him that I’m not going, I know that in order to uphold my end of the deal, I need to play my part. A wife would be happy to attend something like this on husband’s arm, so I’ll have to force myself to smile.

I push up from the chaise. “I’ll be ready.”

Alexander nods. “Thank you.” As if on cue, Jimmy barks. “I can’t believe she got me a dog. She knows how busy I am.”

I smile as I lean in and pet the dog. “I think it’s sweet that she cares enough about you to worry about you being lonely.”

Alexander’s gaze locks on mine the moment I glance up at his face. He opens his mouth to say something as his eyes search my face, and this weird tension floats between us. I’m not sure what he was about to say to me, but whatever it is, he’s holding back.

I’m curious as to what it might’ve been, but I don’t ask. Instead, I step around him and head toward my room. “I’ll meet you in the foyer?”

“Seven thirty sharp,” he calls over his shoulder.

As I head to my room, it hits me that living in this apartment with Alexander King hasn’t been anything like I expected. Everything from his relationship with Aggie and Darby to his willingness to give in to his sister has all surprised me. Maybe there is some truth to what Yamada was saying about Alexander having a heart because I’m pretty sure I just caught a glimpse of it back there.

Alexander

STANDING IN THE FOYER OF
my apartment, I glance down at my watch. What in the hell takes a woman so damn long to get ready?

Jimmy paws at my leg, begging for my attention. I bend down and scratch the soft fur behind his right ear. “I can’t play right now, buddy. You be good for Aggie while I’m gone.”

Diem’s right. I have a hard time resisting this dog no matter how hard I try.

A sigh escapes me as I stand upright and check my watch
again
. I hate being late; it’s a pet peeve of mine. I always have to be early. I’m tempted to go to Margo’s room to tell her to hurry her sweet ass up, but before I can decide, she appears at the top of the staircase.

My breath catches at the very sight of her in her black gown. She pauses for a brief second, and our eyes meet just before she descends the staircase. It’s like watching a scene from a movie with her moving in slow motion, as she gets closer and closer to me. She’s pulled her dark hair back, and the style accentuates her gorgeous face. She’s even more stunning than any time I’ve ever seen her before. It’s truly like staring at a piece of art, but I don’t think Diem could even create something so perfect. I can’t pull my eyes away.

I stand there with my mouth hanging open, and it’s hard for me to even find the appropriate words to say to her as she halts directly in front of me.

Margo glances down at her outfit and runs her hand over her stomach as if to smooth out the fabric that’s already lying perfectly in place. “It doesn’t fit exactly right, but I think it can work for a few hours.”

I bite my bottom lip. “You’re stunning, Margo.”

Her hypnotic blue eyes flit up to meet mine, and my heart flutters in my chest. “Thank you. That’s the first real compliment you’ve ever given me.”

I tilt my head. “I don’t believe that’s true. I distinctly remember telling you that you had great tits.”

She bends down to pet Jimmy on the top of his head before flicking her eyes back in my direction. “Why do you always do that?”

“Do what?” I ask, completely perplexed as to what she’s referring to.

“Get crude with me every time we have a conversation. Every time you say something sweet to me, I almost start believing you aren’t a complete asshole, but you always ruin the moment with that mouth of yours. It wouldn’t kill you to be nice every once in a while.”

Her words stun me for a moment. I didn’t mean to insult her, and having her in a pissy mood before we leave for this event isn’t ideal. God knows I don’t need her bitching me out in front of the very people who need to believe we’re in a real relationship.

“You’re right, Margo. I’ll work on that,” I tell her. “I promise to tone things down a bit.”

“Thank you,” she replies. “It will be nice not to be sexually harassed by you every time we have a conversation.”

“I’m not saying it’ll never happen again. I mean, have you seen you? I can’t help thinking about your body and sex when I see you. You’re sexy as hell,” I admit.

Redness creeps up into her cheeks, and it’s the first time anything I’ve ever said to her has caused that reaction. At that very moment, I realize the way to win Margo Buchanan over is with flattery. My habitual filthy talk had turned her on and helped me find my way into that sweet pussy of hers, but it never made her blush. It was like it pissed her off, but she was so turned on that she allowed me to fuck her even against her better judgment. But telling her how amazing I think she looks and meaning it affects her.

“Ready?” she prompts.

I shake my head. My palms begin to sweat as I reach into the pocket of my dress slacks. The velvet box in my hand suddenly feels like it weighs a ton as I hold it out to her. “I got you something.”

Her eyes widen. “Alexander . . .”

“It’s just a replacement for the one I gave you in Vegas. If we are going to pull this off, then we need to pull out all the stops and make our relationship believable. If you were really my wife, the ring on your finger would be large enough for the entire world to see. I would want everyone to know that you were mine. Clearly, our options in Vegas were limited when we went ring shopping in the middle of the night.”

I open the black velvet lid, revealing the fifteen-carat diamond ring that I bought her from
Jacob and Co
.

Margo gasps as her hand flies to cover her mouth. “Oh, my God. Alexander! I cannot accept that.”

I pull it out of the box and hold it out to her. “Consider it a thank-you gift for helping me. It’s yours to keep, and you may do as you please with it once we’re through with this whole marriage thing.”

I wait with bated breath for her answer. She stares down at it, and for a moment it almost feels like I’m actually proposing to her. “What do you say, Margo? Will you be my fake wife?”

“Yes,” her answer comes out barely above a whisper and relief floods through me.

I would’ve felt like a complete jackass for getting a replacement ring if she would’ve ended up saying no.

She swallows hard as she takes the ring from me. “It’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Allow me.” I snap the box closed and stuff it back into my pocket before taking the ring and sliding it onto Margo’s ring finger. I stare down at her hand, memorized by the way it sparkles. It actually looks even better than I expected on her.

“It’s perfect,” she says. “I love it. Thank you, Alexander.”

I turn and then extend my right elbow to her. “Come on, Mrs. King. It’s time to break every woman’s heart in Manhattan.”

She shakes her head as she loops her arm through mine. “You are so damn full of yourself.”

I shrug while wearing a lopsided grin. “It’s not being conceited when it’s the truth. You know as well as I do that most of the women in this city dream about taming me. They’ll be jealous as hell once they see for themselves that you’ve hooked me.”

“So you think I’m about to walk into a pissed off beehive because you’re off the market?”

I nod. “I hope you’re prepared to use that witty tongue of yours to ward off all the questions you’re about to be bombarded with. I need you to defend our relationship to anyone who questions it. It’s vital that you’re in on this charade with me one hundred percent.”

She pats my forearm with her other hand as if to soothe me. “Don’t worry. We’ve got this.”

I stare down at her and smile. “Shall we?”

With that, we say our goodbyes to Jimmy and head toward the front door. I take a deep breath and mentally prepare myself for what I’m sure is about to be a very interesting evening.

Margo

IT’S A QUICK RIDE TO
the gala or at least it felt that way. Alexander and I spent the time going over scenarios of what we would say to members of the board once we ran into them at the event. If there’s one thing I can say about Alexander King, it’s that he likes to be thorough.

We’re sitting in the back of the limo, waiting for our turn to be dropped off at the entrance, when Alexander turns to me. “Perhaps we should go over some rules of engagement while we’re in there.”

I turn my head to face him. “Such as?”

Alexander presses the button on his door and effectively rolls up the privacy wall, separating us from the driver.

“Kissing for one,” he says coolly. “It will be expected of us once we get in there. People are going to want to see some level of affection displayed toward one another.”

“I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to handle some simple pecks on the cheek. Seriously, Alexander, you’re overthinking this. People will buy that we’re together.”