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  “Well, the couple of the hour,” Kris said quietly as he fell into step easily on Samantha’s other side.

  They were careful to keep their conversation low and their facial expressions jovial. Masks, Gary thought. The royal family was very good at wearing masks. He knew a little about that himself, so he didn’t judge.

  “Had to think of something off the cuff,” Gary replied while being mindful of who was around them as they moved to the farthest end of the room.

  This official dinner should’ve been held in one of the ballrooms on the northern end of the palace, but that area was under construction after the damage from the explosion. They were still in a very formal dining area with floor-to-ceiling windows; sparkling, gold chandeliers; and enough clinking crystal to cause Gary slight discomfort. He hated social gatherings. Always had.

  “However, I think it will serve a bigger purpose,” he finished.

  “It was my fault,” Samantha added. “I set it in motion because Morty was being an ass.”

  She didn’t sound regretful, just annoyed. Gary wasn’t sure if her frustration was directed more to him and what he’d said as a follow-up to their kiss or toward herself for initiating the kiss in the first place.

  “There’s going to be lots of talk about this in the morning. Dad’s understandably distressed. Landry tried to smooth it over, acting as if she knew about this secret affair. I’m not sure he’s buying that, though,” Kris continued, finishing just seconds before the three of them approached Prince Rafe; his fiancée, Malayka; and Landry.

  Landry Norris was Kris’s wife, the newest princess of the island. Gary recalled a time when he’d suspected Landry of being involved with the bombing that had taken place at the palace. Landry had been hired as a stylist for Malayka Sampson and the two of them were the only guests that were not in the ballroom at the time of the bombing. Fortunately, Landry had been cleared of all suspicion.

  Since then, on the few occasions Gary had visited Kris’s private office, he’d had the chance to talk with Landry. They were both American, which instantly gave them a lot to talk about. The fact that she’d actually worked closely with Malayka was a bonus. Especially since Kris and Roland, the younger prince, both suspected their soon-to-be stepmother was not everything she seemed.

  “I expect you two have some explanations for me,” Rafe said immediately upon their approach. “However, since your little announcement has created such interest, I suggest we take this up tomorrow. In my office at ten.”

  Rafe then leaned in to kiss Samantha on her cheek. He gave a curt nod to Kris and reluctantly, Gary thought, to him. Afterward the prince took his fiancée’s hand and led them across the room, where they began to extend their good-nights to the guests.

  “He’s not at all happy with you at the moment, Gary,” Landry said when the four of them were alone. “I don’t think he was ready to see his only daughter caught up in such a heated embrace, or to hear that she’d been having a secret affair.”

  “I wasn’t terribly comfortable seeing or hearing that myself,” Kris said as he moved to stand beside his wife.

  Kris would one day take Prince Rafe’s place as the head of the royal family and ruler of Grand Serenity. He had been groomed for this role and possessed the same authoritative stance and temperament as his father. The past few weeks had also allowed Gary to make that comparison. When he’d first met Kris they were both just eighteen years old and freshmen in college.

  “I needed to get Morty off my trail. I should have handled it better,” Samantha said.

  She’d stepped away from him the moment they’d come close to Prince Rafe. The older monarch had been giving Gary a pretty lethal stare, and he’d had no intentions of keeping his hands on the man’s daughter. No matter how much he missed the feel of her standing near him.

  “You never told me Morty was a problem,” Kris stated.

  Samantha shook her head. Strands of her long hair—which Gary couldn’t remember whether or not had been loose before—moved softly over her shoulders with the motion. She wore a black, lacy-type dress that was just modest enough to hide her cleavage but still painfully sexy as it left all sorts of sexual thoughts to the imagination. Her heels were high, long legs alluring, and her eyes…that’s where it all came together. Well…and her mouth. That was it for him. Deep brown, expression-filled eyes and a wide and inviting mouth. Two things that, up until tonight, he’d been able to keep at a safe distance.

  “It’s not an issue,” Samantha told her brother. “At least it won’t be anymore. I’ll take care of Morty and we’ll spin this—” She paused and looked over to Gary. “We’ll make this work to our advantage. I just need to see everyone off for the night and I’ll have a plan for damage control in the morning.”

  She would, Gary thought, because that was her job. She was the face of Grand Serenity, the personality that drew in tourists as well as business opportunities. Everything she said and did resulted in a gain for the island because she wouldn’t have it any other way. So Gary had no doubt at all that she would come up with a way to make what had happened tonight work, not only for her personally but for their family. She had no choice.

  As for him and the job he’d been hired to do, he would have to be an intricate part of her plan. Whether she liked it or not.

  CHAPTER 2

  She sprayed a spritz perfume, holding the bottle a safe distance from her body but remaining close enough so that she could still feel the cool mist hitting the uncovered areas of her skin. It was a Wonderlust day, Sam thought as she glanced at the name on the perfume bottle before replacing the gold cap on top and setting it down on her dresser. The smoky-floral fragrance made her feel steady and sexy, just what she needed today. She was about to walk away but then turned back to make sure the bottle was in its correct place.

  All the bottles on one side of the dressing table had been aligned according to height. She’d thought about organizing them in correlation to when and where she wore each one, but that may have been a little over the top, even for someone like her.

  When she was certain the bottles were straight, Sam caught another look at herself in the mirror. She wore a periwinkle shade of blue today, pants and suit jacket with a sheer white blouse beneath it. Last night her dress had been black because she’d wanted to appear aloof but professional. Stylish but serious. Today things were different. She needed confidence and maturity to face her father and a hint of cheerfulness for the persona she would display later today when she spoke at the grand opening of Detali’s new design shop.

  There would not be a break in her schedule until an hour before dinner. But since Malayka had invited guests to join them, Sam couldn’t even look forward to the last meal of the day for comfort. With a sigh she fastened a single button at her waist. She’d told Lucie to leave right after selecting her clothes that morning, so the neat ponytail she wore was her own design. The nude pumps almost blended with the beige carpet in her bedroom, but she dismissed that and continued through the door that led to her sitting room.

  Here the floor was tiled, a deep gray color that always made her feel warm inside when she saw it. Her mother had loved dark colors, even though she’d advised her young daughter to always use them sparingly. Sam decided she’d done just that by going with the dark tiled floor and the cameo-white-painted walls. The furniture she’d chosen for the room was what one would call sleek and modern, dark gray leather couches and glass-topped tables. The whimsy came in the bright turquoise pillows resting regally on the couches and the brilliant colorful abstract art on the walls.

  With one last look back as she approached the door, Sam confirmed that everything was where it should be and that she had all she needed to head out for the day. Her purse matched her shoes and her cell phone and tablet were in her bag. Gold stud earrings were at her ears and a thick choker at her neck. Her makeup was flawless. She
inhaled deeply then turned and placed her hand on the doorknob, pulling the door open before releasing an annoyingly high-pitched yelp.

  “Good morning,” he said in his deep voice. “Sorry if I startled you.”

  “Why were you lurking outside my room?” she asked immediately as she resisted the urge to flatten a palm on her chest to make sure her heart was still inside.

  “Not lurking. Waiting,” he told her pointedly. “Are you ready to go down and meet with your father?”

  He was standing directly in front of her, which prevented Sam from simply walking out and closing the door tightly behind her. She didn’t want him looking into her rooms and the last time she checked, she was certain she knew her way around this palace.

  “Yes, I am. However, I do not need a chaperone,” she told him.

  She took a step forward, praying he would follow her lead and take one or two or three back. He didn’t.

  Instead of waiting for him to move, Sam pulled the door closed behind her. She was forced to look up at him at that point and she did so with what she hoped was her most cordial but undeniably annoyed look.

  “If you’ll excuse me?” she said.

  “Certainly,” he replied and finally stepped aside.

  Again she wanted to breathe a sigh of relief and touch her hand to her still-pounding heart. She didn’t, of course. It wouldn’t look dignified and would definitely cause him to ask more questions. So she began walking instead.

  “Since we were both summoned to this meeting, I thought it made sense that we go together,” he said as he walked beside her.

  Sam didn’t respond immediately. She was taking the time to get her thoughts together. They moved ahead in silence, before she stopped and cleared her throat.

  “Gary,” she said, determined to stay in control of her thoughts and her words today. “Let me first apologize for what I did last night. I should have thought more before I acted. As I told my brother, it was just a way of getting Morty off my back. Your admission—false as it was—to him afterward was not required. Still, I’d like to extend my appreciation for your quick thinking in a matter that you should not have been a part of in the first place.”

  She paused to take a breath and then wondered the same thing she had last night when she’d first come up to her room. “Why are you here? In the palace, I mean. I’ve seen you around and with Kris and Roland, but I’m not certain we were ever officially introduced.”

  Now Sam did feel like an idiot. She’d just admitted out loud that she’d willingly thrown herself at a man she did not know. In her defense, it was the recognition from seeing him around the palace that had made her feel it was okay…well, at the very least plausible, that she’d kiss him. Still, she really did not know who he was. That fact only compounded the rough morning she’d already been having.

  “No. Not officially. But I know who you are,” he replied.

  “That’s why you kissed me back so readily?” she asked.

  He paused and stared at her. Gary was a good-looking guy. He was taller than six feet. She knew this because Kris was six feet, two-and-a-half inches; Roland was six feet, one inch; and her father was six feet even. Gary was taller than all of them. He had a golden brown complexion with very low-cut black hair and penetrating brown eyes. All of those features were enough to cause a second and third look. That’s without mention of the bulk of his muscles showing definitively through the suit he’d worn last night, and the dark denim jeans and long-sleeved, gray, button-front shirt he was wearing now.

  “I’m certain no man would have resisted kissing you, whether or not they knew you were a princess,” he finally replied.

  “So you kissed me knowing very well what other people would think?” she continued. The question popped quickly into her mind as she looked at him.

  “I’m not a member of a royal family. So I stopped giving a damn what people thought about me a long time ago. Now, I know that you’re fanatic about being on time, so I’m going to hurry us along so as not to break your record.”

  This time he extended his arm. Sam looked down at it to see that he was waiting for her to lace her arm through his and walk with him like…a couple. Or something along those lines. She began walking but avoided touching him. If he wanted to say something, or to insist that she take his arm, or whatever, he didn’t. Instead he fell into step quietly beside her and did not speak another word until they were both closed inside her father’s office, sitting in the chairs across from Rafe’s desk.

  That’s when he said, “It makes sense that the princess and I continue with the façade of a relationship.”

  * * *

  “Harry Copeland and Amari Taylor are sitting in jail. Neither has requested any counsel, nor have they given any indication as to why they conspired to attack the palace. The tribunal is set to convene in two weeks, at which time they will be officially sentenced.”

  Kris gave the update while Sam listened intently. After the explosion she’d been whisked off to her room and left there with four guards to ensure her safety. For most of the night she’d paced the floors, wondering what was going on. First, there had been the car accident that could have taken her father’s life and then the explosion. She was afraid and she was angry. And there was nothing she could do about it, either.

  “In the meantime, all palace security has been revamped. We’ve upgraded our electronic monitoring systems, added more guards and increased our pre-certification efforts for local and off-island events,” Kris continued.

  Sam shook her head. “You had advised me to keep every appointment and appearance on schedule and to make sure the people of the island knew we were all safe because the culprits had been apprehended. So you lied?”

  The words were bitter and she hated having to speak them to her brother, but he had left her with no other choice. While he stood beside their father’s grand, dark wood desk, wearing a black suit and a gray silk tie, looking every bit the royal that he was, Kris managed to make Sam feel like an idiot. That wasn’t something she planned to take lightly. She’d always thought that she had a close relationship with both her brothers. After all, besides her father, they were the only other people in the world she could truly trust. They were her life. So betrayal cut quick and painfully.

  “I told you what you needed to hear in order to do your job,” Kris stated. “We were handling the rest.”

  “‘We’? As in you, Dad and Roland. The men of the family. Let me guess, you were all protecting me, keeping the bad stuff from the youngest child, so that she could continue to smile prettily for the cameras. Keeping the tourists coming onto the island no matter what danger they might encounter?”

  Because her hands threatened to shake, Sam clasped them tightly together, concentrating on holding them calmly in her lap. She knew he was staring from where he sat in the chair beside her. She could feel the heat on the side of her face from his glare.

  Gary had started this conversation off by declaring that they would continue to act as if they were involved. Sam had been ready to disagree with the plan, despite her own part in instigating it, but Kris had taken the opportunity to drop his little bombshell.

  “We are here to keep our people safe,” her father countered. “It is our priority. As Kris stated, we have instituted a complete overhaul of our security program. In addition, we’ve had several meetings with Captain Briggins. As a result of the rise in tourism, we had money in the budget to hire additional officers for his battalion, as well. We are keeping everyone’s safety in mind.”

  “You’re also keeping secrets from the island’s goodwill ambassador,” Sam countered. She’d wanted to scream this point to her brother and her father because it seemed as if they weren’t getting the severity of their error. Of course, she didn’t raise her voice. It wouldn’t have been respectful and Sam knew how imperative it was for her to always sho
w respect. She’d watched her mother do it so gracefully that she’d taught herself how to handle difficult situations with the same finesse.

  “It was no secret, Sam,” Kris added. “We handle business every day that you know nothing about.”

  “Yet you insist on keeping that royal calendar so that you always know where I am and who I’m with. So it’s fine for me to be under your thumb, but I shouldn’t worry about the things you feel I don’t need to know?”

  “We each have a job to do here,” Rafe stated, his voice a little louder than it had been before.

  “And what’s his job?” she asked without looking over at Gary.

  She couldn’t. Not without feeling that eerie stirring in the pit of her stomach that had begun the moment her lips had touched his last night.

  “My job was to examine Grand Serenity’s infrastructure and to assist in implementing new security protocols,” he replied.

  Resisting the urge to look at him wasn’t going to work this time. Sam turned to him then. That dark gaze of his already engulfing her.

  “You work for us and now you’re suggesting that you and I act as if we’re having an affair. That’s the recommendation we paid for?”

  It sounded cold and harsh, and so unlike the person Sam really was, that she flinched inwardly at her words. Her emotions were getting the best of her and that was never a good thing. She was taking a deep breath and getting ready to release it slowly when he spoke again.

  “If you recall, Princess, you put this play in motion. I’m only suggesting that we capitalize on an event that might otherwise bring unwanted negative attention to the family at the moment.”

  He was right and that was perhaps what she hated most about this situation.