Page 66 of An Inconvenient Plan
Omigod, Phillip. She’d completely forgotten to get back to him about his proposal three days ago. He must’ve sent a representative in case the news was bad.
She stepped out onto the porch with him, figuring it would be a quick conversation. Also, he was a little intimidating, and she didn’t want to be alone with him inside her office. “Did he send you? I’m so sorry it took me so long to get back to him.”
Dylan crossed his arms, making his biceps bulge. “You won’t be accepted by the family. He needs royal lines, not an American.”
She tilted her head, considering this odd bit of information. “That can’t be true. What about Silvia and her American fiancé?”
He slashed a hand through the air. “It’s different. She’s not that close to the throne. Phillip is next in line after Gabriel.”
She pasted on a smile. “Well, it really wasn’t a serious consideration on my part. He doesn’t love me.”
Dylan’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding? You’re all he can talk about. He told Silvia how perfect you are, and she sent me to handle it.”
Perfect? Me?
Dylan grumbled on in his growly voice. “I’m saying this for your own good. My family is the outcast. My dad was next in line, married a girl from Brooklyn, and here we are, a whole damn royal family denied any of the wealth or privilege that comes with that.”
He sounded terribly bitter.
Dylan gestured up and down her body. “I get it. You already look like a beautiful princess and you’re put together. Not someone who’d fall apart under the harsh spotlight.”
“Dylan!” a masculine voice shouted. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
She sucked in air. Phillip! His two security guards hovered behind him.
The two men squared off on the front porch. Dylan had more bulky muscle on Phillip, but they had equally lethal looks on their faces. She shrank back by the door.
“Silvia said you’re out of hand,” Dylan growled.
“And she told me you insisted on taking care of things yourself. Go back to Brooklyn where you belong!”
Dylan jabbed Phillip in the chest. “Why don’t you go back to your prissy castle you love so much.”
Phillip smacked Dylan’s hand away. “Don’t touch me, riffraff.”
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck you, you interloper! Trying to hang on in any way you can, using Silvia—”
“She needed me. You’re out of control.”
Dylan grabbed Phillip by the front of his shirt, lifting him. Phillip’s shirt ripped under the strain and he lifted a knee, aiming for the groin. Dylan deflected the blow, tossing Phillip a few feet back. The guards moved forward, anticipating a brawl.
“Both of you get out!” Hailey hollered. Geez, men were all beasts.
Phillip turned to her. “I still need an answer, Hailey. I don’t know what Dylan told you—”
She spoke her truth. “I will only marry for love, so the answer is no.”
“I love you,” Phillip said earnestly.
Dylan grumbled, “I told you.”
She stared at Phillip, speechless. How could he love her so soon? They’d met a little over three weeks ago. Very little of that time was spent face-to-face, mostly they talked by phone or text. Was his life so insular that the small amount of time they’d had together felt intimate? She couldn’t say she felt the same way.
Dylan glowered as Phillip went on from the heart. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way now; with time you will. Come back with me. You’re a diamond who can’t shine to your full potential here. Villroy is where you belong.”
Both men stared at her.
