Page 62 of Royal Charmer
“Go away!” I shout over my shoulder.
Lucas drops his hold on me, turns, and stalks toward Mason. Riley remains standing a short distance away. She looks disgustingly cute with her long black hair up in a high ponytail, wearing a white tank top with dark orange capris and high-heeled sandals. I bet she paid for the expensive plane tickets. Her family is loaded.
I catch up to Lucas just in time to hear him say in a commanding voice of authority, “You two wait here. A car will drive you to the palace, where you will then wait in the entrance hall until Alice and I have time for you.” He turns to Thor. “Call ahead and have two guards on them at all times.”
“Who are you?” Mason asks Lucas, his brows drawn together.
“Do as you’re told,” Lucas snaps, “or you will be escorted right back to the ferry and off this island forever.”
Mason turns to me. “Alice, what’s going on? Did you bring another man on our honeymoon?”
I gasp. The nerve! After what he did?
Lucas grabs Mason by the shirt and hauls him up close. “Not another word.” He throws Mason back from him, and Mason stumbles. “And I’m the fucking prince of Villroy and Alice’s fiancé.”
“Alice?” Mason asks like he’s totally lost.
Lucas wraps his arm around my shoulders and guides me to the car. I’m shaking with fury, my mind racing at everything I want to spew at Mason and Riley for daring to show up here at the place that was supposed to be my retreat away from all the hurt they put me through.
But there’s no time for spewing the venom building inside me because there’s Jules and David.
Lucas smiles and calls, “Bonjour!” along with more warm and cheerful French. I paste on a smile, not even blinking when Lucas introduces me as his fiancée.
My worlds are colliding, and there’s too many fiancés, real and fake, for my tender heart to take.
Chapter Sixteen
Lucas
I will kill him. I swear to God. Just when I finally connect with Alice—she loves me, by some miracle she loves me, even after a devastating breakup that would’ve closed most people’s hearts for a good long time—heshows up, reminding her of all the hurt that giving your heart to someone can bring. Talk about one step forward, one giant leap back. She’s nearly catatonic by my side at the day spa. On the ride over, I urged her to go back to her room to give her a break from the pressure of the business meeting. I’d just tell everyone she’s not feeling well. She refused, saying flatly, “Nope. I’m a badass.” As if that moniker will protect her. I know her. She’s a sweet, tender soul. And even a badass needs a safe space to retreat before all hell breaks loose.
What the fuck is he doing here? And why, of all that is holy, did he bring Riley, the supposed best friend who stabbed Alice in the back?
I blow out a breath. Anna is giving the bankers the tour, the rest of us following behind. It seems to be going well. Both Jules and David are impressed with what we’ve done here, and Anna’s natural enthusiasm really sells it.
“You mentioned a possible restaurant in addition to the spa’s café?” David asks once we’ve circled back to the lobby. The conversation has remained in English after Anna’s initial “Bonjour, Monsieurs!” made them wince. Her pronunciation is atrocious. Though, in her defense, she’s had little time with her French tutor, and Gabriel only teaches her dirty words. Something she shared with me when I first asked after her lessons a couple of months ago.
“Yes,” Anna says. “The restaurant menu would feature seafood fresh caught by our fishermen. Maybe we’ll get a French chef. They’re the best.”
“We do like our food,” Jules says amiably.
“Let me show you where the restaurant would go,” she says, pointing toward the side exit.
We all file out, looking at the flat land overlooking the sea. Gabriel takes over, catching them up with what we’ve put into the project so far financially and what we project to bring in, even without the restaurant.
“Yes,” David murmurs, glancing at me. “Your CFO has already filled us in on the numbers.”
Gabriel’s gaze lands on me with a brief nod of acknowledgment before shifting to Alice at my side and looking away. He doesn’t understand about Alice. The engagement is fake, but the love is real. And when Alice is ready, whenever that is, we’ll take that next step to the real thing. I never thought I’d be excited about the possibility of an engagement. I used to find the mere idea of marriage repulsive. That was before sweet Alice. I take her hand, and it’s ice cold despite the warm June day. She’s staring at the sea, completely closed in on herself. Probably deep in the refuge of her imagination.
I will deal with her ex, and then I’ll help her through this. She shouldn’t have to go through the hell of dealing with the double betrayal all over again. I play out various scenarios in my mind for how best to deal with him, but I can’t find one that doesn’t end in violence. I want to punch him so bad I can taste it. I know Alice wouldn’t want that. She’s a nonviolent soul. Even when she was freshly reeling from his betrayal, she still had a kind word to say about him. She never even blocked him from her phone, much to my aggravation. I have to keep a clear head for her sake.
I tune back in to the conversation just as Gabriel says, “Please join us at the palace for luncheon.”
“Of course,” Jules says with a wide smile. “I’ve never seen your ancestral home.”
David actually cracks a smile. “We would be delighted.”
Alice grips my arm tightly, her alarmed gaze alerting me to the problem. Mason and Riley are waiting in the entrance hall. All of our guests pass through that way. “I’ll call ahead and have our uninvited guests moved,” I whisper in her ear.
