Chapter Thirteen

It's after midnight when I hear the snick of the hidden door moving and feel the rush of cool air that comes when it swings open. And annoyance that he thought I would be waiting up for him. I'm not. Mostly. I just can't sleep.

I'm in the same pajamas I wore for my side scene with Hannah. She'd come back from her date with a dreamy look on her face and stories about how amazing Luca—sorry, she calls him Reg—is. She's maybe more than half in love with him, and I can't help but wonder if I'm making a mistake asking him to keep her.

"Hey." I'm not surprised he's here. I would be more shocked if he hadn't shown up. "How did the date go?"

It's the weirdest question. Almost like honey, how was work today? That's how comfortable I feel with him walking into my bedroom. Most relationships feel awkward for months until you find a nice routine, but Luca and I fell into something soothing from the moment we met. Like something settled into place, and the world made more sense.

I say we. I mean me.

He's obviously changed clothes. I doubt he wore track pants and a T-shirt to the fancy restaurant he took Hannah to. I'd heard about all the details, the camera catching my reactions to everything, including the daisy she'd shown off. They'd met with the chef and taken what sounded like a flirty, cute, cooking class before sitting down to the meal they prepared and talking about their futures as they looked out over the city skyline.

"It was fine," he replies. "She was a good choice because she knows how to cook. I'm mostly useless in the kitchen."

He'd been described as adorably inept. "She said she had to help you a lot, but she didn't seem to mind."

"It didn't mean anything, Anika." He closes the door behind him with a quiet click.

I stare up at him because he needs to hear some truth. "It meant something to Hannah."

"It didn't mean anything to me beyond I enjoyed talking to her. Not in a romantic fashion. Merely as humans stuck in the same place getting to know a little about each other." He moves in and sits on the bed beside me. "You should have let me cut her, Schatz. I can do it gently. I wouldn't hurt her willingly. She seems like a nice young lady, but she's not the one I'm interested in."

Now I feel like a jealous bitch. I give him what I hope is a sunny smile. "It's nothing personal. I was just asking."

He stares at me for a moment, a soulful look in his eyes. "Anika, I would let them all go if I could. If I could, I would be that man you met in the bar. I would be normal."

"There's no such thing." I meant to tell him I'm tired and he needs to keep his distance. I have all the right instincts and intentions when he's somewhere else. When he's standing in front of me, my only instinct is to touch him, to talk to him. "I'm sorry. I'm being jealous."

He picks up my hand and brings it to his lips, sending a spark through me. "You have nothing to be jealous of. I told you. I'm not going to touch any of them. Even though I got a hearty lecture from the producers. Did you know they expected me to…what's the American word…hook up with most of the contestants? They asked me what I would be doing when we made it to the overnight dates. I didn't know there were overnight dates."

He sounds so sweetly prim, I almost laugh. And then I realize this man who keeps talking about intimacy like he's a 19th century virgin is staring at my chest. It's a good reminder that he's a man.

A man who seems to only want me. The problem is can I trust him?

"That's how these shows go, Luca."

"Perhaps for regular people, but I have to have higher standards. So I explained to them that these intimacies will not happen." He sighs and puts my hand down before moving to the bed across from mine. He sits and stares at me for a moment. "It's for the best. I don't think I could play the Casanova role. I know most men like me have reputations, but I, for one, did not earn it. I've only had a couple of girlfriends, and I'm not much for finding a woman for the night."

I can't help but think about the fact that I could have been that woman for the night. He could have come upstairs with me, and then we wouldn't have this terrible sexual tension between us. Would we? Or would it have made it so much worse knowing? "No, when you get one on your hook, you let her go. You're a catch and release guy."

"I'm not," he argues. "That's what you don't understand. What happened the other night was out of character for me. I don't even know why I went down to the bar. I could have ordered room service, but something made me want to sit in the bar and pretend to be normal for a while. And then your friend pointed you out and I wanted to be the kind of man who could drop everything and join a bunch of strangers for an impromptu dinner. It made Hans a little crazy."

"Your bodyguard? The one who did perimeter sweeps all day?" He'd looked totally out of place on our laid-back set. The women might be dressed to the nines—unless they were wearing perfectly appropriate for sports clothing—but the crew are typically jeans and T-shirts people. Hans looked like he was in the secret service. Which I suppose he kind of is, in a Ralavian way.

"Yes. He takes his job seriously. I tried to explain to him that no one is going to want to assassinate me, but he pointed out I'm technically dating ten women, so I should watch my back. He should have joined the comedy circuit when he left the army."

I'm with Hans on that one. I get the feeling Shelby might try to take him out when he cuts her. "You have an army?"

"A small one. It's mostly ceremonial, though we do some serious training."

I'm so curious. "We? You didn't mention military service."

"Everyone in Ralavia serves two years in the military," Luca explains. "Typically right after what you would call high school and before university."

I don't want to be curious, and I don't want to remember all the things he's told me, but I can't help myself. "You said you went to boarding school in England. Is that why you have a British accent when you speak English?"

His jaw firms as he nods. I'm starting to learn his tells, and this one is all about being uncomfortable. Not necessarily with talking, but with the incident we're discussing. "Oh, yes. I learned quickly to adopt an accent that helped me to fit in. British schoolboy culture isn't what I would call inclusive. Not at that level. I went to Eton. I wasn't the only royal there at the time, but I was the only one who sounded German."

I remember my own slightly chaotic high school experience. "Why should that matter? I went to a school where everyone seemed to be from somewhere else. I would have thought your accent was cool."

"Ich bin sicher, das würdest du, Liebling," he murmurs. "Unfortunately, you were not there, and so when I speak English I sound like a Windsor. And like those famous men, I went into the military when the time came. That's where I met Hans and learned how serious he is about his job."

"Was he in the same unit?" I ask.

Luca's head shakes. "No. He's a few years older than me and I suspect he was planning a long career in the military before he got pulled out of his team and assigned to royal duty. He was going into the horse guards, an elite unit. They're the only unit we send when NATO or the EU or other allies request assistance. But no. Hans got stuck babysitting, as he calls it."

I try to imagine him in a military uniform. It wouldn't make him less hot. "So you weren't allowed to be a normal soldier?"

"Oh, no," Luca says with a wave of his hand. "I was only allowed to serve because it was expected, but I had a guard on me twenty-four seven, and I would never have been allowed into combat. I did learn a few things, however. I love flying now. I can fly almost anything, including a jumbo jet. And I love helicopters. It's fun to make Hans go the lightest shade of green."

"So he was following us all night?"

"He never let us out of his sight. And I had the cab stop a block away to pick him up. He was very irritated with me over that. He had to jog."

I would give it to the man. He's good. I hadn't seen him at all. Or maybe I'd been too wrapped up in Luca to notice anything around me. "What does he think of this plan of yours? Is he vetting the contestants? You should tell him I was a juvenile, and I don't know how that cotton candy got in my mouth."

His lips curl up. "He thinks I'm insane, but as his parents are close to losing their home because their business dried up, he understands. If Joe is serious and he's willing to shoot part of his next film in my country, then this whole gamble will be worth it."

Because a shoot like that can bring millions into the local economy. And if one production goes well, word gets around. "You need to think about infrastructure."

"Already done," he says with obvious satisfaction. "We put a good deal of money into a production studio. We are a small country with a business-forward government. Despite how small we are, we can stand in for any number of European countries, and we're cheaper than they are. We're ready for business. Once we get tourism going and our reputation as a good place to film is established, I can relax a bit."

He sounds like he knows what he's doing, and I shouldn't forget that he has an agenda. "What does relaxing look like, Luca?"

"I don't know. I think I forgot how to when my parents died."

"You were young. I knew that when you told me, but I didn't have certain important context. That's a lot of pressure for a twenty-six-year-old." I can't help but think about what Harper said earlier. She'd talked about Luca not having a role model relationship. "What were they like? I kind of got the feeling you had a complex relationship with them."

That gorgeous mouth of his becomes a stubborn line. "I didn't come here to talk about my parents."

"Why did you come here then?" I ask. "To tell me you kept your word about keeping Hannah? I realized that when she showed up and we spent an hour and a half talking on camera about how the date went."

"And you're jealous." He sighs and moves his big body so his legs are in front of him and he's sitting back against the headboard. "I would be, too. It's an odd situation and one I did not expect to find myself in."

"You had to know it would be awkward to date so many women," I point out. "It'll get weirder as you get to know them all."

"I didn't think any of them would move me," he admits. "I thought I would come in and find a woman who could play the part for a few months. That's how the producers sold me on it. They said I only had to get engaged. I didn't have to actually have a wedding. It would be good for tourism, but I don't have to go that far if I don't want to. I think they would prefer it since it's written into my contract that if I marry one of the women, they have to pay seven million toward a wedding in Ralavia."

I smile at the thought. They were banking on this show going the way of so many others. There are only a handful of couples who meet like this who are still together a year later, much less married. If you want to get married, go on Big Brother or Survivor. "Now that would get you some tourist dollars."

He turns my way with a wolfish smile. "Excellent. Let's do it."

"Luca," I say with a sigh.

He twists his body again so he's facing me. "I'm not joking, Anika. Why not? I like you. You like me. There are some nice jewels that come with the job. Are you seeing anyone?"

He's annoying me again. "That's not the point. And the fact that we like each other isn't a reason to get married."

"It's the best reason I can think of," he confesses. "Honestly, it's the best outcome for me. I never expected to like the woman I marry."

"What does that mean?"

"It means my parents expected me to marry someone from another royal family, and they didn't give a damn if the marriage satisfied something in my soul. Marriage for them wasn't about love or happiness or being content. It was about the crown. Always about the crown. My mother was connected to Danish royalty. She married my father when she was eighteen and was expected to immediately produce an heir. It took her fifteen years and painful fertility treatments to finally give birth to me. To say their marriage was unhappy would be denial. From what I can tell it was hell, but they did it."

"Not for you." I can see plainly where this is going. "They did it because royals don't divorce. But Luca, you can't expect a modern woman to stay in an unhappy marriage."

"No. I don't. I would never put my wife through that," he promises. "I don't care about children. If I marry and the name dies with me, then at least I will have brought real democracy to my country. But it's hard to change. Our history is all we have. Our rituals and traditions are part of that, but I assure you I wouldn't hold a woman hostage to the crown. We could have a prenup that allows you to leave if you're unhappy."

"We're not in the same situation at all. I didn't come here to find a husband." He's overwhelming me, and he's not saying the words that will make me say yes. I honestly don't know that there are words that will make me say yes.

I love you.

He could say that, but I wouldn't believe him. Not now.

He seems to think about that for a moment. "Well, it's good I have a few weeks to change your mind then. Scoot over. I thought you could watch one of those showswith me. You know, the one this one is based on. We can watch and talk about it and then I'll know better how to act."

I roll my eyes. "There's no TV in here. They don't allow us contact with the outside world."

"Then it's good I came prepared." He opens the door and says something in German and then an iPad is being pressed into his hand.

"Luca, is Hans sitting in the stairwell?"

Luca shrugs. "I told him there wouldn't be an assassin in the tunnels."

"Es gibtimmerAttent?ter in den Tunneln," I hear a low voice say.

"Du bisteinparanoiderMistkerl," Luca shoots back.

Some things are clear from context. "He's right. There could be assassins in the tunnels, but more likely an unhoused person looking for shelter in the subway tunnels and finding their way here."

He closes the door. "I can handle it. Now, I have all the streaming things. Where do I start?"

He climbs onto the bed next to me, though I'm under the covers and he stays on top. I'm excited to see a device. I haven't seen my phone in days, and I miss it. The truth of the matter is I'm doing us all a favor by teaching Luca how to act like a man who wants to find love by driving through a handpicked selection of women deemed "right" by a group of wealthy producers.

Wow. It's really a little like a royal marriage when you think about it. He's got a limited quantity to pick from, and he's got to get it done or the production/crown fails.

He logs in and I find a show to start with.

"This one is closest to what we're doing, ie, this is the one we're ripping off," I explain.

"Ripping off?" Luca asks, that elegant brow rising.

I wave away that worry. "If one show is successful, there will be one hundred and fifty variations out the next season. You've got your generic pretty people finding love Bachelor/Bachelorette, group dating shows where they throw a bunch of pretty people on a beach and watch them fight. Watching your ex date is a thing. Oh, and then there are the ones that are profession based. Like farmers."

There's a pained expression on his face. "I should have known what I was getting into, shouldn't I?"

I shrug as I start season one, episode one. "That's why you need an agent, buddy. Now hush. You might learn something."

He settles in beside me. "This is nothing I ever thought I would need to know. They didn't cover this at Oxford."

I roll my eyes his way. "Show off."

His lips curl into a sweet smile. "You are an incorrigible brat."

"I thought I was a treasure."

His hand comes out to cup my cheek, and he leans over, brushing his lips over my forehead. "It's all about perspective. You can be both. I like the fact that you're both, Anika. You can be everything."

I am not going to cry. I force myself to pay attention to the show. "All right. So here are the introductions. They're important."

Sometime around episode three I fall asleep, my head on his shoulder.

When I wake up in the morning, someone's tucked the covers around me.

I feel warm and cared for.

I steel myself for the day ahead because it's time to go back to work.