Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Two days later, Cal was completely sure Carla had made up the stalker to lure him to DC so she could ensnare a prince.

Cal was used to manipulative women, but Carla and Elaine took the cake. Even he’d underestimated them. Until he called an acquaintance of his, a former Navy SEAL who had mad computer skills, who’d been able to hack Carla’s computer and acquire a few video chats between the woman and Karl.

He would be having a serious talk with his cousin later, both for being taken in by a pair of fake boobs and a pretty face and for divulging information about Cal himself. But it was Carla’s footage that really interested him. It was tough to watch the videos; the last thing Cal wanted to see was the amateur porn show Carla had put on for his cousin. But the info he gleaned was invaluable.

The things she’d told Karl directly contradicted everything she’d told Cal about her alleged stalker. She’d claimed there were cameras at the house, and they’d caught someone wearing all black, slinking around the property, and leaving her nasty notes and scary gifts. The items the stalker had allegedly left at her door were different. Even everything the police had supposedly told her was different from what she’d told Cal.

In short, everything that came out of her mouth was a lie. Cal wasn’t exactly surprised, but he was still astonished by how far she and her mother would take this charade.

Cal had kept himself busy, trying to stay away from Carla as he researched the situation, but he’d still been forced to spend more time than he preferred with her and Elaine. And the more he was around them, the more disgusted he became. The way they treated June was truly appalling. That it had been going on for years was the most shocking thing of all.

He hadn’t lied when he’d told June she had a loyalty he’d rarely seen. In fact, he’d only seen it in his friends. He knew to his very bones that Chappy, Bob, and JJ would die for him, just as he would for them. But June’s actions . . . they went beyond that. She was loyal to a father who was no longer alive, no longer here to see how much she was suffering, all because of a deathbed promise.

Not only that, but she was hardworking, pretty in an unflashy way, and kind.

Cal had always hated any kind of movie that featured a prince . . . which were far too many. Those movies had made his life a living hell, with nearly every woman he met dreaming of riding off into the sunset with him once they learned he was royalty. It was all bullshit. He didn’t live like a prince, didn’t want to. Being part of a royal family had ended any chance he had of living a normal life, thanks to his captors carving him up so thoroughly.

Despite all of that . . . when he’d talked to June that first night, he couldn’t help but compare her to Cinderella. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had a family of mice she talked to in the basement where she’d been forced to live.

For the first time in his entire life, Cal wanted to be someone’s Prince Charming.

He wanted to rescue the damsel in distress. Wanted to live happily ever after with his princess. It was utterly ridiculous, and not something he’d ever in a million years admit to anyone, even his closest friends. But the more he was around the evil stepsister and her mother and saw how patient and even keeled June remained in the face of their disdain, the more he wanted to snatch her away and make her see her own worth.

It was obvious she had no idea what an amazing person she was. She’d lived under the thumb of Elaine for so long, it was a miracle she’d remained so sweet and thoughtful.

The warning she’d given him that first night had been appreciated—especially when he’d found a damn hand towel in the bathroom, just as she’d said. The smell of perfume on his sheets had almost made him gag. Even after remaking the bed with clean sheets, he’d still had to endure the cloying odor.

Not only that, but he’d seen the doorknob to the loo rattling after he’d gotten out of his shower. The sheer nerve of Carla attempting to invade his privacy almost had Cal storming out of the house and leaving that very night.

The only thing that stopped him was June. And the promise he’d made to his parents to look into the stalking situation.

It was only Tuesday, and he was already done with this farce. Yesterday, he’d installed simple cameras outside the front and back doors, despite Carla’s protests and the fact there was no proof of a stalker. It was disgusting that she’d even attempted this ruse. Thousands of men and women across the country were actually being stalked at any given moment, and anyone who lied about such a thing potentially took time away from legitimate cases.

Today, he’d spent his morning at the police station, talking to a detective about the situation and sharing the information he’d been able to learn, thanks to his retired SEAL friend. Cal had just returned to the Greens’ home and was heading to the kitchen, hoping to find June and tell her that they were leaving tomorrow.

She’d decided not to tell her steps that she was leaving, had told him with a small smile that imagining the looks on their faces when they realized she was gone—and they’d have to cook and clean for themselves—was something that would sustain her for a long time.

But en route to the kitchen, Cal passed the library, where he caught the sound of Carla and Elaine’s voices. The door was open a crack, allowing him to clearly hear the conversation going on inside. Instinctively, he kept quiet, wanting to know what the bitch duo was cooking up now.

“He’s suspicious!” Carla hissed.

“I know,” Elaine responded, sounding equally put out.

“I’ve done everything I know to do, and he doesn’t seem affected at all. I don’t get it! I mean, I’ve practically shoved my boobs in his face, and he hasn’t even looked twice,” Carla moaned.

“Maybe he’s gay?” Elaine suggested.

“He’s not. Karl said that he used to hang out at the pubs in England all the time and take women home. I’m telling you, I think maybe his penis was damaged when he was captured. Maybe he can’t get it up anymore. What’s the word for people who have it chopped off?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do, in the old days . . . those men who were like religious or something?”

“A eunuch?” Elaine asked.

“Yes! That’s it! Maybe he’s one of them. Although I think the more current word is Bobbittized.” Carla laughed at her own joke.

Personally, Cal wasn’t amused. His lip curled in derision. The audacity of Carla discussing his dick, and making light of the torture he’d suffered, was almost unbelievable. But with these two, he was beginning to think anything was possible.

“Anyway, I’m thinking either his dick got cut off, or he can’t get it up anymore. Those are the only reasons I can think of for why he’s unaffected by my body,” Carla whined.

“So we need to give him a reason to stay,” Elaine said.

Cal’s eyes narrowed as he listened.

“Like?”

“Leave it to me. But this time tomorrow, he’ll have all the proof he needs that you have a stalker, and your life is in danger. I’ll suggest that you should go into hiding and that you need a bodyguard to go with you.”

“Ooooh, I like it!” Carla enthused. “We can go to a remote cabin and—wait, no. I would hate that. We can go to Vegas and check into one of the penthouse suites or something. I’ll convince him we’ll be safer there because there are cameras everywhere. He’s so damn hung up on stupid cameras, he should love that. Then I’ll seduce him. I might have to close my eyes so I don’t have to see how gross he is, but I’ll do whatever it fucking takes to get that crown on my head. And Karl says he’s loaded! Do you think we’ll get married in a big ceremony like Kate and Meghan had? Ooooh, I want a horse-drawn carriage and twenty-seven attendants!”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself,” Elaine scolded. “Right now, the man won’t even look twice at you. You’re going to have to act scared out of your mind and make him want to protect you.”

“I can do that,” Carla said firmly. “If it gets a crown on my head, I’ll do whatever I have to.”

Cal had heard more than enough. He was disgusted with the entire business. His cousin’s infatuation with Carla, his parents insisting he come here after being pressured by the royal family, Carla and Elaine’s scheming. And if anyone gave him grief for shirking his responsibility . . . well, he had those video chats between Karl and Carla in his back pocket, if necessary.

He’d fulfilled his duty, had done as promised. There was no threat to Carla, other than her overblown ego and unimaginable desperation.

Forget tomorrow. He was leaving today. Right now.

He quietly continued toward the kitchen. He knew he’d find June there, working hard without complaint to make a dinner no one would appreciate. She’d been up since before six, when he’d come downstairs to find her just finishing his breakfast. She even had a cup of tea waiting for him.

The couple of hours he’d spent with June the last two mornings hadn’t changed Cal’s mind about her. If anything, the time had made him more curious. Had drawn him closer. She had a comforting presence. She was just as happy to sit in silence with him as she was to chat about the many happy memories she had of her father.

Cal didn’t like how quick she was to denigrate herself. To talk down about her lack of education, her lack of sophisticated clothes, her lack of job skills . . . her size.

In his eyes, she was incredibly resilient. There was more to life than a formal education. Some of the smartest people he’d ever met weren’t college educated. He’d take a down-to-earth person with street smarts and common sense over someone with a PhD and a giant ego any day of the week.

And June was kind and generous. It was almost unbelievable how thoughtful she was, considering the way she was treated. She could’ve been bitter and angry, desperate to get back at a world that had dealt her a rotten hand. But obviously her upbringing with her father had left a lasting impression. Cal was disappointed he’d never meet the man who’d raised such an amazing daughter.

He opened the kitchen door, and just as he’d thought, he found June standing at the stove. She turned when the door opened, her cheeks flushed from the heat of the oven and her hair up in a messy bun. She had no makeup on whatsoever and was wearing an apron over a T-shirt and a pair of black leggings.

For a moment, all he could do was stare. Her legs were outlined perfectly in the clingy material, and the curves on display made his mouth water.

“Cal? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” she asked with a furrow in her brow.

The fact that she was worried about him didn’t escape his notice. He was more sure than ever his decision to invite her to Maine was the right one.

“We’re leaving today. Now, actually.”

She stared at him in surprise for a beat. “Now?” she whispered.

Cal could hear the trepidation in her tone. He wasn’t letting her change her mind. No way.

He stalked toward her and took the spoon out of her hand, turned off the burner under a large pot, and put his hands on her shoulders. He turned her away from him, her gorgeous round arse on display, and pulled the tie holding the apron around her body.

It fell open immediately. It took all his willpower not to reach down and palm the healthy globes hugged by her leggings and the T-shirt that didn’t quite cover them.

As Cal turned her back around to face him, he wanted to smirk when he remembered the conversation in the library. About how he might be into guys, or that he must not be able to get it up anymore. He was more aroused by a fully covered June than he’d been in . . . well, longer than he could remember.

He wanted her. All of her. But now wasn’t the time or place for those kinds of thoughts.

“Yes. Now,” he finally answered firmly.

“Why? What’s happened? I thought you weren’t leaving until the end of the week.”

“Carla’s not being stalked. They’ve made it up. I have all the proof I need. But when I was walking by the library and heard them talking, I—”

“They were in the library? They never go in there,” June said in confusion.

Cal nodded. “Yes, they were in the library. Probably looking for books on witchcraft or something. I don’t know. Anyway, Elaine was talking about providing proof of Carla’s stalker, and I’m not going to participate in this farce anymore.”

“How’s she going to get proof of something that doesn’t exist?”

Cal had his ideas, but what Elaine and Carla did wasn’t his concern anymore. “It doesn’t matter. I’m done. And we’re leaving.”

June bit her lip uncertainly.

Cal put his hands on her shoulders again and leaned closer. “The first time I saw you, you were looking up at the sky with the sun on your face and an expression that told me you felt free in that moment. I can help you find real freedom, June. You can feel that way every day and not only in stolen moments from working yourself into exhaustion for no payment or thanks. You can do whatever it is your heart desires. You can be who you were meant to be. All you have to do is be brave enough to say yes. To go downstairs, pack your stuff, and leave with me right now.”

Cal held his breath as he waited for June’s response. He would kidnap her ass if he had to—for her own good, of course—but he really wanted her to make this decision herself. She needed to. For her own peace of mind.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“I know.” And he did. He never talked about the time when he was a POW, but he found himself wanting to open up to June. “When I was rescued, I was terrified. I knew the assholes had filmed my torture. I wasn’t sure who’d seen it, if anyone. And when I found out the footage had been broadcast around the world, I wanted to die. I literally didn’t want to live at that moment, June. It almost felt easier to turn around and go right back into that cave. At least there I knew what to expect.

“But I had three mates who told me I’d be fine. That they’d be with me every step of the way, and not just in the scary new world of relentless media attention I found myself in for a time. But while starting a new life in Maine. Let me do the same for you, June. You’re braver than you realize. I don’t know many people who would’ve been able to survive what you’ve been through for so many years. Able to flourish in tiny moments of sunshine, even while locked away in a dark basement. Please let me help you find your footing.”

She stared at him for so long, Cal worried that he’d overstepped. That he’d gone too far. But then she whispered, “Why?”

“Because the thought of leaving you here and just walking away makes me sick to my stomach. Hurts more than any torture those arseholes dished out. Besides . . . when Carla finds out that you’re gone, and makes the connection that you left with me, think about how furious she’s going to be.” He gave her a grin.

June smiled a little. Then she sobered. “I don’t know that I can live a normal life out there. Here, I know my place. My days are all the same. What if I can’t find a job? What am I going to do?”

“One day at a time,” Cal said firmly. “And princess, your life here is the one that’s not normal.” The endearment popped out without him thinking about it.

He couldn’t read the emotions swirling in her eyes, but his entire body sagged with relief when she finally nodded.

“You’ll go with me? Right now?”

“Yes.”

Triumph rose within Cal. Adrenaline swam in his blood.

“But maybe after lunch? Carla and Elaine usually take a nap after they eat.”

Cal wanted to leave right this second, but she had a good point. He didn’t want to be in the middle of a scene if he could avoid it, and he knew without doubt that Carla would pitch one hell of a fit when she realized he was leaving.

“Okay. Can I do anything while you go pack?” he asked.

“You can cook?” she teased.

“I’ve been a bachelor a long time. Of course, I can cook. I can at least stir whatever it is that smells so good in that pot while you’re gone.”

“Are you really sure?”

He had a feeling she wasn’t talking about lunch.

“More than sure. It’s going to be okay, June. I promise. And as a member of the Liechtenstein royal family, you should know it’s a matter of honor that I always keep my promises.”

She smiled at that.

He leaned down and kissed her right cheek, then the left, loving the sweet blush that bloomed on her cheeks. “Go on. Pack your things. Bring as much as you want.”

“I don’t have much.”

Cal wasn’t surprised. “Any keepsakes from your dad you want to take?”

She nodded. “A tea set my dad always used when he would play dress-up with me.”

“Where is it?”

In response, June walked across the room, knelt down on the floor, and opened a cabinet. She reached in, moving things out of her way, before sitting up with what looked like a silver teapot. “I had to hide it from Elaine. She would’ve sold it or had it melted down to make some stupid trinket for her to wear. It’s solid silver. I asked Dad once why he let an eight-year-old use something so valuable, and he told me that it was made to be used, and he couldn’t imagine a better person to use it with than the most important little girl in his life.”

Tears were in her eyes as she stared at the tarnished teapot, and Cal made a vow right then and there to learn as much about her father as he could. Not only would it make her happy to talk about her beloved dad, he had a feeling he could learn a lot about how to be a better man from hearing stories of how he’d lived his life.

He walked over and crouched down next to June. “May I?” he asked, nodding to the teapot.

June handed it over without hesitation. Again, the trust she showed in him was humbling.

“Any cups to go with it?”

June shook her head. “No, they were all broken years ago.”

“All right. Come on, up you go. Get your things, princess. We’ll get on the road right after lunch and make as much headway as possible. It’s a long drive up to Newton.”

To his relief, she nodded and walked toward the basement door. “Turn the burner back on to medium and stir. Don’t let the Alfredo sauce burn. I make it with full-fat cream and cheese, even though Carla and Elaine are constantly dieting,” she said with a sly smirk. Then she was gone.

Two minutes later, Cal found himself still smiling at her minor defiance. His June was going to be just fine. She hadn’t lost the spark for life deep down inside her.

When he realized he’d thought of June as his, Cal didn’t even blink. Somehow, someway, this woman had tunneled her way under his walls . . . and he wasn’t sure he hated it.