Royal Chase (14 page)

I finally started to relax after the men got called off to fight in the Civil War. The moment had come and gone and it looked like he wouldn’t tease or remind me about it. I hadn’t chosen this movie to bring up the costume ball. It really was just my favorite movie. I hoped he didn’t think there was some hidden double meaning.

We finished off most of the snacks with Dante doing the bulk of the work, and we somehow managed to scoot closer to each other so that by the end, my side was pressed to his. This was both exhilarating and nerve-racking. He was playing with the ends of my hair as I pressed “Stop.” The movie screen went blank.

“Well, what did you think?”

“I liked it.” His voice was a murmur. He didn’t have to speak very loudly, because we were so close together. “Why is it your favorite?”

“Well, the South, Atlanta. But I love Scarlett. I know I should like Melanie better. Scarlett is selfish, immature, and unaware of the damage she causes, while Melanie is good, kind, and forgiving. But I so wanted to be Scarlett when I grew up! I’m not sure what that says about me.”

“She was also brave, loyal, hardworking, and determined like you.”

He would never know the thrill he gave me when he compared our strengths. “But she has terrible taste in men. Another thing we have in common.”

“Hey!” he yelped, looking insulted. I laughed.

“She just chose the wrong guy,” Dante said. “She should have loved Rhett from the beginning. Ashley was all wrong for her. She would have frustrated him and he would have bored her. They would have been miserable.”

There was something there, something he wasn’t saying. I felt it. It was too deep and too serious for the moment. “From the beginning, huh? Don’t tell me you believe in love at first sight.”

He raised both of his eyebrows in response.

“You do! How can you of all people believe in that?”

“The men of our family fall hard and fall fast. There is a legend—my great-grandfather was kind to a group of traveling Romani. He granted them safe passage through Monterra and welcomed them to stay for as long as they wished.”

I must have looked confused, because he clarified. “People also call them gypsies, and it was at a time when many others were being cruel and enslaving them. And as a thank-you, the leader of the group granted him the desire of his heart—he had several possibilities for a queen and wasn’t sure which one to pick. The leader said that he and all the sons born in his line would know the very moment they met their true loves. And it happened. My great-grandfather met my great-grandmother at a ball, proposed later that night, and they were very much in love their entire lives.”

“That’s sweet. I still can’t believe that
you
believe in this sort of thing.”

“I didn’t. Until . . .” He trailed off. He did have a real-life example of it, though.

“Until Nico and Kat?” I tried to finish off his sentence.

He stayed still for a moment, and that feeling returned. The one that said something important was happening and that I better pay attention. The one that made all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He looked at me. “No, I didn’t believe it until the first time I held you in my arms. Comforting you after Kat’s accident. That’s when I knew it was true.”

He couldn’t be serious. He couldn’t. I waited for a wink, or one of those flirtatious smiles that would let me know it was all a joke. Ha-ha, so funny. Because I knew him, and this boy was so slick he could steal the sweet from sugar without touching a grain.

I waited. And I waited.

It didn’t happen.

I finally expelled a deep breath that I hadn’t even been aware of holding. This was too much. I became painfully aware of how fast my heart was beating, and of the camera crew standing ten feet away.

This was not real. Nothing that had happened since I’d been drafted into this situation had been real. Maybe the show had told him to manufacture a romance with me, too. If they had, I wished he had warned me first.

Because he was a little too convincing.

Despite what he’d said to me about wanting to get married, I wanted to laugh at the idea of it. The day that happened I would have to start ice-skating home from work because hell would have frozen over. It was that ridiculous.

So why was he doing this? Tormenting me? Had I actually hurt his feelings? It was probably more like a bruised ego.

“Say something,” he said, holding me with his gaze.

“I can’t do this with you. I just can’t.”

I got up and stormed off toward the house. I didn’t appreciate being toyed with, or how it would look on the show.

It wasn’t hard for him to catch up with me. He grabbed my upper arm, turning me around. Even when I was angry and hurt by him, his touch still managed to make my knees go floppy. “Just tell me this one thing. Is it like this with him? Does he make you laugh?”

I stared up at him, my eyes glassy and full of unshed tears. “Maybe not. But at least he doesn’t make me cry.”

He looked stricken when he let me go, and I walked inside without looking back.

Chapter 14

I think once we have our first fight we should definitely kiss and make up.

Dante found me at breakfast and asked to speak with me. I couldn’t say no because every other girl was gaping at us, and two camera crews stood nearby, capturing every word.

I didn’t want this preserved for posterity. So I took him by the hand and led him into the bathroom, locking the door shut behind us. Someone banged on the door loudly, and a man’s voice said, “Come on, Lemon! This is the kind of stuff the audience eats up! Let us in!”

The knocking continued as Dante took both of my hands. He looked so sad. “I hate when you’re upset with me,
Limone
. You’re my best friend. What can I do to apologize and make this right? I’ll do anything.”

My mouth literally dropped open. I was his
best
friend? I’d always considered us friends, but best friends?

Then I realized that it was true for me too. He had become one of my best friends. On par with Kat.

I also realized that there was no rational excuse for my behavior last night. If a man hinted that he had feelings for you, you thanked him for it, told him you found it flattering, but you really just thought of him as a friend. You let him down gently. You definitely did not reciprocate it.

You did not freak out and storm off and say something you knew would hurt him. There was only one reason that I would have acted that way.

Because I had feelings for him, too.

I’d been unable to sleep last night. And I decided how I felt didn’t matter. Even if Dante imagined himself in love with me, it wouldn’t last. I knew from the start that I had to keep him at arm’s length to keep my heart safe. Now I would have to do it for both of our sakes.

I had to. It was the only way to stay sane.

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” I told him, trying my hardest to make it look like I was smiling for real. “You’re one of my best friends too. Sometimes friends fight, but then they get over it.”

Before he could respond, I opened the bathroom door, and nearly ran into the crew who stood there waiting with the camera pointed at us. Taylor approached from the side with her phone. “Lemon, the phone’s for you. It’s Sterling.”

She had done that on purpose, and I didn’t know why. I took the phone, but now the crew stood in the doorway, leaving me nowhere to go.

Dante was gone.

I only had a second to wonder what his disappearing act meant before I walked back into the bathroom. “Hello?”

“My case settled and I only have a light workload this week before the Belmont case ramps up. I finally have a chance to talk. When are you coming home?”

This was what he called me for? “I told you I was staying.”

“You did? When?”

“The last time we talked. You know, when you were a complete and total jerk to me.”

There was a pause. “What? I don’t remember it happening like that.”

How convenient.

“I didn’t even realize you were this upset. Maybe I shouldn’t have said some of the things I did, and I wish I hadn’t. But in my defense, I told you I was busy, and I did text your friend Taylor to say that I was sorry.”

And again, I was comparing. Two men had just apologized to me in the space of five minutes. One had made my heart flutter with his sincerity and promises to do whatever he needed to make it better, and the other was shifting blame to me. One always knew when I was upset, and the other didn’t even realize it. I sat down on the side of the tub and put my forehead in my free hand.

What a mess.

He sighed. “I shouldn’t have said that either. I am just screwing everything up. I am trying so hard to do everything right. I was caught up in proving myself to my father.”

Now that was real and understandable. I knew what it was like to get caught up in trying your hardest to prove yourself to your parents.

“Can you forgive me?”

I supposed that depended on what I wanted. Something I had to figure out and decide, once and for all. Nothing had really changed with Dante. To be fair, he had changed and grown in some ways, but it had not altered who he was at his core. He was still a charming womanizer who could make any female weak in the knees and willing to throw her life away for a chance with him. It was why he had been such a perfect choice for this show.

And why it was so easy to get sucked in by him.

“Lemon? Are you still there?”

Did I want to put myself through it? Did I want to walk away from a lifelong friend and partner who planned to build a life with me? The kind of life I truly wanted? Was I really willing to risk everything for something I knew was destined to fail miserably?

“Yes, I can forgive you,” I said. I’d made a commitment to him. A promise I intended to keep. And I needed to be better about not comparing him to an ideal man who didn’t exist. Sterling had his flaws, but I knew him. He was real. I trusted him.

“Are you still my girl?” It was the phrase he’d always used growing up when we made up after a fight.

“I’m still your girl,” I reassured him, and a soft tenderness flooded through me. “I’m glad you called me.”

“I didn’t call you. Your friend Taylor called me and said that you needed to talk.”

Why would Taylor do that? What had she been trying to accomplish? Something was going on and it made me uneasy.

He asked me some questions about the show, how it was going, and when I thought I would return home to Atlanta. I explained the circumstances and what the producers wanted, and how I couldn’t risk my career by just up and leaving.

Someone must have come into his office because he put his phone on mute and I heard a voice say something before Sterling started speaking again. “I need to go. I love you. See you soon.”

He hung up before I had the chance to tell him that I loved him, too.

But some part of me wondered whether I would have said it back.

The “Getting to Know Me” dates ended, and Dante sent Lisa home. Apparently she couldn’t shut up on their date either, and Dante had gotten to know more than he wanted. Jen K. was next, followed by Ashley S., who swore at everyone on her way out and apparently during the entire limo ride to the airport, too. The other Ashley was sent home after that, and I hoped she and her giggles had a nice flight home.

Which left me, Genesis, Abigail, and carbonated Michelle.

At this point we were scheduled to go on exotic mini-trips with Dante. In other years the girls had traveled together to each location, but this year the producers decided to continue the one-on-one time with the remaining girls. Dante chose where we would go.

I was left until last, again. When I complained to him, he winked at me and said, “You always save the best for last.”

Genesis pulled me aside before her trip and asked if she could talk to me. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to, but the nicer part of me prevailed. She sat on her bed, and I sat on mine.

“They just told me that we’re going to Cozumel. That’s in Mexico, apparently. This is my first time traveling out of the country,” she confessed. “And I’ve never gone alone anywhere with a man before.” Her eyes were downcast, and I got what she was trying to tell me.

Why did I keep making friends with virgins? It wasn’t like I had good life experiences to share and guide them with. I was the last person they should seek advice from.

“First of all, you are never going to be alone. You will have a camera crew with you at all times, and production assistants who will show you where to go and what to do.” I realized how that sounded. “I mean like at the airport and customs and stuff. And for the other part, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Or anything you aren’t ready for. And if you get really freaked out or worried, you call Taylor and she will find me. Don’t put any pressures or expectations on you or on him. Okay?”

She hugged me. She was such a sweetheart. I had to find a way to be okay with her and Dante. If he could really see who she was, how kindhearted, how loving, how fun, he could have a real relationship with her.

And since we shared a room, I was often subjected to the happy glow and private smile that she carried around with her constantly. I knew they were hitting it off. Or at least she really liked him and he was being Dante and couldn’t help making her fall in love with him.

Genesis gathered up some last-minute things and asked if I had any advice about Mexico. I told her not to drink the water and not to get kidnapped.

Abigail stomped by our room, apparently upset that she hadn’t been chosen to go first. She hovered in our doorway, looking angry. “What brings you by, Abigail?” Genesis asked.

“Cloven hooves?” I offered.

She only glared at me as Genesis and I dissolved into laughter. She went off in a huff, and I probably should have felt bad, but I didn’t. Genesis had told me about how Abigail had crashed her last date with Dante, and he’d had to send her away. Abigail had told him that they belonged together and it was what everyone wanted and was waiting to see. Genesis had been impressed by how much of a gentleman he was, and he promised Abigail he’d talk with her more when it was her turn. But at the same time, Genesis had been pretty furious that Abigail tried to sabotage her date.

“I don’t know why he keeps her around.”

I did, but I couldn’t tell her. So instead I said, “She’s the kind of girl who would make a preacher mad enough to kick in a stained glass window.”

Someone called her name downstairs. “That’s my ride. I’m off.” She hugged me again with that excited smile, and I felt terrible.

Why couldn’t I just be happy for my two friends?

He took Genesis to Mexico, Michelle to Puerto Rico, and Abigail to St. Croix. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going. I couldn’t wait to see what beach he planned on taking me to. It would be so, so nice to escape this house and lie out on some white sand somewhere. I decided to think of it as a pre-wedding getaway.

As the days passed, my wedding date drew closer and closer. I sometimes pulled my invitation out of my purse and looked at the picture of Sterling and me. We looked happy. We were happy.

But it felt like I shouldn’t have to constantly remind myself of that fact.

I packed my bathing suits, shorts, and T-shirts, along with my sandals. I so needed this break.

I was driven to the airport and put on a private plane. It was not the royals’ private plane, and it wasn’t nearly as nice or as big. The crew assigned to me, men that I now knew as Mike, Steve, and John (only because they called one another by name), also came on board. They continued to film, although I didn’t think hours of me perusing a copy of
SkyMall
I’d found on one of the seats would qualify as entertainment. I wondered if Dante would be joining us, but the flight attendant told me to fasten my seatbelt and we took off without him.

A couple hours later, we were preparing to touch down. I pushed the button next to my seat, and the attendant appeared. “Yes? How can I help you?”

“Are we having troubles with the plane? Is that why we’re landing?”

“Not at all. We’ve reached our destination. I hope you enjoy your time in Colorado.”