A Royal Mistake (The Rooftop Crew Book 2)

by Piper Rayne

  “You had an interview with him?” Mick asks.

  I’m the worst work BFF for never telling him about any of this.

  “Sierra won that date with Prince Adrian something or other,” Jack says.

  “Adrian Marx.” Mick clears that up so there’s no confusion. He glances at me with hurt in his eyes. If Adrian had never moved in, I would’ve told Mick. “He’s the one who’s missing.”

  Jack’s interest is piqued. Just great.

  “There’s your story. Be that beat reporter I know you are and dig him up.” Jack pats me on the shoulder and heads down the hall.

  My forehead falls into my hands.

  “Why the frown? This is great.” Mick pats my head.

  “Ugh.” I walk away from him, not sure how I’m going to get away with this now that things are different between Adrian and me.

  “Are we going to Hilda’s today? You missed out last time. It’s chicken pot pie soup day,” he hollers after me, but I have no energy to give him an answer.

  When I slide into my desk, I boot up my computer and type in the royalty gossip blogs I used to visit almost daily, and there it is. A picture of Prince Adrian and Princess Adelaide with the word missing in big block letters.

  I scan the article that says there’s no word from the two families but that they’ve been seen together in the Virgin Islands and London over the past week. I shake my head as I read theory after theory, some of them making it seem like they’re Romeo and Juliet and ran away together and others that believe they aren’t even together.

  How ridiculous that a group of people obsessed with them are the ones starting all this crap. Luckily it’s only on the blogs, so I should be able to squash any interest on Jack’s part. Tell him there’s nothing to pursue. The last thing I need is for their pictures to be plastered on the news while they’re both walking around Cliffton Heights.

  I walk into the apartment, fully prepared to tell Adelaide she might have to leave because people are looking for her, and Rian grabs my arm and pulls me back into the hallway.

  “We have a problem,” she says.

  “Tell me there isn’t another prince or princess—or king or queen—in there.”

  She shakes her head. “Worse.”

  Taking my hand, she opens the door and drags me back into the apartment. The television is playing The Bachelor, Adelaide is sprawled on the couch wearing a flannel nightgown that Rian convinced her was in style when we went shopping, and fast food and Styrofoam containers cover the coffee table.

  “She found Grubhub,” Rian says. “And she’s watched all my recordings.”

  Adelaide hears her and smiles. “Oh, hey, Sierra. I ordered this food and they delivered it right to the door. It’s just like home, but the food is so much better! I can see why Adrian likes this regular people stuff.”

  I pick up the brown bag with the Scrumptuals logo on it. “I thought sugar was bad for your skin?”

  She doesn’t bother sitting up. “I thought about that after the milkshake I tried, but then I figured, why do I need good skin? The man I’m arranged to marry loves someone else. My parents will make me live with them until they find another suitor, so I’m going to eat whatever I want until I leave here.”

  She’s wrong about Adrian loving me but I don’t want to argue with her.

  “And how are you paying for it?” I ask.

  “My parents.”

  Interesting that she doesn’t get cut off like Adrian. Then again, Adrian hasn’t really had a shortage of money.

  “Dinner is on me,” she says, fast-forwarding through the commercials.

  Rian looks at me. “What do you plan on doing when everything comes out?”

  Adelaide pauses the television as though I’m interrupting her valuable time when it’s clear she’s been lying there all day. “It will be Adrian who bears the weight of that decision. I’ll be the devastated fiancée he didn’t want. At least that’s how the press will spin it.”

  Rian sits in the chair opposite me. “Did you want to marry him?”

  Adelaide glances at her then looks at the ceiling. “I don’t know. It’s what I’m supposed to do. I’ve known for a long time that he was to be my husband. I did worry that I wasn’t as adventurous as him. He was always posting pictures of traveling, whereas I stay home.”

  “How could you marry someone you don’t love?” Rian asks.

  Adelaide seems to consider her question. “That’s how I grew up. I don’t know any different.”

  I mentally make a note to ask Adrian if he was accepting of the arranged marriage until his dad cheated on his mom. Is that what changed for him?

  “I will say, seeing the guys here…” She waves her hand in front of her face. “This bachelor guy is gorgeous. We don’t have quite the selection you do.”

  “Well, because we’re not looking for a prince,” I say.

  “Aren’t you though? I thought all women over here were looking for one, loved the fairy tale of it all.” She picks up a fry from one of the discarded containers on the table.

  “It’s more figurative. We want our men to be a prince, but they don’t actually hold a title.” Leave it to Rian to explain it for her.

  “I guess that makes sense. There aren’t that many princes.” A hollow laugh leaves her mouth. “Adrian comes from the best bloodline, so I’m not sure what will happen now.”

  How can I feel guilty that this woman doesn’t get to marry Adrian? My claws should be out, but a part of me feels bad for her.

  “Can’t you tell your parents you don’t want to marry a prince? That you want to meet your own man?” Rian asks.

  Adelaide shakes her head. “No, his family has to complement our family. Both families have to get something in the exchange. Royal weddings are about duty and building bridges, not love and passion. Well, unless you’re British apparently.”

  “So what happens if Adrian doesn’t marry you?” I ask.

  “His country will hate him because they’ll look at it as though they’re not important enough for him to follow in the footsteps of his family.”

  “That’s absurd,” Rian says.

  Adelaide shows no emotion. “It’s the way it is.” She turns to me. “It’s going to be a very hard road for him. There will be backlash… for you both.”

  I lean back in the chair and try to ignore that pinprick in my heart that says things probably won’t end up how I want.

  Dylan walks through the door.

  Rian blows out a breath, smacks her hands on her thighs, and stands. “Look at your princess now.”

  “What?” Dylan looks confused. How does that man have an IQ of one hundred forty? He can’t even tell Rian has been pining over him for years.

  “She found out about Grubhub,” I say.

  Dylan sits where Rian was and props his feet up on the table. “There’s also Uber Eats and DoorDash and—”

  “There’s more?” Adelaide’s eyes widen and she pulls out her phone, searching. “Oh, this place has sushi!”

  “Thanks,” I deadpan.

  Dylan shrugs. “Can you find a bakery? Rian hasn’t baked in the past couple of days,” Dylan asks Adelaide.

  “We have another problem,” I say, ignoring Dylan. “All people are talking about on the royal blogs is how you’re missing. My boss wants me to dig into the story.”

  Rian pretends to be doing something on her computer, but her eyes find mine. This puts me in a terrible situation. She knows that.

  “What?” Adelaide sits up a bit and looks at me as though she has no idea what I’m talking about.

  “The blogs. The people who are obsessed with royalty?” Surely she’s heard of these blogs. I mean, movie stars know all about the blogs even if they don’t read them.

  “Like Sierra was,” Dylan chimes in.

  “Okay, you can leave whenever you want.” I point at the door.

  He chuckles, not moving an inch.

  “I found a bakery,” Adelaide says as though we weren’
t in the middle of a conversation.

  “Great. Order me a chocolate cake. I’ll pay you back,” Dylan says.

  Adelaide waves at him, then her thumbs move across her screen. “My treat.”

  “Ugh,” Rian says.

  “Trouble over there?” Dylan asks.

  Rian picks up her computer and heads to her room.

  “What’s her problem? Can’t solve her own math problem?” He laughs.

  Adelaide laughs too, although I’m sure she doesn’t understand what she’s laughing at. Aggravation hits me hard and I stand, not wanting to be in the same room as either of them.

  “You’re leaving too?” Dylan asks.

  “You need glasses,” I say, heading to my room.

  “I have twenty-twenty vision,” he says, sounding offended.

  I deny myself the urge to smack the back of his head. Instead, I slam my door. A minute later, my phone rings with a text message.

  Rian: The princess needs to go.

  Me: I know. Believe me, I know.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Adrian

  Adelaide has been a pain in the ass for the past few weeks, so the remainder of my time with Sierra hasn’t been as stress free as I wanted. Instead, Sierra is upset because Rian is upset because of Dylan’s new fascination with Adelaide, who seems oblivious to anything that doesn’t have to do with her and what she wants.

  My phone rings on the way home from the Bagel Place. Seeing Felicia’s name, I slide my thumb to answer.

  “Hey, sis,” I answer.

  “Did you know that Princess Adelaide is in the same town as you?”

  I freeze in the middle of the sidewalk. A man grumbles and moves around me. “Why do you think that?”

  “Because someone snapped a picture of her in a tattoo parlor and posted it on one of those royal blogs. Do you never check these things? I’ve been following them to make sure they didn’t track you down and throwing them tips to lead them away from your trail. Why didn’t you tell me Princess Adelaide found you?”

  “First, tell me why Declan thought it was okay to tell her.”

  “He did?”

  “How else did you think she found me?” I step under a store awning, so all the pedestrians don’t have to keep walking around me. “Oh, and I’m not marrying her.”

  All I get in response is dead silence for a few beats.

  “It’s time, Adrian. It’s time for you to come home.”

  “I have another week.”

  “I’m sorry. Everyone is going to find you when they find her, so you might as well come home before they flood that small town. I’m sending Jean and I guess Clyde too. I’ll fire Declan. You get to New York as soon as possible. They’ll meet you at the same hotel you stayed at before.”

  Anger fumes inside me as if someone poured gasoline on already smoking embers. I don’t even care that Declan is being fired and he’s been my bodyguard since I was sixteen. Because of him, I’ve had to spend the last few weeks dealing with Adelaide’s bullshit and now my time is being cut short.

  More than that, I now have to tell Sierra that I have to return home early and I’m leaving tonight. I stop at the corner and try to call her. She doesn’t answer, which means she’s probably in a meeting or on a developing story. Pocketing my phone, I head to the apartment to have a word with Adelaide.

  Adelaide’s name being chanted can be heard a block away. When I peek around the corner, sure enough, there’s a group of girls outside Ink Envy.

  Fucking hell.

  I slip into the apartment building and into the elevator without being noticed since their sole attention is on Dylan’s tattoo parlor. My phone rings the minute I step into the empty apartment, and I glance out the window to watch the scene below. There aren’t too many girls there yet, but enough that it’s annoying. I’ve seen it firsthand how out of control these situations can get.

  “Sierra,” I say into my phone.

  “Hey. I saw. I’ve been searching the blogs for two weeks. I could kill Dylan.”

  “He didn’t take the picture,” I say, sticking up for the man who’s been on Sierra and Rian’s hit list since Adelaide showed up.

  “He probably took her there to show off. What does he see in her?”

  “Listen, my sister called.”

  She stops ranting. “Oh.”

  “She’s sending Jean and a bodyguard to pick me up in New York tomorrow. I’m assuming Adelaide will be coming with me.”

  More silence.

  “I have to go. I have to be in Sandsal when this all comes out.”

  “Of course,” she says.

  “So you’ll come?”

  “What?” Her voice is shaky and unsure.

  “Come with me. I’ll introduce you to my parents and we’ll figure out how we’re going to handle this.” I close my eyes, hoping like hell that she’ll agree.

  “I have to work.”

  “Can you take vacation?”

  “I don’t know,” she just about whispers.

  My eyes open. I have to understand that she has obligations here. I can’t expect her to uproot her life on a moment’s notice. She’s happy here.

  “Okay. Can you come home now? I want to see you before I leave.”

  “I have a staff meeting. I’m sorry. But you’re coming back, right?”

  I hate the pain I hear in her voice. I hate even more that there’s nothing I can do to make it go away. “I don’t know when.”

  “Maybe I can get to the city tonight.”

  Finally she’s sounding more like the Sierra I know. “Perfect. The same hotel as before. Same name—Athos Dumas. I’ll tell them I’m expecting you.”

  “Okay. I’ll come right after my staff meeting. I should go.”

  “Sierra?” I say.

  “Yeah?”

  “Please make sure you come.”

  “Yeah, for sure. I just have a few things to do at the office. You go and get out of Cliffton Heights so you’re safe. I’m going to be late for the meeting. I’ll see you tonight.”

  The line dies before I can say goodbye, and I stare at my phone because I fear it’s the last time I’ll talk to Sierra. Especially if I get on that plane tomorrow morning.

  The apartment door opens, Adelaide dressed in leather pants and a sweatshirt that’s pulled up over her head.

  “What the hell?” I ask.

  Dylan raises his arm to stop me from saying more because when the hood comes off, I see that Adelaide’s eyes are red-rimmed from crying.

  I don’t give a shit.

  “Pack your crap,” I say. “We’re leaving in a half hour to go into the city. My assistant and bodyguard will escort us back home.”

  I storm into Sierra’s room and pull my suitcases out from the closet, shoving all my clothes in as fast as I can. Coming out of the bedroom to get my toiletries, I spot Dylan sitting on the couch.

  “I’m sorry, man,” he says.

  “It’s fine. It just sucks that Sierra has to work so she can’t come with me.”

  His face shows no emotion, as though he expected that to happen.

  “I only had a week left anyway. Time to stop living someone else’s life.”

  “And Sierra said she couldn’t go?” he asks.

  I swallow the dryness that’s coated my throat since I got off the phone with her. “That’s what she said.”

  “That’s bullshit.” He shakes his head. “I know she has shit to deal with about her mom, but you two were doing great.”

  I shrug and disappear into the bathroom. She’s the one woman who doesn’t want me to be a prince. How crazy is that? Especially since she won a date with me because I was a prince.

  When my suitcases are by the front door, Dylan shakes my hand and hugs Adelaide. “I’m going to go distract the masses. Take the back exit into the alley. Hopefully we see you again.” Dylan only really says it to me, shaking my hand another time. “Keep your hood up,” he instructs Adelaide.

  We all take the elevator
to the first floor and Dylan points to where we need to go. I hate sneaking out with no goodbye to the people who changed my life forever.

  When we’re halfway to the train station, Adelaide says, “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “What about Sierra? Is she coming?”

  I shake my head.

  “Oh. I’m sorry. But you know it would’ve never worked out anyway. Maybe it’s better this way.”

  I stop and lean in so I’m inches from her face. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, so shut it. Maybe you want to call for your own assistant and bodyguard?”

  “I didn’t mean that what you two had wasn’t real.”

  “Stop saying had. We still have it,” I mumble as we reach at the train station.

  “I’m sure it was real. You two were cute together, but she’s not princess material. She would never fit in.”

  “I’m not looking for a princess, but if I were, Sierra would make a great princess. She’s caring and compassionate and she did a lot for you, so I suggest you fall off your high horse.”

  She rolls her eyes. “I was merely suggesting—”

  I raise my hand. “I don’t need your suggestions. You fucked this up for me and I’m still pissed off, so I’d advise you to keep quiet until we’re back in our own countries. And in case I wasn’t clear, I’m not marrying you. No matter what.”

  “I don’t want to marry you.”

  “Good.”

  She huffs.

  Lucky for me, the train comes. I’m still somewhat of a gentleman and let Adelaide board first. The conductor is more than willing to help her with all her bags.

  As we pull away from the station and I watch the Cliffton Heights sign pass by the window, I close my eyes, not wanting to say goodbye.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Sierra

  “Maybe I should take the story, Jack,” Kay says after I tell them that the princess has already been found and she’s probably halfway home by now. “I mean, how good of a job was she doing? The princess was found in Cliffton Heights, in her friend’s tattoo parlor.”