A Royal Amnesia Scandal

by Jules Bennett

  Swallowing, Kate pushed forward. “You had no intention of taking a wife, but Ilha Beleza has some ridiculously archaic law that states you must be married by your thirty-fifth birthday in order to succeed to the throne.”

  “My birthday is coming up,” he muttered, as if that tidbit just hit him. Luc’s brows drew together as he laced his fingers over his abdomen. “Are you saying I’m not entitled to the throne if we aren’t married by then?”

  This was the tricky part. “You aren’t crowned until you’re married.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” He laughed. “I’ll change that law, first thing. What if my son doesn’t want to marry? Who says you have to be married by thirty-five?”

  Kate smiled. “That’s exactly what you said before you fell. You were dead set on having that law rewritten.”

  His eyes held hers another moment, but before she could go on, he said, “I had a dream last night. It was real. I know it was a memory, but I can’t figure it out.”

  Kate’s heart beat faster in her chest. Was their time over? Was the beautiful fantasy they’d been living about to come to a crashing halt?

  “What was the dream?” she asked, gripping her arms with anticipation.

  “I had a dream you were pregnant. That image in my head has hit more than once.” His eyes drilled into her. “Why would I keep dreaming that, Kate?”

  “Did you see me in the dream?” she asked, knowing she was treading on very shaky ground.

  He shook his head. “No. I had my hands on your bare stomach and I was so happy. Nervous, but excited.”

  “I’ve never been pregnant,” she told him softly. “Do you think maybe you’re just thinking ahead?”

  Kate glanced away, unable to look him in the eyes and see him struggle with this entire situation. Why couldn’t this be real? He’d told her more than once that he loved her, but that was just what he thought he was supposed to say...wasn’t it? Still, what if he was speaking from his heart? What if that fall had actually pulled out his true feelings? But even if she stood a chance with the man she’d fallen in love with, Kate had lied and deceived him. He would never forgive her.

  She just wanted today, just one more night with him. She was being selfish, yes, but she couldn’t let go just yet. Not when everything right at this moment was beautiful and perfect.

  “Do you want children?” he asked. “I assume we’ve discussed this.”

  Kate pushed herself off the door frame and smoothed her hair back from her face. “I do want kids. It’s always been my dream to have a husband who loves me and a houseful of children.”

  He offered her a wide, sexy smile. “We will have the most beautiful children.”

  Oh, when he said things like that she wanted to get swept away and believe every word. Yet again, Luc had been weaved so tightly into this web of lies she’d inadvertently created. Her heart had been in the right place. She only hoped Luc saw that once all was said and done.

  “I think any child with the Silva genes would be beautiful,” she countered. “Even though you’re an only child, your father has a long line of exotic beauties on his side. Your mother is a natural beauty, as well.”

  Luc tossed his sheet aside and came to his feet. Padding across the floor wearing only a tattoo and a grin, he kept his gaze on hers.

  “As much as I’d love to work on those babies, I think I’d like to do something that will help get my memory back sooner rather than later.”

  Kate forced her gaze up... Well, she made it to his chest and figured that was a good compromise. “What’s that?”

  “Maybe we should tackle that work schedule you’d mentioned.” His smile kicked up higher on one side of that kissable mouth. “You know, before we got sidetracked with being naked.”

  Kate laughed. “Yes. Work. That’s where we need to focus.”

  Finally. Something they could do that actually needed to be done. She could breathe a bit now.

  “I’ll go get my laptop,” she told him. “I’ve got a spreadsheet there of your tentative schedule, and I have a speech written out for you that you need to look over.”

  As she started to walk by, he reached out, snaking an arm around her waist. “You write my speeches?”

  “For the past year I have.”

  His eyes roamed over her face, settled on her lips, then came back up to meet her gaze. “You really are perfect for me.”

  Kate swallowed. “Better put some clothes on. You can’t work in your birthday suit.”

  His laughter followed her from the room, mocking her. She wasn’t perfect for him. She wanted to be. Oh, mercy, how she wanted to be. She’d give him everything, but this dream romance was about to come to an end. His memories were coming back a little each day. Time was not on her side.

  Maybe by focusing on work, he’d start to piece more things together. Perhaps then she wouldn’t have to worry about saying anything. Honestly, she didn’t know what scenario would be worse, her telling him the truth or him figuring it out on his own.

  Was she a coward for not wanting to tell him? Absolutely. Not only did she not want to see that hurt—and quite possibly hatred—in his eyes, she didn’t want that confrontation. There were no right words to say, no good way to come out and tell him he’d been living a complete lie for these past few days.

  The end result would be the same, though, no matter how he found out. He would be disgusted with her. Suddenly, losing her job, or even her parents’ positions, wasn’t the main problem. After this time away from their ordinary lives, she couldn’t imagine life without Luc.

  And every bit of this scenario made her seem foolish, selfish and desperate.

  When had she become that woman? When had she become the woman Luc had actually been engaged to? Because Kate was no better than his lying, scheming ex.

  * * *

  Luc glanced over Kate’s shoulder as she sat in a patio chair with her laptop on the mosaic-tiled table. They’d opted to work outside to enjoy the bright sunshine and soft ocean breeze.

  Resting his hands on the back of the chair, Luc leaned in to read over the tentative spreadsheet, but he was finding it impossible to focus. Kate’s floral scent kept hitting him with each passing drift of wind.

  “I can move these engagements around,” Kate told him, pointing to the two green lines on the screen. “Both appointments are flexible. I scheduled them like this because I thought it would save time.”

  “Fine. You know more about this than I do,” he told her.

  She shifted, peeking at him over her shoulder. “I know about scheduling, but this is your life, Luc. Give me some input here. I can add or take away time. Usually, when you don’t want to stay at an event too long, I make an excuse and cut the time back.”

  His brows quirked. “Seriously?”

  “Well, yeah. How else would you escape and still look like the charming prince?” She laughed.

  “Wow, you really do everything for me.” With a sigh, he straightened. “What you have works for me. You’ve done this for a year, so you obviously know what you’re talking about.”

  Kate turned fully in her chair and narrowed her eyes. “That’s the Luc I used to work with. You never wanted to help with the schedule. You always trusted me to make it work.”

  Another flash of Kate in a snug suit, black this time, filled his mind. A dark-haired woman stood next to her. Luc closed his eyes, wanting to hold on to the image, needing to see who it was. Who was this woman?

  Alana.

  The image was gone as fast as it entered his mind, but he had a name.

  “Luc?”

  He opened his eyes, meeting Kate’s worried gaze. She’d come to her feet and stood directly in front of him.

  “Who’s Alana?” he asked.

  Kate jerked as if he’d slapped her. “Do you remember her?”

  “I had a flash of you and her talking, but I couldn’t tell what you guys were saying. It’s like a damn movie that plays in my head with no sound.”

  He
raked a hand down his face, meeting her eyes once more. “Who is she?” he repeated.

  “She was a woman you used to date.”

  Luc tried to remember more, but nothing came to mind. Only that the woman’s name stirred emotions of anger and hurt within him.

  “Were we serious?” he asked.

  Kate crossed her arms and nodded. “You were.”

  She was really sticking to the doctor’s orders and not feeding him anything more than he was asking. Damn it, he wished she’d just tell him.

  Pacing across the patio, Luc came to a stop at the edge by the infinity pool and stared out at the ocean. With the world at his back, he wished he could turn away from his problems so easily.

  Alana Ferella. The name slid easily into his mind as he watched the waves roll onto the shore. His heart hardened, though. What kind of relationship had they had together? Obviously, not a compatible one or he’d still be with her. Something akin to rage settled in him. She hadn’t been a nice woman, that much he knew.

  He didn’t want to keep asking Kate about an ex-girlfriend, and most likely Alana didn’t matter, anyway. He just wished he could remember more about Kate, more about the plans they’d made.

  “Are we getting married soon?” he asked, turning back to face her.

  She blinked a few times, as if his question had thrown her off. Hell, it probably had. He’d just gone from quizzing her on his ex to discussing their own nuptials.

  “There’s no set date,” she told him.

  That was weird. Once they’d announced their engagement, wouldn’t the proper protocol have been to set a date? “Why not?” he asked. “With my birthday approaching, the throne in question and being a member of a royal family, I’m shocked we don’t have something set.”

  Biting on her lip, Kate shrugged. “We can discuss the details in a bit. Can we finalize this schedule first? I’d like to make some calls later, if the cell service is working, to confirm your visit. I also need to let my dad know, so security can be arranged.”

  She was dodging his question for a reason. Did she simply not want to discuss things because of his memory loss, or was there something more to it? She’d admitted they’d argued before his fall. Had they been arguing over the wedding? Had they been arguing over...what? Damn it.

  Smacking his palm on the table hard enough to make it rattle, Luc cursed, then balled his hands into fists. Kate jumped, taking a step back.

  Kate started to step forward, but he held up a hand.

  “No,” he ordered. “Don’t say anything. There’s nothing you can do unless you want to tell me everything, which goes against the doctor’s orders.”

  The hurt look on her face had him cursing. She was just as much a victim in this as he was.

  “Kate, I didn’t mean to lash out at you.”

  She shook her head, waving a hand. “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not.” Closing the gap between them, he pulled her into his arms. “You’ve been here for me, you’ve done so much and I’m taking out my anger and frustrations on you when you’re only trying to protect me.”

  Kate wrapped her arms around his waist. “I can handle it, Luc. It’s partially my fault you’re in this position, anyway. If we hadn’t been arguing, if I hadn’t made you so angry you went down to that wet dock, none of this would be happening.”

  Luc eased back. “None of this is your fault. At least pieces of my life are finally revealing themselves, and I’m sure it won’t be long before the rest of the puzzle is filled in.”

  Kate had sacrificed so much for him. Yet he hadn’t heard her tell him once that she loved him. Luc eased back, looking her in the eyes.

  “Why are you marrying me?” he asked, stroking her jawline with his thumbs.

  Her body tensed against his as her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you love me?” he asked, tipping his head down a touch to hold her gaze.

  Instantly, her eyes filled. Kate’s hands came up, framed his face. “More than you’ll ever know,” she whispered.

  Relief coursed through him. He didn’t know why, but it was imperative to know her true feelings.

  “I want to do something for you.” She placed a light, simple kiss on his lips. “Tonight I’m going to make your favorite dinner. We’re going to have a romantic evening and there will be no talk of the amnesia, the wedding, the work. Tonight will just be about Kate and Luc.”

  Wasn’t that the whole point of this getaway? She cleverly circled them back around to the purpose of this trip. One of the many reasons he assumed he’d fallen in love with her. She kept him grounded, kept him on track.

  Tugging her closer to him, he nuzzled her neck. “Then I expect one hell of a dessert,” he growled into her ear.

  Eleven

  She had to tell him. There was no more stalling. The anguish, the rage that was brewing deep within Luc was more than she could bear. No matter what the doctor said, she had to come clean, because Luc getting so torn up had to be more damaging than just learning the truth.

  And the truth beyond this whole messed-up situation was that she loved him. She hadn’t lied when he’d asked. Kate had fallen completely in love with Luc and to keep this secret another day just wasn’t acceptable.

  She put on her favorite strapless green dress and her gold sandals. With her hair piled atop her head, she added a pair of gold-and-amethyst earrings.

  A glance down at her hand had her heart clenching. He’d given her a ring. She wore a ring from a man she loved, yet he truly had no idea who she was.

  At this point, she didn’t recognize herself. She’d never been a liar or a manipulator. Yet here she was, doing a bang-up job of both.

  Even with the patio doors open, the house smelled amazing with their dinner of fish and veggies baking in the oven. No matter how the evening ended, Kate wanted one last perfect moment with Luc.

  Her mother would be relieved that Kate was finally telling the truth. What would Luc’s parents say? Would they insist she be fired? Would they dismiss her parents from their duties as well, as she’d feared all along?

  No matter the ramifications, Kate had to do the right thing here.

  She headed to the kitchen to check the progress of dinner. When she glanced out toward the ocean, she noticed the darkening skies. Another storm rolling in. How apropos. Hadn’t this entire nightmare started with a storm? For once in her life she wasn’t looking forward to the added turmoil from Mother Nature.

  Luc stood on the patio with his phone. Kate had no idea who he was talking to, but whoever it was, their call would be cut off soon due to this crazy weather.

  Nerves settled deep in Kate’s stomach. She wanted nothing more than to go back in time and have a redo of the night Luc fell. First of all, she never would’ve argued with him. If he didn’t want to do the orphanage visit, fine. She’d been beating her head against that proverbial wall for nearly a year and he’d never given in. Why had she assumed he’d grow a heart all of a sudden and go?

  Of course, now that he was drawing a blank on certain aspects of his life, he seemed to have forgotten how cold he used to be. Kate truly wished this Luc, the one she’d spent the past few days with, the one who had made love to her as if he truly loved her, was the Luc who would emerge after all the dust settled.

  The worry eating at her would not help her be strong when she most needed to be. Everything that Luc threw at her would be justified, and right now she just needed to figure out the best way to come clean, because she truly didn’t want to harm him any more than she had to.

  After checking the dinner, she pulled the pan from the oven. Once she had their plates made, she started to call him, but realized he was still on the phone. The electricity flickered as rumbles of thunder resounded outside. Kate quickly searched for candles, because inevitably the lights were going to go. Perfect. It seemed Mother Nature was on her side. With the lights off, Kate wouldn’t have to see the hatred on Luc’s face when she told him that everything he knew
about her, about them, was a lie.

  * * *

  “Darling, did you hear what I said?”

  Luc concentrated on his mother’s voice, the words she was saying, but something still didn’t fit.

  “You said Alana contacted you because she wants to see me,” he repeated slowly, still trying to process all this.

  Kate had told him Alana was an ex, but why would she be contacting him if he was engaged to Kate?

  “Yes,” his mother confirmed. “She’s called me twice and she’s very adamant that she wants to see you. I’m not going to stick my nose in this—you can respond however you want—but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  Luc’s eyes locked onto the orange horizon. This view alone was reason enough to buy this property, no matter how many upgrades he wished to have inside. But right now, his head was pounding as if memories were rushing to the surface, waiting to get out all at once.

  “Why would she contact you at all?” he asked. Resting one hand on the rail, he clutched the phone with his other, struggling to hear through the static. “Alana is in my past.”

  “So you remember her? Good. Then you don’t need me to say how ridiculous this notion is that she can just come back into our lives after the entire baby scandal...”

  His mother’s voice cut out, but in the midst of her talking Luc did catch the word baby.

  He rubbed his forehead. A flash of a diamond ring, a snippet of Alana in tears saying something about a pregnancy...

  “To think she could trick you into marriage simply by saying she’s pregnant was absurd,” his mother went on, oblivious to his inner turmoil. “The timing of you purchasing this getaway house was perfect. Alana has no idea where you are.”

  The timing?

  Luc spun around, glancing in through the open doors. Beyond the living area was the kitchen, where Kate stood preparing dinner. Instantly, he saw it all. His mother’s single, damning word timing had triggered an avalanche of memories.

  Kate was his assistant. No doubt about that, but they weren’t engaged. They were strictly employee-employer, and that had been the extent of their relationship...until just a few days ago.