Lucky Prince_A Fake Fiance, Real Royal Wedding Romance

by Eva Luxe

  “Hi, Talia. And…Blake, was it?”

  “Yes,” said Blake, reaching out to shake her hand.

  “We’re still waiting on a few people to show up, but go ahead and make yourself at home. It’s going to be an amazing night.”

  She waved at a woman standing by one of the painting who was trying to get her attention. Linda excused herself and walked in the direction of the woman.

  “Oh my God! I think I’m going to explode,” I admitted to Blake, who reached over to run his fingers through my hair. He leaned over and kissed my forehead sweetly.

  “You’re going to be fine,” he said.

  We found a bench near where we had set up my pieces and we sat there, just watching people mill about. There were some finger foods circulating and I ate, not because I was necessarily hungry, but more from sheer nervousness.

  After about an hour, Linda walked up to me and pulled me to the side.

  “I’ve already had four of your paintings go,” she told me, whispering excitedly. “At this rate, you’ll be looking at selling out your collection in one night.”

  I was so shocked. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had hoped that it would be a successful night, but I had no idea that it would go so well so fast. I went back to where Blake was sitting and told him the good news.

  “I’m so happy for you, honey,” he said, his kind eyes fixed on me. I beamed proudly, feeling as though I were on top of the world.”

  Just then, I spotted Allison walking into the gallery. She saw me right away and came over to say hi.

  “You look wonderful,” she said, taking my hand and turning me in a spin so that she could get a good look at me. “And I see that your pieces are getting really good attention.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “And yes! Linda says that four of them have already sold.”

  We glanced over in Linda’s direction and she had three fingers up, signalling that three more of my paintings had been sold.

  “Wow! Look at you! I knew you had it in you, Talia,” said Allison.

  “Thank you so much for believing in me,” I told Allison, giving her a huge hug.

  “Of course,” she said. We walked over to where Blake sat and he and Allison greeted each other.

  “Aren’t you proud of her?” asked Allison.

  “I sure am,” said Blake.

  “And to think, you gave her the space to be able to create these masterpieces. You’re going to have to give him a cut of the profit,” joked Allison, nudging me with her elbow.

  Before I had a chance to respond, I looked at the front door as the last person on the planet that I wanted to see walked through it.

  Harvey.

  “Let’s get this party started right,” he said, slurring his words. He had a suit with a bow tie that had been untied. He had on a pale green shirt that was untucked. It looked like he had been drinking already.

  “Oh my God,” said Allison, covering her face with her hands.

  “Who’s this clown?” asked Blake, looking over in Harvey’s direction distastefully.

  “That’s Harvey,” I said.

  Recognition registered on Blake’s face as he realized who he was and it was quickly replaced with anger. I could see the side of his jaw clenching and unclenching.

  “Please, let’s not make a scene,” I begged Blake.

  “I’m cool as long as he’s cool,” he said, not taking his gaze off of Harvey.

  As if he could feel Blake’s eyes on him, Harvey stumbled over to where we were sitting.

  “Well, well, well, look at what the cat drug in. And…are these the paintings that you did for my showing? Wow! I thought I smelled garbage in here.”

  Harvey slapped his knee and doubled over laughing. He was the only one who found his joke amusing. He stopped laughing when he looked over at Blake, who was visibly trying to contain his rage.

  “And who’s this strapping man? Is this the infamous money bags you ran into? Well, I’m glad to know that you landed on your feet and hooked you a billionaire. Let me be the first to shake your hand for winning your prize, sir, if no one has already.”

  He reached over to shake Blake’s hand and Blake slapped his hand away.

  “Maybe you should just walk away,” said Talia.

  Harvey turned his attention to Talia.

  “It looks like you’re worth a pretty penny after all,” said Harvey. “I wouldn’t have paid nearly as much as he did. I thought that I was being generous in buying one of your paintings. I never would have gone as far as this champ did, buying a whole studio for a shot of pussy.”

  Blake stepped toward him.

  “Shut your mouth and get out of here,” he said firmly.

  “What is he talking about?” I asked Blake, confused. Blake looked away from me, his face beginning to turn a bright red.

  “Oh? He hasn’t told you? I guess that you think that you landed a spot in this showing just off of your sheer talent alone. Well, if that’s the case, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the only reason that you got this spot is because, not only did your rich boyfriend here buy you, but he also bought this gallery and encouraged Allison to introduce you to Linda.”

  I looked in Allison’s direction to see if it was true. She looked away shamefully.

  I turned to look at Blake.

  “Is this true?” I asked, feeling my heart beginning to break. “And how do you even know this?”

  “Ask your ‘friend’ Allison here,” said Harvey mockingly.

  “Allison?” I asked her.

  “I’m so sorry,” she began. “He heard me overtelling a friend. But, it wasn’t the way that he’s making it sound. I said that it was really romantic and I was telling her how lucky you are to have found him and how I wish that I could have someone like that in my life. Harvey’s just trying to make it seem all icky, like it’s something else.”

  “I’m not trying to make it seem like anything,” he said. “It’s not my fault that she’s made herself the town whore. She did that all on her own.”

  Before I knew it, Blake had stepped toward Harvey and punched him hard in the face. Harvey fell back onto the floor, landing hard on his back. Blood was covering his face and was beginning to pool out onto the floor. Allison screamed loudly, stepping back.

  All of a sudden, all eyes were on me. I could see the disapproving look on the eyes of many. I could hear the whispers. They were talking about me and it wasn’t good. I went from an artist to the laughing stock and outcast of the party.

  I couldn’t breath.

  “Talia?” asked Blake, reaching out to touch my arm. I stepped away from him. I turned around and ran out the front door.

  I got outside and I ran and ran. I didn’t know where I was running to, but I knew that I had to get far away from there.

  Chapter 16 – Blake

  It was almost like everything started moving in slow motion from the moment that Talia ran out of the gallery. She looked like a wounded animal moving far away from danger. I was sure that that must have been how she was feeling. I felt bad, like I had taken part somehow in hurting her. I think I had allowed myself to believe the delusion that I could somehow hide the truth from her forever, but I had never imagined that it would come out like this, at a moment when she should have been at her happiest, her moment of glory. And to have the news broastcast to everyone within ear shot at the party must have been the ultimate embarrassment.

  When she left, I was right on her heels, trying to keep up with her, weaving through the sea of people that was beginning for form as everyone watched with curious delight at the scandalous display that had unfolded at the party. By the time that I reached the front door and stood on the sidewalk, there were too many people for me to see where she had gone. I looked everywhere that I could frantically, but all I saw was a sea of bodies, all dressed in fancy clothes, that had spilled out of the gallery onto the sidewalk. Some were calling it a night, deciding that the night’s events were enough for them to say thei
r goodbyes and head to their next engagement or home. It was fairly early enough that there were still things going on in the city.

  But, I didn’t care about any of that. My priority was making sure that Talia was okay. I ran back inside the gallery and tried calling her. Her phone went straight to voicemail.

  “Did you find her?” asked Allison, a look of sincere worry on her face. I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. I know that it was wrong of me to feel that Allison was to blame for this, but I couldn’t help but feel that if she had been more discreet with her conversation, none of this would have happened.

  “I’m so sorry, Blake,” said Allison. “I had no idea that this would happen.”

  “Maybe you should learn to be a better friend and stop blabbing your mouth to anyone who would listen about someone that you claim to care about,” I said, my words punching the air.

  Allison looked shocked, like she was taken aback by my words.

  “Hey, look, Blake, I understand you being upset and all, but this is not my fault. Harvey is the one who came here starting trouble. Not me. I came to fully support my friend. Hell, if it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have even been a part of this show.”

  “You mean, if it weren’t for me,” I said coolly, walking away from her. I didn’t want to go back and forth and I knew that I was so angry that I might say something that I would later regret.

  Talia didn’t deserve this. No one deserved to have their hopes and dreams shattered to pieces right before their eyes, but least of all her. She had come so far. She was so incredibly gifted and everyone acted like that didn’t matter. She finally had had the chance, even if it was something that I had orchestrated, to believe in her own greatness, and just because some prick was upset that he couldn’t get into her pants, he tried to take all of that away from her.

  I wouldn’t stand for it.

  “Where’s Harvey?” I asked Linda, pulling her away from a conversation with an older couple who seemed enthralled by everything that was going on. She politely excused herself and stepped away.

  “The last I saw he was being scraped up off of the floor threatening to sue everyone here,” she said, hanging her head shame. I winced, kind of wishing that I would have handled things differently. But, largely, I wasn’t upset with the way that things had happened. Harvey had been asking for it for a very long time. Even though I would now have to deal with the consequences of what had happened that night, I was glad that I had finally been able to serve Harvey a plate of cold, hard justice.

  I would have to deal with Harvey later.

  At the moment, my priority was Talia. I needed to find her.

  “I’m going to head back to our hotel,” I told Linda. “If you hear anything, please be sure to let me know. And I’ll do the same.”

  I said my goodbyes halfheartedly and walked out of the gallery. The cool, night air felt good on my face. I took a few deep breaths, hoping that that would help to calm the nerves that were beginning to accumulate in the pit of my stomach.

  The walk back to our hotel was a long one. I kept checking my phone to see if Talia had called me, but she hadn’t. I walked into our suite, calling her name, hoping to find her curled up in a chair waiting for me. She wasn’t there. I yelled out in frustration.

  I pulled out my cellphone and called Jensen. I was sure that he would know what to do.

  “Hello?” he said cheerfully. I could hear the sound of talking and the clanking of plates.

  “Hey, Jensen. How’s everything?” I tried to keep my voice as even as possible.

  “All good here,” he said, trying to yell over the noise in the background. “How did everything go with the art show?”

  I paused, not quite sure how to share the less-than-favorable news.

  “Well, that’s kind of why I’m calling,” I said, being sure to choose my words carefully. “A guy showed up and made a mess of things and Talia ran out. Now, I’m trying to find her.”

  “Any idea where she might have gone?” he asked. I coud hear the noise in the background dying down. I knew that he probably was stepping into a quieter space.

  “No,” I told him. “That’s why I’m calling you. I need your help finding her. I know that you have connections all over the city. I need to make sure that she’s safe, that I find her in one piece.”

  “I understand,” he said. “Let me make a few calls and get back to you. And try not to worry.”

  I rolled my eyes at his last statement. How exactly was I supposed to not worry knowing that she was out in the city, distraught, and vulnerable? I just wished that I knew where she was, that I could hold her, comfort her. But, more than anything, I just wished that I could explain everything. That part made things that much harder, the fact that there was so much unresolved, the fact that she probably had so many questions about what was going on. I didn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t trust me. I wanted her to understand that everything that I had done, I had done with the best of intentions, wanting things to work out perfectly for her.

  But, I had to find her to be able to tell her anything.

  I paced the floor all night, stopping only to check my phone and peek through the blinds, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, to hear her voice, to see a text from her. I even went on her social media pages to see if there had been any updates. It was as if she disappeared off the face of the earth.

  I didn’t even bother trying to fall asleep because I knew that there would be no way that I could relax long enough for that to happen.

  Before I knew it, the sun was coming up. And I still hadn’t heard anything from Talia or about her.

  At about 6:30 am, my cell phone started to buzz. I almost dropped it because it startled me. It was Jensen.

  “Hey, we found her,” he said. “She’s about three blocks away from the hotel at a 24 hour diner. My sources say that she’s been there for about twenty minutes now. Did you want someone to go and pick her up?”

  “No,” I said, grabbing my coat. I was already out the door before we hung up. I walked fast down the street, trying to stop myself from breaking out into a full run. I was relieved that she had been found and needed to see her right away. I wanted to get to her before she disappeared again.

  When I got to the diner, I stood outside trying to catch my breath for a few minutes. I was also trying to collect my thoughts, hoping that I wouldn’t say anything that might make her run off again. I needed her to understand what happened and why I had done what I had done.

  The bell above the door chimed when I pushed it open. Talia’s back was to me and she didn’t turn when the door opened. She sat nursing a cup of coffee, staring blankly into her cup, absentmindedly stirring it.

  I slid into the booth where she was sitting across from her. She looked up and had a look of surprise on her face when she saw me. The look was quickly replaced with irritation.

  “Hey, Talia. How are you?” I didn’t quite know how to open up the conversation or how she would respond, so I figured I’d start with a safe question.

  “Besides being the biggest loser in America, I’m fine,” she said, laying her head down on the table in front of her. My heart sank hearing those words.

  “You’re not a loser,” I said, reaching out to put my hand on her shoulder. “You’re the exact opposite of that.”

  She jerked away, her head popping up. Her eyes were so filled with anger they seemed to cut me like a knife.

  “If I weren’t such a big loser, why did you feel the need to arrange things for the showing? You made me think that I was picked because I was actually good, not because some rich guy bought out the gallery. And that’s the other thing. Why did you make me think that you were some blue collar worker?”

  Her eyes searched mine. I could see the depth of her pain, pain that was caused by my deception.

  “I just wanted you to like me for me, not necessarily because of my money,” I said. “But, why did you run away? I was so worried about you. And you didn’t answe
r your phone. I thought that something had happened to you.”

  “I was so embarrassed. I just wanted to be as far away from you and everyone at the gallery as humanly possible. I had to think, really come to terms with the fact that I may never be an artist respected for my craft. My craft. Even those words together don’t make sense anymore. I had to really sit and accept the fact that I don’t have any real talent. Because if I did, you wouldn’t have felt the need to orchestrate things so much that there would be no way that I would have been rejected. You would have truly believed in me and my art. But, you didn’t. You figured that the only way that I would have success is if you paid for it.”

  “It wasn’t like that at all,” I said, still trying to get through to her.

  “Of course it was,” she yelled. “If it hadn’t been that way, you would have been honest with me and just told me that I didn’t have any talent and that I should just stick to being a cashier. At least that would have been the truth. Instead, you interfered, making me believe a lie, that I actually stood a chance at being a real artist. You should have just told me to stick to making my little paintings in secret, that the only place where my art would be considered something was probably on my mom’s refrigerator or at the bottom of a bird cage. I trusted you above everyone else to at least tell me the truth about that. You didn’t have any real reason to lie, or so I thought. But, it turns out that the very person that I have trusted through this process is the one who set me up for failure.”

  She covered her face with her hands, letting out loud sobs. My heart was breaking just listening to her and watching her. And while a large part of me felt sorry for me, another part of me felt angry at her. I couldn’t sit and watch her tear herself to shreds without speaking my mind.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself,” I told her curtly.

  She paused, looking up at me shocked.

  “What?” she asked, incredulously.

  “You heard me,” I said firmly. “You should be ashamed of yourself carrying on like this. If you didn’t have any real talent, if you weren’t meant to be a real artist, answer me this: how is that all of your paintings sold last night?”