But marry in haste because of that job?
No. Not yet. He wasn’t ready. He needed more time. He knew the toll the job had taken on his father.
Women like his mother, Princess Charlotte, were not like the women he’d dated. They were…greedy. They wanted fame. Fortune. Prestige. And a few diamonds to go with it.
But what could they give him?
Their bodies.
To his shame, he had taken what was on offer, but he knew instinctively it was not enough. He could not envision marrying any of the women he’d dated.
So what do you want?
Time. Just time.
What about the right woman?
Lucas snorted as that thought crowded inside his brain. He wasn’t sure such a woman existed.
His parents had set such a wonderful example of a loving marriage, but love meant total commitment, and to his mind, that meant being vulnerable and letting someone take over his heart. He’d witnessed that joy being decimated so easily, just as it had for his father when his wife had died. Then what?
His father’s heartbreak at his wife’s death had been all-encompassing, and Lucas wasn’t sure he could allow such vulnerability into his life. To open his heart fully… He’d done that once…and it had been sliced in two by the woman he thought had loved him, who had, in the end, only wanted his lifestyle. Not him.
His life might not be his own, and he felt the pressure to marry, but he wasn’t sure love was worth the risk. Better to remain single than to feel that depth of hurt.
Such thoughts reaffirmed his decision. He would put his family off—somehow. There had to be a way.
Slowly, as he stared out the window and across the landscape of the ancient city all the way up to the mountains, an idea took hold and blossomed.
Could it work?
Lucas scrubbed his hands down his thighs and leaned forward in his chair. Suddenly it was imperative it would, because this plan just might give him what he needed: time.
A tap on his door snapped Lucas to attention.
Cassie stood at the doorway to his office. His mouth spread into a smile. How very opportune.
“It’s late, Lucas, I’m going now. Have a nice evening.” She tugged the strap of her handbag over her shoulder and went to leave.
“You can’t go.”
Her brow creased in confusion. “Why not? I’ve done everything I can on those reports until the next lot of figures arrives.”
He scooped up the gold-leaf invitation for the gala. “I’ve a favor to ask.”
For several, long-drawn-out seconds, she simply stared at him. He knew she was trying to gauge an inkling of what was going on in his mind, but Lucas held himself in check, not offering a hint. He wasn’t about to back down on this.
The idea had come out of left field. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? It was a way out, giving him that time he so desperately needed.
He stared resolutely at Cassie.
Will she?
Two minutes ago, time had not been on his side. Now it was hopefully within his reach. “I need a wife, Cassie.”
“So go to the list.”
“Forget the list. I’ve got a proposition for you.”
Suspicion darkened her eyes. “I don’t think I want to hear it.”
“How about we play make-believe. You act as my fiancée for a while.”
“Pardon?”
Lucas caught Cassie’s wariness. She had a right to be. Even he knew what he was about to propose was out there. “I need you to play my fiancée for a while.”
Cassie took a step back. “Whoa. Are you nuts? Forget it. I’m your PA, not your fiancée…and certainly not royal wife material.”
Lucas controlled the urge to plead, instigating his renowned rigidity. “It’s a game, not real. We’re not getting married, but with you playing my fiancée, it’ll at least give me time to—”
“Find a real wife.” She finished his sentence for him, but there was something in Cassie’s voice that caught him momentarily off guard.
“I need to get my family off my back. This way…”
Cassie rolled her eyes and stepped away from him, head shaking. He caught the disappointment in her expression, and guilt surged. He shut it right back down.
“How typical! This is all about you. It’s just like the jewelry and the flowers for your castoffs. I’m Ms. Fix-It, and now you want me to fix your love life.”
“For a while. It gives me a way of appeasing my father’s quest for me to get married. If we say we’re engaged, it will stall him and everyone else while I catch a moment to breathe.”
“Gee, thanks a bunch. It seems to me you’re getting everything in this proposal, and all because you can’t make up your mind.”
Desperation threatened. “It’s not like that.”
“Oh, yes it is. Answer me this. What do I get out of this playacting of yours?”
Disillusionment sprang to life. She’d said she couldn’t be bought, but there it was. What did she get? Funny how it always came down to money. It always had with every woman he met. He never thought it would with Cassie. “How much do you want?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Money. How much?”
“I…don’t want your money. Is that all people are to you? Someone you can buy? Money does not make everything okay. Not everyone in this world can be bought. I can’t.”
Her eyes darkened. He knew that look. Cassie was angry with him, but he was desperate. “Deals make the world go round.”
“Oh yes, silly me.” She slapped her palm to her forehead. “Of course, this is a business deal. Always business.”
“So what did you think it was? This is merely a means to an end. I’m not professing undying love. You, of all people, should know I don’t do love.”
“Oh, I definitely know that, because I’ve got the jewelry receipts to prove it.”
“It’s only for a few weeks. I love my father, but I won’t be pressured to marry in haste. With you acting as my fiancée, he’ll be convinced I’m settled enough to take over ruling San Torrevna. This way, he gets to start his new life with Larissa.”
“I don’t think so. Besides, you expect after a few weeks, your father will just hand it all over to you. Your history goes before you, Lucas. A few weeks aren’t going to convince him.”
“So we’ll make it a few months.”
“We? We won’t be doing anything, because I won’t play this game of yours.” Head down, she walked to the door that led to the foyer, wrenched the door open and headed for the elevator.
He had to stop her. He needed her.
Do something.
He pushed back from his desk, then strode after her.
“It’s for my family.”
Cassie pivoted to face him. “Low blow, Lucas.”
“Desperate times require desperate measures. My father is tired. He wants another chance in life.”
Hesitation colored her expression, and Lucas knew a sense of success, of relief, and ignored the cloak of guilt. He had her. His breath stilled, waiting, hoping.
Her gaze jackknifed to the elevator doors, then back to him. “You’ve got yourself a deal. Now, I’ve got to go home.”
She wanted to change her mind. He could see that in her eyes. But he also knew she wouldn’t.
“I must be nuts to have agreed to this loopy idea.”
“But you have.”
Cassie bristled. “I know. Don’t worry. I’m not going to back out. I’ll…” She stabbed at the elevator call button, and the doors instantly opened. She went to step inside.
“Wait.”
Her stride faltered. Damn it. She needed to leave, to think this oddball scheme through. She flicked him a look over her shoulder. “What now? Another scheme? Another demand?”
“Since you’ve agreed to be my fiancée, we need to be seen in public.”
“Says who?”
“Me. Come back to my office so we can discuss some details.” Lucas turned and headed back into his office, leaving her to follow him. With a heavy sigh, she pivoted and did just that, when every instinct said to leave.
He stood in front of the portrait of his parents, then drew it away from the wall and spun the dial of the safe behind it. Left. Right. Then left again, until a soft click echoed. He tugged the safe’s handle, opened the door, reached in and withdrew something. “If we’re to make this believable, you’ll need to wear this.”
Cassie’s heart did a series of flip-flops.
He held out a black velvet pouch. Lucas pulled at the golden cord and tipped out the contents. A glittering solitaire of immense proportions caused a wave of nausea to swirl in her stomach. This was getting out of her control.
Taking her hand, he slid the exquisite ring on her finger. Its weight was instant. Heavy. A burden. Uncertainty circled her heart as she stared at the bauble. She’d just gotten engaged.
No, she hadn’t. It wasn’t real. Trouble was, the rock on her finger made it scarily real. She blinked several times, thinking maybe it was all a dream, but nothing had changed.
“I need you to come to the charity event with me.”
“No. I can’t.”
“You have to. I need someone familiar. Comfortable.”
“Gee, thanks. You make me sound like an old cardigan.”
His mouth hitched. “I need someone who doesn’t want something from me tonight. Not a woman like all the others. Someone I can trust, talk to. You don’t want me in your bed like the previous parade of assistants who had only one idea in mind—grab a prince.”
“Are you joking?”
He responded with a crooked smile, and she looked away, wishing, like all the other times he smiled at her, that he wouldn’t. “Do I look like it?”
She nodded toward the ever-present list of suitable women on his desk. “You’ve got a list a mile long to choose from, Lucas, and you just dumped Felicia. Why the change of heart?”
“Because my heart isn’t in it. I know I have to marry, and I realize everyone’s concerned, but Felicia and the others…” He waved toward the list. “They’re all the same.”
“They’re beautiful women.”
“And boring.”
“So choose another one.”
“Can’t do that. They’re all booked out tonight.”
“Now, that I don’t believe. You’re a prince. Women are always available when you phone for a date.”
“Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Available?”
“No.”
His smile slipped. “Cassie, please. Think of it as part of your job description. You’ve attended business meetings before.”
Cassie bristled, but Lucas remained resolute, his steel-hard determination firmly in place. He would not back down.
“This is not a business meeting. This is…different. I won’t play your arm candy. I’m your personal assistant, not an escort, Your Highness. Call Felicia back. I’m sure she’ll jump at the chance to go.”
Silently, he ran the fingertips of his right hand over a heavily engraved cufflink bearing the coat of arms of San Torrevna. The action always offered a silent reminder of who he was. What he was. That never went away.
“Plans change, Cassie. Job descriptions change. Just like mine is about to change with my father’s decree. He wants to retire. Tonight, I need you at my side, no one else. It’s not just a charity gala, as you well know. There’ll be representatives from the Olympic committee and other ventures interested in working with San Torrevna. You’ll be my extra ears and eyes. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“You know you’re being an ass.”
Lucas pursed his mouth, clearly suppressing a smile. “And you’re being your usual straight-forward self, I see. However, I believe mules and donkeys are domesticated, not something most would label me as.”
“So jackass fits perfectly.”
“And here I was thinking we were a team.”
“Low blow, Lucas. And typical. You expect to be obeyed—without argument.” For a hint of a moment, uncertainty rode across her expression, and then she fixed him with a hard stare. “Okay. One night, but next time,” she said, wagging a finger at him as if he were a naughty schoolboy. “Find yourself another date.”
Chapter Two
Nerves taut, Cassie closed the front door to her small apartment and stood in the silence for a few minutes as she gathered her scattered thoughts.
A date with Lucas!
She should have said no. Should have. But hadn’t. Her feelings for Lucas ran heart-deep. One night when business and pleasure mixed couldn’t hurt—could it? All she had to do was keep her emotions reined in.
Pushing away from the door, she headed toward her bedroom.
With its ten-foot-high ceilings, beautiful crown molding and surprisingly large mullioned windows, her apartment, situated in one of the city’s historical arrondissements, was the place she called home, a home she loved.
She’d spent her childhood moving from city to city, then was shipped off to boarding school when her mother’s lovers didn’t want her around, and except for the few holidays spent with her father and half sister, Tina, in New Zealand, her childhood had been lonely. But those years had taught her well. Money did not buy happiness.
In the distance, the ancient bells of the town clock chimed, and her heart skipped a beat, excitement a tumultuous race through her veins.
A date.
No, it’s not. It’s business. She shook her head. “Cassie Masters, you’re far too fanciful.” That was the problem. She needed to keep it real, because princes did not marry nobodies. Besides, she would never marry a man like Lucas. He was…far too unreliable.
Faced with the reality of the moment, Cassie tried to focus. A charity gala meant a long and sophisticated dress. Cassie had witnessed beautiful and elegant women all her life. Her mother was one, but Blanche used her beauty as an enticement to the string of men that paraded through her life. The young Cassie had seen that it had not brought happiness to her mother and as she’d blossomed into a young woman, Cassie had sought refuge in colorless clothes, toning down her image in an effort not to imitate her mother.
Tonight, however, for a full five minutes, she stood in the center of her bedroom, the age-old quandary of what to wear coursing through her brain. Then what to wear became full-blown panic as six thirty chimed and she still wasn’t dressed. Time was running out.
Dress—long? Short?
Cassie flung open the wardrobe doors and peered at the array of clothing. Suits. Brown. Gray. Black. All boring. All work. No play. Nothing pretty.
You don’t do pretty.
She cast hanger after hanger aside, and then her fingers touched a sleek silk garment cover. She’d forgotten about the black, halter neck, floor-length gown her mother had given her in one of her moments of trying to encourage Cassie to imitate her.
Cassie had refused, and the dress had been hidden from sight in her wardrobe ever since.
She glanced at her watch. Fifteen minutes and then he would arrive, and she’d be Cinderella who wasn’t ready to go to the ball.
Grabbing the garment bag, she slid the zipper down and retrieved the dress, holding it up to her as she gazed at her reflection.
Elegant? Sophisticated? It was time she allowed herself to feel pretty again, surely.
Why? Pretty isn’t lasting. Isn’t reliable.
Finally dressed, she checked and rechecked her makeup, nervous fingers sliding up and down her dress, picking at invisible bits of fluff from the black crepe.
Was the dress too simple? Too plain? Too severe?
Not
sexy enough?
“Whoa.” Sexy wasn’t meant to be in there. She didn’t do sexy. Didn’t do couture or…anything. She liked understated. Unobtrusive. Invisible.
Not tonight, Cassie. Tonight you look…
The shrill peal of her doorbell curtailed her self-appraisal, and she grabbed her pashmina and the antique beaded purse that had once belonged to her grandmother. On unsteady legs, she walked the short hallway, a distance that suddenly seemed never-ending. Hand on the door handle, she hesitated a moment, glancing at herself in the hall mirror.
With her copper hair twisted into a French knot, eye makeup darker than she normally wore it, Cassie didn’t quite recognize herself. But it was her scarlet-glossed lips that stood out against her pale skin. Lips that said kiss me.
She yanked the door open.
“Ready?” Lucas’s straight-to-the-point attitude reminded her there was definitely no room for fantasies tonight. The man barely looked at her.
“Of course.” She pulled the door closed behind her as he turned on his expensive heels and retreated down the path. He waited on the curb by the limousine, the halo of a streetlight illuminating him.
Dressed in a tuxedo, the white shirt a foil to the stark, crisp lines of his jacket and the architectural element of his bow tie, he took her breath away. Then he frowned, and her stomach twisted in knots.
How the heck am I going to do this?
She slid across the luxurious seat, the scent of the leather mingling with the warm hint of his cologne. Lucas positioned himself beside her, tapped on the glass divider between them, and the vehicle noiselessly drew away from the curb.
Distinctly uncomfortable, she sat rigidly beside him while his fingers drummed a chaotic beat on the cushioned armrest. His gaze swerved in her direction, and for one split second, she thought she saw a flare of heat in their depths before his lashes fell, and any fantasy that had taken up space in her stupid brain faded.
“I’m sorry, Cassie, I should have said thank you.”
“Don’t bother. As you said, this is my job.”
The Bachelor Prince Page 2