chapter 2

MY WHOLE BODY LOCKS UP. And I think my organs begin to shut down. My voice is rough with pointless, illogical hope.

“Is Great-Aunt Miriam marrying again?”

The Queen folds her hands on the desk. A terrible sign. That’s her tell— it says her mind is made up and not even a gale-force wind could sway her off course.

“When you were a boy, I promised your mother that I would give you the space to choose a wife for yourself, as your father chose her. To fall in love. I’ve watched and waited, and now I’ve given up waiting. Your family needs you; your country needs you. Therefore, you will announce the name of your betrothed at a press conference…at the end of the summer.”

Her declaration breaks me out of my shock and I jump to my feet. “That’s five bloody months from now!”

She shrugs. “I wanted to give you thirty days. You can thank your grandfather for talking me out of it.”

She means the portrait on the wall behind her. My grandfather’s been dead for ten years.

“Maybe you should be less concerned with my personal life and more concerned with the press finding out about your habit of talking to paintings.”

“It comforts me!” Now she’s standing too—hands on her desk, leaning toward me. “And it’s just the one painting—don’t be obnoxious, Nicky.”

“Can’t help it.” I look at her pointedly. “I learned from the best.”

She ignores the dig and sits back down. “I’ve drawn up a list of suitable young ladies—some of them you’ve met, some will be new to you. This is our best course of action, unless you can give me a reason to think otherwise.”

And I’ve got nothing. My wit deserts me so fast there’s a dust trail in my brain. Because politically, public relations–wise, she’s right—a royal wedding kills all the birds with one stone. But the birds don’t give a damn about what’s right—they just see a rock coming at their fucking heads.

“I don’t want to get married.”

She shrugs. “I don’t blame you. I didn’t want to wear your great-great grandmother, Queen Belvidere’s tiara on my twenty-first birthday—it was a gaudy, heavy thing. But we all must do our duty. You know this. Now it’s your turn, Prince Nicholas.”

There’s a reason duty is a homophone for shit.

And she’s not asking me as my grandmother—she’s telling me, as my Queen. A lifetime of upbringing centered around responsibility, legacy, birthright, and honor make it impossible for me to refuse.

I need alcohol. Right fucking now. “Is that all, Your Majesty?”

She stares at me for several beats, then nods. “It is. Travel safely; we’ll speak again when you return.”

I stand, dip my head, and turn to leave. Just as the door is closing behind me, I hear a sigh. “Oh, Edward, where did we go wrong? Why must they be so difficult?”

An hour later, I’m back at Guthrie House, sitting in front of the fireplace in the morning room, handing my empty glass to Fergus for a refill. Another refill.

It’s not that I haven’t known what’s expected of me—the whole world knows. I have one job: pass my tiger blood on to the next generation. Beget an heir who’ll one day replace me, as I’ll replace my grandmother. And run a country.

Still, it all seemed so theoretical. Some day, one day. The Queen is healthier than a whole stable of horses—she’s not going anywhere anytime soon. But now…a wedding…shit just got real.

“There he is!”

I can count on one hand the number of people I trust—and Simon

Barrister, 4th Earl of Ellington, is one of them. He greets me with a back- smacking hug and a glowing smile. And when I say glowing, I mean literally—his face is bright tomato red, and crispy around the edges.

“What the hell happened to your face?”

“Damn Caribbean sun hates me. No matter how much sunscreen I used, it found a way to fry me like a chip!” He elbows me. “Made for a creative honeymoon, if you know what I mean. Burn ointment can be quite sensual.”

Simon married last month. I stood beside him at the altar—though I’d tried like hell to get him to make a run for it.

He’s got a big heart and a brilliant brain, but he’s never been good with women. The copper hair, milk-white skin, and pudge around the middle that no amount of tennis or biking will melt away didn’t help. And then Frances Alcott came along. Franny doesn’t like me and the feeling is entirely mutual. She’s breathtaking—I’ll give her that: dark hair and eyes, the face of an angel, skin like a porcelain doll’s.

The kind whose head will spin around on its neck, right before it drags you under the bed to strangle you.

Fergus brings Simon a drink and we sit down.

“So, I hear the Old Bird finally brought the hammer down on the whole marriage thing.”

The ice rattles in my glass as I gulp it down. “That was fast.”

“You know how it is around here. The walls have ears and big mouths.

What’s your plan, Nick?”

I raise my glass. “A rapid descent into alcoholism.” Then I shrug. “Beyond that, I don’t have a plan.”

I toss the papers at him. “She made me a list of potentials. Helpful of her.”

Simon flips through the pages. “This could be fun. You could hold auditions—like The X Factor—‘Show me your double-D talents.’”

I arch my neck, trying to dislodge the knot that’s sprung up. “And on top of everything, we have to go to bloody fucking New York and chase Henry down.”

“I don’t know why you dislike New York so much—good shows, great food, leggy models.”

My parents were coming back from New York when their plane went down. It’s childish and stupid, I know—but what can I say, I hold a grudge.

Simon raises his palm. “Wait, what do you mean, ‘We have to go to bloody fucking New York’?”

“Misery loves company. That means road trip.”

Also, I value Simon’s opinion, his judgment. If we were the mob, he’d be my consigliere.

He gazes into his glass as if it holds the secrets of the world—and women. “Franny’s not going to be happy.”

“Give her something sparkly from the store.”

Simon’s family owns Barrister’s, the largest department store chain in the world.

“Besides, you just spent an entire month together. You must be sick of her by now.”

The secret to a long, successful relationship is frequent absences. It keeps things new, fun—there’s never time for the inevitable boredom and annoyance to set in.

“There aren’t any time-outs in marriage, Nick.” He chuckles. “As you’ll soon see for yourself.”

I give him the finger. “Appreciate the sympathy.” “That’s what I’m here for.”

I drain my glass empty. Again.

“I’ve canceled our dinner plans, by the way. Lost my appetite. I told the security team we’ll be heading to The Goat for the rest of the night.”

The Horny Goat is the oldest wooden structure in the city. It’s located in what used to be the palace proper—the village surrounding the palace

where the servants and soldiers made their homes. In those days The Horny Goat was a whorehouse; today it’s a pub. The walls are crooked and the roof leaks, but it’s the best damn pub in the country as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know how Macalister—he’s the owner—does it, background checks

or bribery, but not a single story has ever shown up in the press about me or my brother after a night at The Goat.

And there’ve been some wild ones.

Simon and I are already piss-drunk when the car pulls up to the door.

Logan St. James, the head of my personal security team, opens the car door for Simon and me, his eyes scanning up and down the sidewalk for signs of a threat or a camera.

Inside, the pub air smells of stale beer and cigarettes, but it’s as

comforting as fresh biscuits baking in the oven. The ceilings are low and the floor is sticky—there’s a karaoke box and stage in the back corner— with a light-haired girl swaying on it, belting out the newest Adele song.

Simon and I sit at the bar, and Meg—she’s Macalister’s daughter—wipes it down with a rag and a sexy smile.

“Evening, Your Highness.” Simon gets a nod but a less sexy smile. “Lord Ellington.”

Then her light brown eyes are back to me. “Saw you on the television this afternoon. You looked well.”

“Thank you.”

She shakes her head just a bit. “I never knew you were a reader. Funny, in all the times I’ve been to your rooms, I haven’t seen a single book.”

Meg’s voice has echoed off my walls and her moans have hummed around my cock—more than once. Her NDA is in my wall safe at home. I’m almost sure I’ll never need it, but the first “talk” my father gave me wasn’t about the birds and bees—it was about how it’s always better to

have a nondisclosure agreement that you don’t need than to need one that you don’t have.

I smirk. “You must’ve missed them. You weren’t interested in looking at books when you were there, pet.”

Women who live paycheck to paycheck can handle a one—or three— night stand better than those in my class. Noble ladies are spoiled, demanding—they’re used to getting everything they want—and turn vindictive when they’re denied. But girls like my pretty barmaid are

accustomed to knowing there are some things in life they’ll never be able to lock down.

Meg smiles—warm and knowingly. “What would you like to drink tonight? The usual?”

I don’t know if it’s the day full of interviews or the pints of scotch I’ve ingested, but suddenly adrenaline rushes through me, my heartbeat quickens

—and the answer is so clear.

The Queen has me by the balls—and I’m going to have to bleach my brain for even completing that thought—but besides that, I still have time.

“No, Meg. I want something different—something I haven’t had before.

Surprise me.”

If you were told that the world as you knew it—life as you knew it— would end in five months, what would you do?

You’d make the most of the time you had left, of course. Do everything you wanted to do—everyone you wanted to do—for as long as you could. Until time was up.

Well…looks like I’ve got a plan, after all.