Falling for her Fake Fiancé (Dynasties of the Sargasso Sea #3)

Chapter 1

Why?

Why had she told them she was engaged?

She wasn’t.

She didn’t have a boyfriend.

She hadn’t publicly dated anyone in years.

She’d never publicly dated anyone seriously.

Ever.

So what had possessed her to tell the whole wide world she was going to get married?

Princess Victoria Elizabeth Alexandra of Southern Santiero couldn't even say she'd been caught off guard.

She knew the rumor was that she'd run off with a lover. Not even that she'd run off with someone for a relationship.

A fling.

A one-night stand.

Except longer and while she gallivanted around the world and avoided her royal responsibilities.

Except she hadn't run off with anyone.

No one knew where she’d been.

Not even her mum or her eldest brother.

King Frederick of Southern Santiero.

She'd only seen him for a few minutes since she'd been in town. Just long enough to give him a hug and meet his new wife.

Her mum hadn't pushed for more information than Victoria was willing to give, though Victoria knew her mum was disappointed at her refusal.

No one knew.

Not really.

Just one person and even he didn't know everything.

So what had possessed her to say she was engaged?

Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

Victoria had no desire to pull it out and see who was calling.

Her brother.

Her mum.

Her security team leader.

Public relations liaison.

Her other siblings.

Or maybe none of the above and it was a spam call.

Her luck couldn't be that good, could it?

Victoria pulled her phone out just enough to see she who she wasn't going to talk to.

She'd been in front of a hotel when she'd been cornered by the press. She'd used the lobby to facilitate her escape.

No one, with the probable exception of Cap, knew how long she'd been in the capital city of Caledania. A couple of hotel staff members knew but she paid well for their discretion. She'd chosen this hotel for a reason.

Finally at her suite, she let out a sigh of relief as she sank against the freshly closed door.

"You couldn't have said something a little less potentially awkward?"

As far as anyone else would know, there wasn't supposed to be anyone in her suite, but the male voice didn't surprise her. Neither did the amusement in his tone.

"I don't know. It just came out." Her eyes remained closed.

"I get that you felt you had to say something but engaged?"

"Please don't." Her words were barely audible. For the first time, hot tears began to form behind her eyelids.

A gentle tug on her hand pulled her forward until her forehead rested on his chest. His hand came around to rubbed up and down on her back.

"What do I do now? How do I fix this?"

"I don't know. It's possible your brother's surgery will overshadow it enough that no one will notice."

Her head snapped up and searched his eyes for reassurance. "Surgery? Which brother? Ricky is the only one that might be a big enough story to eclipse my alleged engagement.”

“He’s fine. Appendectomy. They were able to do it at the palace, not even the hospital. He and the queen have returned to a bungalow near the Queen Mother’s residence.”

Victoria breathed a sigh of relief, but totally different from the one a moment earlier.

“But it won’t hold the press back forever,” he went on. “Someone will pick up on it as soon as they’re assured the king is on the path to recovery. Everyone will want to know who you’re engaged to, when the wedding is, where you’ve been, and why you’ve avoided royal responsibilities for so long.”

“I know.” Victoria walked away from him, toward the kitchenette on the other side of the room. She opened the refrigerator and reached in to grab a fizzy water. “Maybe there’s a way to make it go away.”

“I doubt it.”

Her phone rang again. Another glance at the screen told her she didn’t want to answer it, but knew the longer she put it off, the worse it would be.

She swiped across the screen. “Hello, Mum.”

“Victoria, what’s this I hear from the PR department? You’re engaged?”

Taking the fizzy water with her, Victoria flopped onto the sofa in the living area.

“I’m not engaged, Mum. It just sort of..

. happened. They asked one question after another, and I thought just agreeing with them would be the best way to get them to go away.

I didn’t even realize they’d asked if I was engaged until after I’d confirmed it. ”

“Victoria.” Her mum’s word was more like a sigh, a frustrated sigh.

“I know.”

“We’ll have to put out a retraction as soon as it really hits the media. So far, your brother’s surgery is still the lead story, but it won’t be long until someone pushes this to the forefront. We need to meet with the PR team as soon as possible.”

We.

Victoria hadn’t felt like part of a we in years - if ever.

She’d left her homeland not long after she turned eighteen. Her mum, and everyone else, likely still viewed her as someone barely done with her schooling, incapable of handling something like this.

Of course, Victoria had proved them correct when she got herself into the situation in the first place.

“We’ll see.” Victoria remained noncommittal. “I’m not sure how long I’m going to be here. I may be leaving tonight or tomorrow.”

Her mum’s silence came through loud and clear until she finally broke it. “That’s an option, but it’s likely best for you to stay and face whatever’s about to happen rather than let the press and public make up whatever story they want.”

Victoria knew her mum was right.

But she still wanted to leave.

She told her mum she’d get back to her then disconnected the call before her mum could reply.

“Meeting with the PR people?” Her companion sounded sympathetic.

Victoria nodded.

“I’ll likely have to do the same once we return to Dellisole.” He shook his head. “No. Not likely. Definitely. The only question is whether or not you’ll join me at the meeting.”

With her eyes closed, Victoria groaned. “If possible, I like that idea even less than going with Mum.”

He took a seat next to her and took her hand, linking their fingers together. “At some point, everyone will have to know.”

“I know. I’ve known that all along, but that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to it.”

His warm chuckle reminded her oif one of the reasons she’d found herself beginning to fall in love with him.

Why he wasn’t her fiancé.

Why, in a few months, she would be the next Queen Consort of Dellisole.

Crown Prince Vincenzo Gianni Raphael of the country of Dellisole - one-third of the Commonwealth of Terra Insula - hoped his self-assured facade continued to convince Victoria that he had a clue what he was doing.

And that he fully understood why he’d married her in a very private ceremony a few days earlier.

He knew he wasn’t in love with her the way he’d always expected to be when the time came, but he also knew he’d made the right choice.

A slip to the press wasn’t exactly the way he’d thought it would come out, though.

Enzo sat next to Victoria and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “We’ll figure this out. We may not be able to introduce our relationship slowly like we talked about, but maybe it’s better this way.” He tried to find the bright side. “We won’t have to slow play it, especially with...”

His carefully crafted facade began to slip, but Enzo forced it back into place. He far preferred avoidance to dwelling on the future speeding at him like a bullet train.

“Your ascension to the throne.” Victoria’s calm voice helped him slip back into the persona she knew.

Very, very few people knew his mum only had a few months to live, at most. Likely not that long.

He still didn’t know what compelled him to confide the young lady he met on holiday, before he knew she was a member of another royal family. Before he knew she knew all too well what the loss of a parent, who was also the monarch, did to a family.

“Yes.”

“I know I screwed up.” Her head rested more heavily against him. “I know I should be the one to clean it up, but a retraction will only cause more problems when we tell the world after we talk to your mum.”

Enzo ran his thumb over her upper arm. “Maybe we just don’t say anything. Tell them more details will be available when you’re ready to share them.”

“And a royal wedding in Dellisole? The people here are going to be annoyed enough the only princess of this generation isn’t having a big wedding here.

What will your people think of their new king already being married but not having a real wedding?

” Victoria’s voice sounded weary, much like Enzo felt.

“I don’t know. We’ll be having a coronation soon enough.” His voice tried to crack, but he forced himself to maintain control. “We could find a way to incorporate some of the traditional wedding elements into it.”

“A coronation is a solemn occasion. I don’t know about having a celebration at the same time. Yes, it’s a celebration of the new monarch in a sense, but it can also be a reminder of the one so recently lost.”

Enzo found himself acutely aware that Victoria’s hand had come to rest on his knee. She meant for it to be a comforting gesture, and it was, but unusual given the length of their relationship.

His focus shifted back to the question at hand. “I guess the only real solution is to talk to the PR departments. We might want to get them on a big conference call and discuss it as a team.”

“We’ll have to talk to our families first. I know you wanted your mum to be the first one we told.

” Victoria moved away from him, twisting so she faced him.

“We could make a trip to your home tomorrow. Talk to your mum. I can come back here while you spend time with her and take care of the things that need to be taken care of. When you can get away for a couple of days in a few weeks, we’ll talk to my family. ”

After turning that idea over in his head for a moment, he nodded. “That sounds like the best idea. Will you be able to go with me? Or do you need to stay here for a few days? We can video call so you can meet my mum right away.”

“Can you have your staff prepare for a flight home tomorrow for you and, if I can, I’ll join you?” Victoria lifted her hand to brush her fingertips against the hair at his temple.

Enzo closed his eyes as the relaxing motion lulled him. “I’ll send a text in a minute and see how quickly it can be arranged.”

“I wish I could be there with you.”

“I know.” Enzo blew out a breath. “I really shouldn’t have been gone this long, but Mum insisted I take a holiday before...” He couldn’t finish the thought.

“Before you have even more responsibilities that make it challenging.”

Though the responsibilities of being the next monarch had never rested on Victoria’s shoulders, she understood the realities of his life in a way a few others could.

She turned so she could sit next to him again. They sat in silence, each deep in their own thoughts, for several minutes before Enzo felt his phone buzz at him. A glance at his smart watch told him he needed to take the call.

He pressed a quick kiss to the top of Victoria’s head and stood, moving away from her to talk to his assistant.

The news wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

“Have them get the plane ready. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Thank you for letting me know.”

As he slipped the phone in his pocket, Enzo felt Victoria come to stand behind him, her arms wrapping around his waist as she rested her cheek against his back.

But she didn’t ask about the call. She just stood there.

No matter. Enzo made sure to take a deep breath and put on a smile before turning around and taking her in his arms.

“I was going to ask them to have the plane ready early in the morning, but I’m going to need to leave much sooner than that.” He gave her a gentle kiss. “They’re already bringing my car around.”

“Would you like me to go with you?” The sincerity in her voice, the clear concern in her eyes, almost made him say yes.

Instead he shook his head, an easy smile slipping into place. “Of course I’d like you to come with me, but you need to stay here and talk with your mum and take care of anything else that pops up.”

A flicker of disappointment crossed her face. Because she wanted to go with him - or because she didn’t want to stay and face her mum, especially alone?

Either way, he would be leaving her behind.

She gave him a kiss and then stepped back. “Please keep me updated on how things are going?”

“I’ll text you later.” Hopefully they’d be able to talk on the phone, and he’d be back in Southern Santiero in a couple of days.

Giving her hand a squeeze, Enzo turned away from her and walked out the door.

Time to head home and find if he was already king.