Uncover My Secrets_A Billionaire Royalty Love Story Page 10

  “Father was always running a kingdom,” he said. “He loved me in his own way, but Mother took care of me most of the time. Even when we had the staff to do that. She was more of an annoyance to my nanny than I was. We were close for most of my childhood.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  He sighed and placed his napkin on the table. Then he took a sip from his water. “Father started to get on me about running the kingdom, and I was only a teenager at the time, so as teens do, I rebelled. He got Mother on his side, and for a while, there wasn’t much of a relationship. Once I started with the business, Father seemed happy enough to let me be.”

  “Until now,” I said.

  “Until now,” he repeated.

  The curious part of me was screaming to be let out, but a deal was a deal. I promised to keep my reporter side in check while I was fulfilling my side of the bargain.

  We stayed on neutral topics for a while until it was time to turn in for the night. I had no idea we were to sleep in different cabins. It turned out there were several cabins, but Luke offered me the biggest.

  It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep on the most comfortable bed in the world and dream of becoming an almost-princess for a weekend.

  Sometime later, one of the attendants woke me up to get showered and changed. I couldn’t believe that there were three bathrooms on the plane, two of them equipped with a stand-up shower. While it was smaller than the one I was used to at the hotel, it was much fancier.

  One of the outfits that Luke and I had purchased hung on the door. I wondered if he had chosen it for me at some point and had the flight attendant hang it up for me.

  The thought was a little creepy, but he did want me to get used to people doing things for me.

  I dressed and came out to the dining area where Luke was already seated with orange juice and a plate of food in front of him.

  “Good morning,” he said.

  “Morning,” I said, sitting next to him. “What’s for breakfast?” His plate was the traditional English breakfast that I’d shoveled down every morning since coming to the UK.

  “Whatever you’d like,” he said. “We’re landing in about a half hour.”

  “So soon?” I asked.

  “Yep,” he said.

  My order came out quicker than I thought possible, and I swallowed it before the flurry of flight attendants returned to get us ready for landing. Our plates, glasses, and silverware were gone in a matter of seconds.

  Even though planes didn’t bother me, my breakfast lumped in my stomach like a lead ball. I was about to meet a king and queen of a foreign country. And I had to pretend to be dating their son.

  It was a wild situation, and this was only the beginning.

  Luke and I watched BBC News on one of the big screens. We discussed some current events that were being covered, avoiding the bigger topic at hand.

  When the plane’s wheels finally touched down, Luke’s eyes were laser focused on the window. Glancing over his shoulder, I saw what he was looking at: a car on the tarmac and several people standing next to it. With the movement of the plane, I couldn’t get a good look, but Luke’s shoulders were up to his ears.

  Something touched my hand, and I looked down to see Luke gripping it. It wasn’t tight enough to hurt, but it was enough to know that he was as nervous as I was. This was a big deal for him, and whether or not he thought he could do it, I would be there for him.

  At that moment, we were one person. I wasn’t sure when the shift happened, but it was strong and true. At least from my perspective, we were no longer in business together. I had to look and play the part. Luke made it so much easier.

  I twined my fingers with his and tugged at his hand, turning him my way.

  His eyes met mine.

  “Take a breath.” It was the mantra that had been my rock before a hard interview or a speech of any kind. While this was different, he needed to relax. “We’re in this together, Luke. You and me. They won’t be convinced if you’re nervous.”

  “I suppose not,” he said. “I’m usually annoyed when I come home.”

  “How about trying to pretend like you’re happy?” I asked. “You’re with your beautiful girlfriend.”

  I meant it as a joke, but he was serious. “I can do that.”

  “Good,” I said, turning away so he wouldn’t see my flushed cheeks. “Now, do I need a crowbar to get you out of your seat?”

  He laughed heartily. It was the first big laugh I’d heard from him ever. I made a promise to myself to make him do that more often. Though, I doubted it would be in front of his parents.

  When the plane slowed to a stop, I tried to take my hand away from Luke, but he held tighter.

  I squeezed it and allowed him to get out of his seat while we were still connected at the hands. He felt firm against me as we made our way down the central aisle toward the door.

  I drew in several breaths, keeping them slow and even. I had nothing to worry about. As long as I played my part, I would be fine.

  We were a few steps from the door before he turned around. I nearly tripped over his foot, but his hands kept me firmly in place.

  “Thank you for coming, Sophia,” he said. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

  I swallowed as a fluttering overwhelmed my insides. “No problem.” I said.

  Him trusting me with this responsibility meant more to me than anything. I only hoped I wouldn’t let him down.

  15

  Luke

  With Sophia’s hand in mine, I felt like I could take over the world. Her small hand offered me the reassurance that I wasn’t going into this weekend alone. From the window, I saw Mother already had her passive expression on, the one that silently judged. She never thought I could make a decision when it came to my personal life. Yet none of her setups in the past had panned out.

  “Do I need a headscarf?” Sophia asked when we were near the door.

  I hesitated. It would give Mother a good impression.

  I opened my mouth to say something when one of the flight attendants, a woman, came forward holding two scarves in her hands. “These are mine. Pick one.”

  She wasn’t from my country, but she probably visited quite often if she was a frequent flier on Father’s private jet.

  I picked the light blue one and thanked her as I quickly wrapped it around Sophia’s head. “There.”

  “How do I look?” Sophia asked, raising one eyebrow.

  “Perfect,” I said, tracing my thumb down her cheek.

  Her eyes fluttered, and I lost myself in their depths for a moment before I realized we were in front of the staff. At the very least, they would be able to vouch for the relationship if anyone asked. Sleeping in separate chambers was normal for unmarried couples, but sitting next to her the whole flight would at least give some hint to us being together.

  “Here we go,” I said under my breath.

  Stepping off the plane, the warmth of the day rushed over me. It was early, but the sun was brilliant and strong.

  Sophia squeezed my hand again and pressed her body against mine as we navigated down the narrow steps.

  I kept my chin high. Through my sunglasses, I checked on Father first. He was as impassive and unreadable as ever. And Mother didn’t look very happy at all.

  My gut clenched, but I didn’t want to give any of this away to Sophia. She had to make her own first impression. Pointing out Mother’s disapproval wouldn’t help keep her spirits high.

  We crossed the tarmac much quicker than I wanted to, but when we were finally facing my family, I plastered on a smile for them.

  “Ms. Sophia Holmes, meet my family. This is my father, King Erol Shamon.”

  “Your Majesty,” she said to my Father.

  Father reached out for Sophia’s hand and shook it.

  “This is my mother,” I said. “Queen Gia Shamon.”

  Sophia reached her hand out to my mother, but she only stared at it without moving a mus
cle. Well, unless the twitch in her cheek counted as movement. She wore an expression like bugs were crawling over Sophia’s offered hand.

  I cleared my throat and moved on. “My little brother, Prince Abir.”

  “Prince Abir,” Sophia said, moving her hand toward him. He shook her hand warmly. She didn’t seem affected by the rudeness from my Mother, but I was.

  I glared at Mother, but she knew better than to look me in the eye at that moment.

  “It’s so lovely to meet all of you,” Sophia said with a broad smile.

  “You too,” Abir said. If it weren’t so bright outside, I’d think there were stars in his eyes.

  “Shall we?” Father asked, pushing his robe aside and indicating the car behind them.

  It was big enough for all of us, but I wasn’t sure if it could fit Mother’s attitude. If Father noticed, he didn’t say anything.

  Her obvious disapproval of Sophia only gave me the extra energy to prove that Sophia was the one for me. At least in front of my family. She hated to be disappointed, but I’d show her what it really felt like.

  The conversation was light on the way to the palace. Father was polite enough, asking Sophia questions about how we met and why I never mentioned her to the family.

  “That was my fault,” Sophia said with a giggle. “I wanted to make sure that we were serious before Luke took me home to meet the parents.”

  “Have you ever been inside of a palace before?” Abir sat on the other side of Sophia, and it was as if he’d never seen a woman before.

  His attempt at flirtation distracted me enough from thinking about Mother and her jaw-clenched expression. What had she expected? I’d told her over the weekend that I was bringing Sophia. Did she think that I was lying?

  Granted, I was, but she didn’t need to know that. Ever. I didn’t think about much past the weekend when it came to Sophia and me. I hoped that it would give me a little reprieve from her match-making attempts.

  We pulled up to the palace, and I glanced at Sophia. We hadn’t stopped holding hands since the plane. It was as if we both were each other’s anchors.

  Sophia looked out the window, her eyes widening as the palace came into view. I’d asked her to turn down her surprise at everything, but as her jaw dropped open, I figured I’d let it slide. Seeing my childhood home from her perspective made me feel a little more grateful for the opportunities in life that I’d been given.

  “You didn’t tell me how beautiful it was,” she said, nudging my arm.

  She kept her cool, though I could feel her practically vibrating on the inside with excitement. The truth was, I had the same feeling. Coming to the palace with Sophia made it that much more exciting, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t mind being home.

  Father and Mother were the first out of the car, followed by Abir, Sophia, and myself. Mother went off into the palace on her own while Father and Abir stood by the car.

  Father watched Mother enter the palace before he turned to Sophia. “Abir will get you acquainted with the palace. Son, please come with me.”

  Sophia and I detached, and I felt like a piece of me went missing at that moment. Abir offered his arm, and Sophia took it without hesitation.

  “I want to show you the gardens,” Abir said, tugging Sophia along with him. She didn’t appear helpless with my brother, but I wanted to get back to her as soon as possible.

  “Let’s talk in my study,” Father said and turned on his heel.

  Not wanting to appear like a little boy following his father’s footsteps, I kept up with his stride.

  I already knew what he wanted to discuss before one of the servants closed the study doors behind us.

  I waited for him to bring it up. Just as Sophia and I talked about before arriving, we weren’t going to offer any information before it was asked. That would keep our stories and lies to a minimum. At that moment, I didn’t want to be the first to bring up the point of contention between Father and me. He might think that I took the time to think about it. In fact, I kept my thinking of the kingdom to a minimum when I could.

  “Have you made a decision?” Father asked after sitting down on the chair behind his desk.

  “Is the month over already?” I asked.

  Father pressed his fingertips together in front of his face, almost like he held an invisible ball between them. A ball and chain was more like it. If he could chain me to his desk, he would.

  “Is this because of Sophia?” Father asked.

  “Not at all,” I said.

  “Why is this the first time we’re hearing of her?” Father asked. “If you’ve been dating for a while, there was no mention of her the last time you were here, which wasn’t very long ago.”

  “I’m in love with her,” I said. “I knew you and Mother wouldn’t approve, so I kept her a secret. Until Mother forced me to mention it. If she wasn’t so meddling, then I might have kept Sophia a secret longer.”

  Father’s eyes narrowed as if he could find the lies in my words.

  “I knew it would bother you,” I said, pacing the length of the room. Peering out of the windows, I saw the top of Sophia’s head in the distance, a stark contrast to Abir’s dark hair bobbing along next to her.

  I smiled, thinking that I’d see her again very soon.

  “But you love her,” Father said. Not a question.

  I drew in a breath. “I really do.”

  “Does she know everything?” Father asked.

  I swallowed. There was one important detail that had stayed out of the press for some time. Unless I told Sophia, she would never know. Underneath the question, there was a warning. If I didn’t share it, someone else would. It didn’t matter with respect to ruling the kingdom, but Father knew that I would only tell her if things were serious between us.

  Father raised his bushy eyebrows and placed his hands on the desk before standing up from his chair. “I can’t stand in the way of my son’s happiness. But you must take care of Sophia. And take heed where your mother is concerned. She won’t be as easily persuaded.”

  “I know,” I said. “I wish she hadn’t been so rude with Sophia earlier.”

  “You know she wants you to marry within our culture. You and Sophia will have a lifelong fight with her.”

  I gritted my teeth. I knew there was no way that Mother would ever be fully happy for us, but at the very least, I thought Father would have some sway. I supposed he had bigger things to worry about than her approval. It was a good thing our visit was only for a few days instead of weeks. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep up the charade for that long.

  16

  Sophia

  It took all my willpower to hold back my amazement at everything I saw at the palace. Having Abir take me around to the gardens was the best choice. My bones started to thaw from the frigid temperatures I’d been dealing with in the UK.

  Even though it was warm, Luke had been right about my clothes not being too heavy when it came to the heat. The sun’s warmth pressed against my cheek, and I knew if I stayed out long enough, I’d have a little bit of a burn. I tugged the scarf around my cheeks to prevent that.

  “If you are too hot, we can go into the greenhouse for a little shade.”

  “I’d love to go wherever you want to take me. This place is so beautiful.”

  The flowers were so colorful, and I loved watching the butterflies and bees jumping from one to another. It gave the garden life that I’d never seen before.

  I had a brown-thumb, though I doubted Luke’s mother, Gia, tended to the garden. Several gardeners moved throughout the paths, checking on the brilliantly colored plants.

  Up ahead was the strangest looking greenhouse I’d ever seen. White pillars shot up from the ground and spread out into what looked like a massive spiderweb surrounding the structure all around, leaving open oblong shapes so that the sun could beat down on the vegetation inside.

  “Whoa,” I said as we walked under the awning. While the sun was still strong, i
t gave me a little break from the heat.

  “Luke always liked to come out here,” Abir said.

  “I can see why,” I said.

  “I can see why he picked you,” he said.

  I glanced at him. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, and he was smiling at the ground.

  “You’re very sweet,” I said.

  Walking through the garden, Abir gave me the scoop on the palace grounds. It was much more impressive than I thought. We had only explored half of it before my urge to see the inside of the palace took over. I partly wanted to see Luke again, but he probably had some business to attend to.

  While Abir was adorable and sweet, I still had a story to write. As the only Western woman to visit the palace, Mr. Fraser’s words about finding another story piqued my interest. I imagined walking in on some family secret and giving my boss two amazing stories to put in the newspaper.

  I didn’t think Luke would have an issue with any story I ran with. He wanted nothing to do with the throne. But I had to dig up the story first before I considered it.

  Due to the nature of the temperature in the area, the boxy entrances that reached several stories high were open entryways filled with plants and smaller trees, making the palace look like a resort more than a home.

  Abir was the perfect host, not something I expected. We went through several of the rooms while he allowed me to walk around the space. We toured through one of the banquet rooms, the library, and several guest bedchambers. If at all possible, the beds looked even more comfortable than the ones on the plane. Though, I supposed they would. Luke and his family had more wealth than I could wrap my mind around. Of course, every part of their life would have the opulence meant for a king and his family.

  While I kept up the facade of Luke and me being together, I couldn’t help but feel like an intruder in their life. It had been Luke’s idea to lie, but the more I lied to Abir, the worse I felt. I doubted I’d feel the same way if Luke’s mother had taken me on the tour. It was apparent she disliked me, but she didn’t have to like me. And I wasn’t going to spend the time trying to get her to warm up to me. My mission was to convince the family that we were together. That was it.