THE ROYAL HOUSE OF SAVOY

A modern royal family in search of old-fashioned love…

The Vittorio family have ruled the Italian principality of Castelmare for generations. But as illness claims the aged King Rudolfo he must pass the throne on to his eldest son Lucca…

THE ROYAL MARRIAGE ARRANGEMENT

When Crown Prince Lucca marries, his wife will wear his emblem—the famous Ligurian Diamond. But so far no woman has been deserving enough to wear the prized gem.

To Alexandra Grigory diamonds will always symbolise tragedy and loss, but as Lucca’s chosen royal bride she must adorn herself in his riches.

As their marriage arrangement is sealed by the precious jewel, only true love can secure the throne and unite the prince and his bride…

Don’t miss Crown Princess Regina’s story— coming next month:

ITALIAN GROOM, PRINCESS BRIDE

Alex had never given much thought to a problem like his until this minute. She was glad she wasn’t in his royal shoes; she knew she could never marry for the sake of duty and be tied to someone she didn’t love with her whole heart and soul.

Suddenly restless, Lucca got up from the chair. “I need to choose a wife who understands the situation for exactly what it is. No lies. No self-deception or pretense.”

“You mean someone who has no expectation of love? Is there such a woman?”

“Among my parents’ shortlist? No.” He came to sit on the corner of the desk so his legs brushed hers. “But an extraordinary thing happened to me today. I met someone who would be the perfect consort to come to my rescue in this emergency situation. At the same time I could help her in ways no one else can.”

As the portent of his words sank in, Alex’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“You can’t possibly mean what you’re saying.”

He rose to his intimidating height. “I never say what I don’t mean,” came the words of steel.

She shook her head. “So you’ll pay my debts if I agree to marry you? Then you’ll become King and two strangers will live unhappily ever after in a loveless marriage. This conversation is utterly absurd! Don’t you know that old movie script has been done and redone ad nauseam?”

One dark brow quirked. “But not to the tune of twelve million dollars. That will be my wedding present to you. In return, you’ll play the loving wife in front of other people—be it my family or the public.”

“I will not!”

Rebecca Winters, whose family of four children has now swelled to include three beautiful grandchildren, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the land of the Rocky Mountains. With canyons and high Alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favourite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her Mills & Boon® Romance novels, because writing is her passion, along with her family and church. Rebecca loves to hear from her readers. If you wish to e-mail her, please visit her website at: www.cleanromances.com

THE ROYAL MARRIAGE ARRANGEMENT

BY

REBECCA WINTERS

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

“HOW much is still owing to satisfy the creditors, Mr. Watkins?”

The aging attorney raised his shaggy gray eyebrows. “Twelve million dollars.”

Alex’s heart plunged to her feet. That much? She felt the worst about Manny Horowitz. Her mother’s agent was a good man who’d done everything to further her mother’s career all these years. He was still owed close to two million dollars. How could her mother not have paid him?

“I’ve auctioned everything except my mother’s diamonds. They’ve got to cover it!”

Jewelry was the only thing remaining for Alex to sell from her mother’s Beverly Hills estate. If she couldn’t meet the sum, then the tabloids would hear of it and trash her mother’s blighted reputation even more than they’d already done by exploiting her drug-related death. Some whispered that after her last divorce from Sheik Mustafah Tahar, Kathryn Carlisle had committed suicide, but nothing had been proved conclusively. Alex didn’t know what to believe.

“I’m sorry it’s come to this, Alexandra. A child shouldn’t have to be burdened this way.”

“Thank you, Mr. Watkins, but I haven’t been a child for a long time.” In fact, she’d been through so much already as the unwanted offspring of the world’s most beautiful woman that Alex felt ancient, but she supposed twenty-five still sounded young to him.

Since her mother’s death on Christmas morning five months ago, Mr. Watkins had bent over backward to help her find ways to pay off her mother’s debts. Furthermore he’d never once said a bad thing about her narcissistic parent who’d been married and divorced six times. As Kathryn’s attorney from the beginning of her career, he’d had more right than anyone to castigate the willful, infamous Hollywood phenomenon of the film world who’d disregarded his advice and had run through money like she did alcohol.

At only forty-five years of age Kathryn Carlisle had come to a shockingly ugly end with nothing to show for it but a history of disastrous marriages, explosive divorces, unpaid bills despite her millions and a criminally neglected child from her first failed union. “Where would you suggest I go to get the best price for her jewelry?”

“The House of Savoy on Fifth Avenue in New York.”

“My father gave her a diamond bracelet from there on their wedding night.”

It was the only thing Alex remembered her mother telling her about her father. As Alex had matured she had learned for herself that her father, Oleg Grigory, had owned one of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas. When she’d grown old enough to understand, she’d heard rumors that he had ties to the Russian mafia, but no one knew for sure. His early death in an airplane crash was purported to be the work of a rivaling mob family.

Mr. Watkins nodded. “Without question they’re the world’s expert on diamonds.”

Alex frowned because it meant paying for an airline ticket to the East Coast. She would have to juggle her bills to come up with the money, but Alex’s mother had claimed she possessed a king’s ransom in diamonds from her various husbands. If that were true, maybe all her debts would be satisfied. Only then could Alex bury the past and try to get on with her life.

“I’ll call you as soon as I’ve booked my flight.”

“Good. Considering we’re talking about your mother’s collection, I feel they’re the one company that will be totally honest in their dealings with you. And…discreet.”

Ah, yes. Discreet. For this last, financial transaction, maybe it would be best to get away from Hollywood and the scandalmongers.

Oh, Mother… Why couldn’t you have been a mother instead of Kathryn Carlisle?

Mr. Watkins eyed her with compassion. “Once you know your flight, I’ll make the appointment for you with the head jeweler. Drop by the bank on your way to the airport, and I’ll arrange for them to hand over the jewel case from her strongbox.”

With a nod she left his office and headed for her job as a makeup artist on a studio lot. She would have to talk to her boss, Michelle, about getting some time off. The older woman who headed the department had always been good to her and would certainly let Alex take the time she needed, but this was the last favor she intended to ask of her.

A few days later Alex stepped out of a New York taxi into unseasonable June heat and humidity. She checked her watch. It was 10:20 a.m. That gave her ten more minutes. Alex imagined the temperature would soar by the afternoon and congratulated Mr. Watkins for getting her an early appointment at the House of Savoy.

After gripping her purse and the small overnight bag carrying the jewel case and one change of clothes, she started across the intersection toward the exclusive store. To her surprise there was a long line of people that went from its entrance and down the street to disappear around the next corner. Security was everywhere. She approached one of the women standing there reading a book.

“Excuse me?” The other woman looked up, not particularly happy to be bothered. “What’s going on here? Why is there such a long line?”

“The Ligurian diamond is on display today,” she answered in her heavy Bronx accent before going back to her reading as if that explained everything.

Ligurian?

“I see. Thank you.”

Alex had never heard of the Ligurian diamond. She had heard of the Hope diamond and she’d seen pictures of the British crown jewels, but that was about the extent of her knowledge of the world’s most famous diamonds. As far as she was concerned, diamonds were synonymous with tragedy. The diamonds from six husbands hadn’t brought her mother any happiness. To Alex’s mind they represented the ashes of the mother-and-daughter relationship that had never happened.

She approached one of the security men at the door. When she explained that she had an appointment with the head jeweler, Mr. Defore, the guard made a quick phone call. A minute later he allowed her inside, where another guard escorted her through an installed metal detector. When the beep went off, she was asked to open her purse and overnight bag.

Once he was satisfied with the search, she was free to continue with the other guard. As they moved to the elevator past yet some other guards keeping a close eye on the orderly crowd, she glimpsed a dark, teardrop-shaped diamond on display in the center of the elegant foyer. The dazzling stone had been placed on a brilliantly lit pedestal within a closed glass casing, but she was too far away to determine its color. No doubt a diamond of such a large size would easily pay her mother’s debt.

The guard joined her inside the elevator. “Mr. Defore’s office is on the second floor,” he explained, drawing her attention back to the business at hand. When the doors opened again, he guided her to a suite on the right of the bank of elevators. A secretary in the reception area told her to sit down. Five minutes later Alex was shown in to Mr. Defore’s private office.

“Come in, Ms. Grigory. You’re right on time. I hope you had a pleasant flight from Los Angeles.”

“I did. Thank you, Mr. Defore.”

“Sit down over here.” The short, pleasant-faced jeweler held out a chair for her, then went around the desk to his swivel chair to face her. “Coffee? Tea? A soft drink?”

“No, nothing, thank you. When Mr. Watkins made this appointment for me, we didn’t realize you would have a diamond exhibit going on.”

He smiled. “Once a year the Principality of Castelmare allows it to be on loan here for a day.”

Castelmare, ruled by King Vittorio, had replaced Monaco as the favorite vacation destination on the Riviera for the world’s most rich and famous. The former city-state was located on the Mediterranean where her mother had spent part of her sixth honeymoon.

“Do you know if the diamond will be on display in California?” Alex’s boss would definitely want to see it.

Mr. Defore cocked his head. “It won’t. Except for a yearly one-day showing in New York, London, Rio, Sydney, Hong Kong and Dubai, it stays in Castelmare.”

Alex reflected that Rodeo Drive in L.A. was supposed to have some of the most exclusive shops in North America, but apparently not exclusive enough. “The House of Savoy is very fortunate to have been chosen to display it.”

His brows lifted. “I don’t think you understand, Ms. Grigory. The present day king of Castelmare is the latest Italian sovereign of the ancient House of Savoy. This store is the monarchy’s property.”

She blinked. “I had no idea.”

No wonder her mother had been so ecstatic over the diamond bracelet her father had purchased here. Alex was indebted to Mr. Watkins for directing her to this store, where she would almost certainly get the highest price for the stones to pay off her mother’s horrendous debts.

“Shall I take a look at your mother’s collection now?”

His question jerked Alex from her torturous thoughts. “Of course.” She opened the overnight bag and placed the jewel case on his desk, positioning it for Mr. Defore to open it himself. Mr. Defore nodded and got to work. Alex had never seen all her mother’s jewelry before, only heard about it. She’d put the inventory from the bank in her purse. It listed seven diamond rings, four pairs of diamond earrings, one diamond bracelet, three diamond necklaces and two diamond ankle bracelets.

When he finally lifted the lid, the sight of the diamonds would have impressed anyone except Alex, who simply mourned the life she’d never had with her mother. Money had been her mother’s God, and Alex wondered how one person could have been so devoid of motherly instinct and could have demonstrated so much bad judgment in everything she did?

Mr. Defore said nothing as he began his examination. Because the House of Savoy dealt regularly with the world’s wealthiest people, Alex realized her mother’s possessions would cause no great stir. Certainly this jeweler had little interest in Kathryn Carlisle and simply got to work studying each piece with his loupe.

He finally lifted his head. Wearing a distinct frown he said, “Who told you these were diamonds?”

Caught off guard by the stunning question, Alex took a moment before she could recover enough to say, “Mr. Watkins, my mother’s attorney.”

The man shook his head. “These are imitations.”

What?

Alex reeled, causing her to clutch the edge of the desk for support. “But that’s impossible!”

“Perhaps she kept the real jewels in another case?”

She swallowed hard. There was no other case. “This was the only one in the bank vault,” she whispered.

“I’m very sorry, Ms. Grigory. We deal with mined diamonds, not fabrications. I’m sure there are shops in Los Angeles that would pay twenty, maybe twenty-five hundred dollars for this assortment of costume jewelry.”

“Surely you’re joking!” During the flight she’d begun to get excited about being able to pay off the last of the huge debt whose weight felt like a stone sitting in the pit of her stomach.

“I assure you I’m not. Scientists have synthesized and created diamond alternatives meant to trick the naked eye. However, when you view them through the loupe, they haven’t the fire or brilliance.”

She shot out of the chair, too shaken to sit still. “Is there someone else I could speak to about this?”

A dull red entered his cheeks. “I’m the head jeweler here.”

His rigid attitude prompted her to reach in the case and lift out a piece. “My father, Oleg Grigory, my mother’s first husband, bought this diamond bracelet here twenty-six years ago. He was the owner of one of the largest casinos in Las Vegas. Surely you have a record of it somewhere, if only so I can verify it.”

“One moment,” he said quietly. “I’ll research it on the computer.”

She was shaking so hard from shock, she could hardly sit still while she waited.

“Yes. He did make such a purchase.” His gaze switched to hers. “But I’m afraid it was not that bracelet. Perhaps your mother sold her jewels without telling anyone and had these replicas made to wear?”

Is that what you did, Mother? Did you sell your diamonds along with your soul? The possibility pierced her like a fiery metal shaft.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’d still like another opinion. Who’s the manager of the House of Savoy?”

“Mr. Bernard Hudson. I’m afraid he’s occupied with the showing of the Ligurian diamond.”

“Will you tell him these are Kathryn Carlisle’s jewels? When he learns of this situation, I know he’ll want to talk to me.” By now Alex was desperate enough to use her mother’s name for leverage.

“You don’t understand. He won’t be available until tomorrow. I’ll ask my secretary to make you an appointment with him.”

“Surely he can spare five minutes? I’ll wait.”

“Impossible. Now I’m very sorry, Ms. Grigory, but I’m afraid you’ll have to leave my office because I have other clients to see.” He shut the case, leaving her holding the bracelet.

Her body tautened. “Look, Mr. Defore…I flew all the way from Los Angeles for this appointment. My return flight is booked for tonight.” Her hand tightened around the bracelet, which according to him was nothing more than paste. “By tomorrow I’ll be back on the West Coast. I have to talk to him!”

She fought not to lose her temper in front of this composed jeweler, who was probably paid an indecent sum of money not to lose his.

“At the risk of repeating myself, Ms. Grigory, there’s nothing more I can do for you at present.”

“Your manager has to eat lunch sometime today. Since he’s on the premises, I can’t believe he wouldn’t take out a moment to see me.”

“I’m sorry.” The jeweler was implacable.

“What kind of a man are you?” she cried out in torment. “You can at least call him on the phone. Tell him who I am. Inform him this is a matter of life and death!” Without hesitation she grabbed the phone on his desk and held the receiver in front of him.

Maybe it was the fact that her five-foot-nine height gave her the advantage over him, or possibly it was the narrowing of her eyelids with their slightly tilted shape. Whatever the explanation, he finally took the receiver from her, but then hung it up.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw his hand move to press a button on his console. He was probably summoning security. So be it. Alex had come to New York on a mission.

Alex’s mother had once accused her of being incredibly stubborn like her father. She’d been born Alexandra Carlisle Grigory. The one picture she had of her father showed him to be a tall man who’d died when Alex was just nine months old. Like her mother’s death, the police still hadn’t determined if his was accidental or staged to look like one.

The few people who knew she was Kathryn Carlisle’s only offspring remarked that she must have inherited her father’s genes. Michelle had once told her, “Your father gave you great bones, and your eyes are exactly the same gray as Greta Garbo’s—you could be her double!” Nevertheless, Alex and her mother had been as different as apples and bananas.

Kathryn had been of medium height, and curvy. On or off the set, the platinum-blond bombshell had been the ultimate drama queen.

Alex on the other hand had unruly dark blond hair with nothing remarkable about her looks, even though Manny, like Michelle, had also insisted there was a similarity between her and Garbo. Alex had laughed off both their comments. They might think she looked like a film star, but Alex preferred to work behind the scenes where she transformed other people who acted in front of the camera.

Selfishly neglected by her mother and tragically deprived of the father she never knew, Alex had learned to function on her own from an early age. She had no extended family, but did have a few close friends that she could rely on. However, no one understood the extent of her grief, or her shame….

The pitiful legacy from both her parents had left a burning stain on Alex’s soul. Now the questions surrounding her mother’s death had left new scars on Alex, whose conception, according to her mother, had been a mistake from the beginning.

Kathryn Carlisle had been a film-star idol. She had been like a brilliant comet who had swept in and out of her daughter’s existence once every millennium for only brief moments without an atom of motherly love. Alex had been raised by a trail of nannies from the age of three weeks old, and there’d been no anchor in her life except for Betty, the nanny who had taken a liking to her and who had introduced her to Michelle, head of the makeup department at one of the film studios.

When Alex had been set adrift physically and financially by her mother when she turned eighteen, Betty had been instrumental in getting her her first job in the makeup department. Alex had started off just helping out at first, but then over the years she had continued to work there while she attended college and after.

Michelle had said she was a fast learner with a natural talent. In time she paid a salary that allowed Alex to get a modest apartment and take care of herself. After her apprenticeship, Michelle had asked Alex to stay on. Lately she had hinted that she planned to give Alex more responsibility and a raise.

Alex was grateful, of course, and she’d never want to hurt Michelle’s feelings, but she’d always had a dream of doing something else. Tragically it seemed out of reach now that she was saddled with her mother’s debts and needed to find a fast way to pay for them.

Surely Mr. Defore had made a mistake, or the bank hadn’t realized there were two jewel cases in the vault. One way or another Alex would straighten things out. It would be too excruciatingly painful to go home without the money.

She simply couldn’t do it.

* * *

While the thirty-four-year-old crown prince of Castelmare sat in the security room of the House of Savoy chatting quietly with Carlo, one of his bodyguards, other local security guards manned the monitors of the twenty-four-hour surveillance cameras. They’d been strategically placed around the store to watch for anything out of the ordinary.

This stop in New York represented the last leg of a long trip that had taken Lucca around the world on business for his country. Unfortunately, he had no more excuses to stay away from Castelmare. The dreaded reunion with his parents was coming and inevitable. When he returned home this time, there’d be no escape from certain matters that would change his life forever.

Suddenly his attention was caught by the American woman he could see in the monitor. She was obviously upset, and he found himself listening intently. It seemed there was a situation developing in Defore’s office.

Lucca’s ears picked up the word Grigory, a name associated with the old Russian aristocracy. Curious, he turned to one of the computers and logged into several Web sites including the store’s archives.

When he found what he wanted to know, he moved closer to the monitor with its black-and-white screen. That’s when he heard another exchange that gave him pause. The woman battling with the head jeweler was Kathryn Carlisle’s daughter?

He was stunned because he didn’t know the Hollywood film idol even had children—he could see no physical resemblance.

Like all hot-blooded Italian males, Lucca appreciated a beautiful woman. He’d seen one of the star’s films several years ago during a flight to Asia. The tempestuous actress, whose life had come to a tragic end like all too many American A-list celebrities, did have exceptional looks with her come-hither blue eyes and champagne-blond hair. Yet it appeared the only thing she’d passed on to her offspring was her legendary, impossible temperament. Like mother, like daughter.

Defore didn’t make mistakes. For that exact reason Lucca had appointed him to be head jeweler three years ago. Naturally he couldn’t help but be fascinated by the woman’s refusal to take Defore at his word. Evidently she was as spoiled as her mother and even more naive.

How could her daughter not have known the troubled star with her uncontrollable hunger for money would have run through her own finances a long time ago and had hocked her jewels as a last resort?

When the security alarm sounded, one of the guards said he’d take care of the problem and started for the door, but Lucca moved his six-foot-three frame out of the chair and reached it ahead of him.

“I’ll deal with it.” As he left the room with Carlo, he nodded to his other bodyguard standing outside the door. The three of them walked down the hall to Defore’s office.

“Wait for me and don’t let anyone else in,” he told them both before opening the door. Once inside, he told the wide-eyed secretary she could take a long lunch, then he entered Defore’s office.

The jeweler took one look at Lucca and was so shocked to see him rather than one of the security guards, he was struck dumb. Lucca had never had reason to interfere with Defore while he was working with a client, but then, he’d never been this intrigued before.

“I’ll take over,” he murmured, freeing a worried-looking Defore so he could leave. Lucca gave a barely perceptible shake of his head, warning the jeweler not to give him away.

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

Lucca shut the door behind him before turning to face the flushed woman whose tall, willowy figure hadn’t been noticeable from watching the screen. “Signorina Grigory?” He extended his hand.

After a slight hesitation she held on in a firm grip before releasing it. “I’m embarrassed Mr. Defore had to call in security, but all I wanted was to speak to Mr. Hudson for a minute,” sounded a tearful voice she didn’t try to hide.

He in turn didn’t bother to correct her faulty assumption that he was part of the security team. In fact, he was glad of it, since it didn’t happen very often that he wasn’t recognized. The photos and lies perpetuated in the tabloids about Castelmare’s playboy prince made anonymity virtually impossible no matter the continent where he traveled to do business for the crown.

Right now he was fascinated by her slightly windblown, dark blond hair and her lack of self-awareness. To his surprise there was nothing fake about her. Somehow he hadn’t expected Kathryn Carlisle’s daughter to be her total opposite in every way.

She was dressed in a draped, smoky-blue blouse tucked into pleated beige pants, putting him in mind of a 1940s style. Only a woman of grace with long elegant legs, soft curves and square shoulders could get away with it.

This close he could see shadows beneath her pewter-gray eyes with their sweeping dark lashes. Lines caused by suffering bracketed her wide, voluptuous mouth, one of the few physical traits she’d inherited from her infamous mother.

The other familiar trait was less definable. She had a certain breathlessness bequeathed to her by her mother who’d exhibited that same quality on the screen. In person it created an air of urgency Lucca found exceptionally distracting.

“You said this was a matter of life and death?”

She tossed her head back nervously. “Yes,” she blurted, “b-but I didn’t realize our whole conversation had been captured on camera,” she stammered. “Evidently you heard every word of it.”

He shrugged. “A necessary precaution in this business.” She eventually nodded. “Why don’t we both sit down.”

“Thank you.” She returned to the chair opposite the desk. “I didn’t mean to take you away from your duties when you have the responsibility of helping keep an eye on the Ligurian diamond display.”

Lucca hadn’t expected her to be this polite. Now that she was in control he found her low, husky voice incredibly attractive.

“It’s under heavy guard. I’m not worried.” He noticed she was still torturing the bracelet in her hand. “May I see it, please? Everyone hired by the House of Savoy is trained to recognize a mined diamond from a fake.” Which was true.

As she handed it to him, their fingers brushed. Strange that he would be so aware of her he could still feel the sensation while he examined the stones beneath the loupe.

After a moment he said, “I’m afraid Mr. Defore was right. This bracelet is pure imitation. Dare I say not even a good one?”

The second he saw her face lose color, he moved to the corner of the room where he switched off the camera and the audio so they would have complete privacy.

“But my fath—”

“Your father did purchase a bracelet exactly like this years ago. I checked the records. It was valued at $500,000.00 back then and would probably be worth several million today.”

Her expressive face crumpled. Alex knew that her mother had always kept certain secrets from her daughter. Yet this one had been quite a secret, since the whole collection would have brought her a nice sum of money if the stones had been genuine diamonds.

“I’m sorry, signorina.” After the sensational headlines built up in the tabloids concerning her mother’s lifestyle, he suspected the star hadn’t been in control of her spending and had been forced to sell off her diamonds upon running into dire straits. It was a story that came out of Hollywood and circulated throughout Europe all too often.

He heard a despairing cry before a shadow crossed over her features. Then she buried her face in her hands. The sound of it found its way to his gut.

“Do you know if her jewelry was ever insured?”

A minute passed. Eventually she regained her composure and lifted her head. Her creamy complexion had gone splotchy again. “If it was, her attorney didn’t know about it.”

“I realize this news has come as a blow.”

“A blow?” Her cry resonated in the room. “You have no idea—I must find a way to pay off her debts. I’d planned on this money. It was my last resort,” her voice throbbed.

“Do you have a husband who would help out?”

“No.” She looked away. “After my mother’s track record, I have no interest in marriage,” came the bitter response.

“I see.” One could hardly blame her. “What about a lover?”

Her hands gripped the arms of the chair in what looked like a death grip. “Even if I did have one and he had the funds, I would never ask that of him.”

Unaccountably moved by her vehement declaration he said, “Do you have any siblings?”

Her eyes closed for a second. “No. I’m her only child.”

An only child so well hidden Lucca hadn’t known of it. “Did she leave the diamonds to you in her will?” If Signorina Grigory had relied on this jewelry as her only hope of money after her mother’s death, it would explain her shock.

“No,” came the wooden reply. “She didn’t make a will.”

Lucca rubbed the back of his neck absently. Kathryn Carlisle with all her doomed marriages to wealthy men hadn’t had the foresight to provide for her daughter? He wasn’t able to comprehend it. “Why?”

“Why?” she repeated, staring at him through dull eyes. “That’s like asking why she didn’t abort when she found out she was pregnant with me. I came into her world unplanned and unwanted. She never publicly acknowledged me. Most of the time she forgot I was alive. It’s all right. I learned life’s lessons early, but I must admit I’m devastated about this.”

She held up the bracelet he’d given back to her. “The money from her diamonds was supposed to pay what was left owing to salvage her reputation. I wanted the slate wiped clean so the creditors would go away once and for all. It’s bad enough having to live with the terrible things people say about her, however true.

“I guess I hoped that if her bills got paid, it would be the one thing the world couldn’t castigate her for. Her agent has every right to be paid what’s owing him. I’m sick about it, that’s all.”

He inhaled heavily. “How much did she leave owing?”

“Twelve million dollars.”

Not exactly small change. “What about your father? I realize they’ve been divorced for a long time, but would he consider covering part of it, if only for your sake?” The Grigory family would still have hidden resources.

“No,” she answered without hesitation.

“Does he know about your situation?”

One graceful eyebrow lifted sardonically. “If he does, it’s too late. He died before I was a year old. In fact, three of her husbands are dead. I have no idea what’s happened to the other three.”

Hearing the bald facts about the six-times-divorced actress made him wish he hadn’t brought up the subject.

“Have you no extended family? Grandparents on your mother’s side perhaps?” Lucca’s world was filled with both.

“No. Mother was an orphan.”

He rubbed his lower lip with his thumb. “Is there no property left to sell?”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her expressive eyes. “None. Except for the footage of her films, which I don’t own, there’s nothing left to prove she ever inhabited this world. The police lieutenant who investigated her death still hasn’t ruled out suicide.

“No matter how estranged my mother and I were from day one, I didn’t want to believe she was capable of taking her own life.” After a silence she whispered, “Now I’m certain she did.”

The break in her voice found a spot in Lucca’s psyche that haunted him.

In the next instant she put the bracelet inside the jewelry case and shut it. “Will you please ask Mr. Defore to dispose of this and everything in it? I don’t want to see it again and know I can rely on him for his discretion.”

Before he could countenance it, she shoved it toward him. “Thank you for being so decent about this. You could’ve had me arrested. Please tell Mr. Defore I’m sorry for having a breakdown in front of him. He was very civilized and should be given a raise for his composure.”

“I’ll convey the message.”

“I appreciate it. Though I hate to admit it, the dark side of the Carlisle in me comes out from time to time. The truth is, for good or evil I am part Carlisle. No matter how much I’d like to, I can’t run away from my destiny.”

Her words shook Lucca to the foundations. He felt like someone had just walked over his grave.

Tears dripped down her cheeks, but she didn’t seem to be aware of it. “Do you know I’ve been sitting here calculating how long it will take me to pay back her debt so that I can restore some good to the Carlisle name?” She made a little sound of despair. “I don’t know what the House of Savoy pays its security guards, but if I can eke out $500.00 a month—which is all I can afford on my present salary, it will only take me 2,000 years to wipe out the debt.”

Her pain-filled laugh bordered on hysteria, but considering her fierce disappointment, he could well understand the display of raw emotion.

She jumped up from the chair and closed her overnight bag. “I’m the world’s biggest fool not to know these jewels were as fake as the life she led. Forgive me for venting in front of you like this—I’ve probably said too much already.” Before he could countenance it, her regal-like strides had taken her halfway across the room, leaving a trail of peach scent behind.

“Come back and sit down, Signorina Grigory. I’m not through with you.” He knew his voice had sounded peremptory just now, but it was an acquired trait he couldn’t seem to help any more than he could stop breathing.

She whirled around white-faced. “So, you are going to have me charged with unruly conduct. My mistake.”

Lucca stared at her for a long moment. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” his voice grated. The sadness she’d encountered in her life made him want to shield her from any more. “You haven’t done anything wrong. What I would like to do is talk to you further about your situation.”

Even from the distance separating them he could see her body tauten. “Why? It’s no one else’s business but mine. If you were hoping for an autographed photo of my mother, I’m afraid I don’t have one and never did.”

How tragic her first assumption was all tangled up with Kathryn Carlisle’s effect on men. He got to his feet. “What I have on my mind has nothing to do with your mother. Since I was willing to listen to you, I would hope you would grant me the same courtesy.”

There was a fight going on inside of her. He’d appealed to her sense of fair play while he waited for her capitulation. “I have a solution to your problem,” he said to add weight.

She let out an incredulous laugh. “You have a solution. Does that mean you can arrange for me to win the lottery?”

“In a manner of speaking,” he came back. His response managed to erase the mocking expression from her features. “However, I’d prefer it if we were seated to discuss it. Shall we start over again?”

Caught on the horns of a dilemma, she didn’t advance or retreat. She needed help. He intended to give it to her.

“Before we go any further, let me introduce myself. My name is Lucca Umberto Schiaparelli Vittorio V.”

CHAPTER TWO

ALEX studied the black-haired male who’d been interrogating her all this time. The second he’d walked in to Mr. Defore’s office wearing a light gray, hand-tailored silk suit that molded his powerful frame to perfection, he’d no more looked, talked or acted like a security guard than fly!

He was too well bred, too sophisticated. His faintly accented English had polish. Combined with his aristocratic bearing, she hadn’t been able to put him in any kind of a slot. There was much more to him than the fact that he was a tall, darkly handsome, olive-skinned Italian—in truth, the most attractive man she’d ever met in her life.

Now that she knew who he was, she realized she’d seen pictures of him flashed across the screen. She’d never paid much attention for the very fact that her mother had always gone for the larger-than-life types, just like Lucca. Anyone the media had hyped Alex chose to ignore.

In the flesh, the crown prince of Castelmare defied the normal adjectives one would apply to a good-looking man. There weren’t enough in the English language to do justice to his charisma.

With the Ligurian diamond on display, it was no coincidence he was here in New York. Undoubtedly he’d brought the famous stone to the States via the monarchy’s private plane.

This was her unlucky day. No man or woman had ever seen her this vulnerable before.

“You lied to me,” she accused him hotly.

“If you mean I didn’t correct your assumption that I was a security guard, then I have to plead guilty.”

“Does the royal Riviera playboy make it a regular practice to impersonate the hired help?” His dark eyes with their jet-black lashes suddenly took on a strange glitter that lent heat to her growing anger. “Or was it on a whim you decided to amuse yourself by toying with Kathryn Carlisle’s daughter while she poured out her guts? Either way, congratulations. You’ve made my humiliation doubly complete.”

Burning with rage, she turned on her heel and fled to the next room, but she was stopped at the outer door by an unsmiling, robust, Italian secret-service type planted there.

Naturally the prince wouldn’t make a move without all his bets being covered. She shut the door in the bodyguard’s face and wheeled around. Her nemesis lounged against the doorjamb of Mr. Defore’s office with his strong arms folded, insolently at ease.

More infuriated than ever, she said, “Am I to assume you’re the lottery, as long as I provide certain services? Would it give you some kind of perverted rush to claim you slept with Kathryn Carlisle’s daughter?” An angry laugh escaped as she shook her head. “You must be hard up for new thrills to consider handing over twelve million dollars to me, but unlike my mother, my body’s not for sale at any price!”

Undaunted he said, “I’m glad to hear it. Lovely as your body is, I’m not asking for it. However, I am in need of something else you could give me that would solve the most serious problem of my life…and yours. Come back in and sit down while we talk about it. This could take a while.”

“I can’t imagine being able to offer anything that would solve your problem…whatever it is.”

“You’d be surprised,” came the cryptic comment. “Give me half an hour of your time.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I have to be at the airport later today and don’t have time to spare.”

He gazed at her intently. “Not even if the result of our meeting might mean clearing your mother’s debts once and for all? When I heard you cry out earlier that this was a matter of life and death, it sounded like you meant it.”

Alex studied him without averting her eyes. “I did.”

She heard his deep intake of breath. “What if I told you I have a situation that’s a matter of life and death for me, too. Would that make a difference to you?”

What was she supposed to say to such a question? Something in his tone led her to believe he might be telling the truth. Incredible how he’d turned things around so she felt guilty if she didn’t at least listen to what he had to say.

“I’ll give you five minutes.”

“Thank you. Come back inside the other room.”

Against her better judgment she did his bidding and retraced her steps. As she sat down, he spoke in Italian to someone on the phone before he took his place across from her. Then he typed something on the computer and printed it out.

Handing it to her, he said, “Your mother was married to royalty, did you know that?”

“Mother was married to four men with supposed titles, but in time those claims turned out to be false. Everything about her life was a sham.”

He eyed her narrowly. “Except that your father was the real thing.”

“You mean, a Las Vegas racketeer.”

“Rumors have a lot to answer for, particularly when they’re founded in jealousy and greed. Read what’s on the paper. You should find the information of the greatest interest.”

Alex looked down:

After the October Revolution of 1917 all classes of the Russian nobility were legally abolished. Many members of the Russian nobility who fled Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution played a significant role in the white emigré communities that settled in Europe, in North America and in other parts of the world.

In the 1920s and 1930s, several Russian nobility associations were established outside Russia, including groups in France, Belgium and the United States. By 1938, the Russian Nobility Association in New York was founded. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been a growing interest among Russians in the role the Russian nobility played in their historical and cultural development.

Membership is exclusively reserved to persons who are listed in the nobility archives. Those titled members are recorded below with their former titles, genealogies and photos available.

Alex scanned the list until her gaze fell on the name Grigory. She gasped softly when she saw the last name on the Grigory royal family tree. It read “Prince Oleg Rostokof Grigory, son of Prince Nicholas Grigory and Princess Vladmila Rostokof, born in New York, 1958, now living in Las Vegas, Nevada.”

Her heart clapped like thunder as she looked at a picture of her handsome, dark blond father, who couldn’t be more than eighteen in this picture. The strong physical resemblance between daughter and father at that age was uncanny.

As her head flew back, a security guard entered and brought them two sodas. After he left, the prince pushed one toward her and took a lengthy swallow from the other. When he put it down again, he said, “Where did you get the idea that your father was part of the underworld?”

“One of my nannies mentioned that she’d heard my father was involved with the Russian mafia. As I grew older and realized what that meant, I was ashamed and frightened by the possibility. I hid away in case one of them tried to find me and hurt me. My repulsion over my mother’s ghastly lack of judgment in marrying him was so severe I didn’t want to know anything more about him.

“By the time she’d gone through her sixth divorce, so many preposterous tales were circulating about her and her past husbands, I couldn’t handle it and tried to shut it out. To my horror the police came to my work and told me she’d died of what looked like too much alcohol mixed with drugs. At that point it was too late to ever ask her what the truth was. I’m not sure she would have told me anyway.” Her voice shook.

He finished the rest of his soda. “You’ve been through a great deal of pain in your life. Nothing can wipe that away, but the sooner her bills are paid, the sooner you can start to concentrate on other things.”

A fresh spurt of anger filled her system. She looked back at her father’s picture. “Are you saying I should do something as crass and ignoble as turn to my father’s family for the money? Is that what you’re suggesting? A modern-day Anastasia story with an ugly twist?” she said. Her shrill voice reverberated in the room’s confines.

“Not at all,” came his bland reply, exasperating her even more. “But it might be of some comfort to you to get acquainted with the extended family you’ve never met or known. Your grandparents are no longer alive, but your great-uncle Yuri Grigory, is still living and has an apartment here in New York. I met him a year ago at an embassy function. I can arrange for you two to get acquainted.”

Alex was so stunned by what he’d just told her she didn’t know what to say. Realizing she needed to get hold of herself, she drank half of her soda without taking a breath.

The news about her father’s lineage had come as a total shock. Mafia or not, it appeared he did descend from a royal background, otherwise the crown prince of Castelmare wouldn’t have been able to produce the evidence she held in her hand.

Puzzled and confused by this whole experience, she eyed him warily. “If you hoped this information would help give me a sense of identity, I…I appreciate it.” Her voice faltered. “However, I still fail to understand where this conversation is headed. What does any of this have to do with you?”

He sat forward, impaling her with his midnight-brown eyes. She’d thought at first they were black. “My life has been the opposite of yours. I was raised in a happy home with loving parents, a loving sister, a large extended family on all sides and good friends. Everything has been ideal except for one glaring obstacle that has driven a wedge between my father and me.”

“You mean, he wants you to give up your wicked, worldly bachelor ways and marry the princess he’s had picked out for you from birth.”

After a pause, “I can see you’ve heard this story before.”

“One of my nannies read Cinderella to me. I didn’t like it.”

He cocked his dark head. “Why not?”

“When Cinderella’s mother died, she had to be raised by a cruel stepmother. I thought it was an awful story, probably because I felt like my mother had died. In fact, it was much worse because I knew she was alive, but she never wanted to be with me.”

The glimmer of compassion in his eyes forced her to look away. Once more she was embarrassed to have been caught baring her soul to this man who was a perfect stranger to her. The prince of Castelmare no less. “I always hated fairy tales after that.”

“Then you and I have something in common,” he muttered in his deep-toned voice. “When my mother read Cinderella to my sister and me, I hated it, too, because I wasn’t a normal little boy who could grow up to do what I wanted. I was a prince, and my father was the king. Because I loved him, I knew that one day I’d have to do what he wanted and marry a princess who was ugly and mean and whom I’d despise.”

Once the words sank in, Alex burst into laughter. She couldn’t help it. What had started out as a strange, surreal conversation between the two of them had taken on something that went beneath the surface and resonated.

After her amusement faded there was an awkward silence before she said, “I’ve seen some of the princesses you’ve been with in the news and know for a fact they’re beautiful. Whether they’re mean or not, I have no idea, but none of the photos would convince me you despised them. Far from it,” she added pointedly.

He sat back in the swivel chair. “You’re right, of course. Several of my parents’ royal favorites are charming, lovely and I think genuinely kind. However, I have a little problem because I’ve never been attracted to them.”

“Just to the nonroyals.”

For a moment a bleakness entered his eyes tugging at her emotions, then it vanished as if it had never been. “What was it your George Washington said? I cannot tell a lie.” The prince had too much charm for his own good. “Have you ever had that problem with a man?” he asked, studying her features rather intently. “He has all the right qualities, but he doesn’t speak to your soul?”

All the time, Alex muttered inwardly. “Errol Flynn was the only man who became my fantasy. When I saw him in Robinhood, I asked my nanny to take me again and again. We saw it twenty-five times.”

It was his turn to laugh, the full-bodied male kind she felt to her toes. “I understand he still has a habit of speaking to every woman’s soul, even from beyond the grave.”

She nodded. “Some men are like that. Bigger than life.” Alex realized she was looking at one of them.

“Bigger than life,” his voice trailed. “A sort of chemistry of the body and spirit, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes,” she whispered. This was no shallow prince, let alone man.

“That’s what I’d hoped to find before now in the royal pickings, but it hasn’t happened.”

Alex had never given much thought to a problem like his until this minute. She was glad she wasn’t in his royal shoes because she knew herself too well and could never marry anyone for the sake of duty. Perish the thought of being tied to someone you didn’t love with your whole heart and soul.

Obviously, her mother hadn’t had the capacity to truly love anything or anyone except herself. Sometimes it frightened Alex to think that because she was her daughter, she might have inherited that same inability to be devoted to one man.

There’d been boyfriends, but Alex hadn’t yet suffered that grand passion her mother had managed to portray on the screen instead of real life. Maybe Alex never would. Aware something was expected of her, she said, “That could change in time. Some royal princess could come into your life you’ve overlooked. How old are you?”

“Thirty-four.”

Nine years older than herself.

“That’s still relatively young.”

“From my point of view I agree, but my parents had hoped I’d be married by twenty-five and a father by twenty-six. To quote my mother, ‘For you to be thirty-four and still single is positively indecent, Lucca. The whole country is waiting.’”

The way he imitated his parent made Alex chuckle. “At least your mother cares about you and loves you.”

“She does, but there’s more to it than that. My father’s not well and needs to step down. It’s within my power to lengthen his days by becoming king, thus relieving him of all responsibilities, but I can’t become his successor without first taking a wife. Those are the rules.

“As a way of playing on my guilt, my mother and sister continually remind me I’m the only son and the only one who can perform this duty to save the day.”

And Alex had thought she’d lived with a burden all these years.

She smoothed an errant curl away from her forehead. “What’s wrong with your father?”

“He’s had lung cancer.”

“I’m sorry. How cruel to him and hard for all of you.”

“It has been,” the prince conceded, causing her to feel an empathy for him she didn’t want to feel. “Part of his right lung was removed, leaving him in a weakened condition. Though he’s in remission, the doctor says this disease is tenacious and it’s only a matter of time before it comes back. The best medicine for him would be to give up the throne and relax.”

Alex cleared her throat. “Since you love him so much, it seems you don’t have a choice. Is there someone from the royal pickings you believe cares for you enough that you could see yourself married to her?”

“I can’t answer that question since I haven’t given them much of a chance to get to know me. The thought of marriage to any of them is something I can’t abide.”

Well, Alex. Ask a foolish question…

There was one princess Lucca had known for several years. Neither he nor Sofia were romantically involved, but they’d become good friends. Both sets of parents expected them to marry, but she wanted to abdicate her title and serve a humanitarian cause, thus allowing her younger sister to be the next in line. Sofia was waiting for Lucca to marry before she made the secret known to her family.

Out of loyalty to her and her wishes, he’d remained silent. Suddenly restless, he got up from the chair. “I need to choose someone who understands the situation for exactly what it is. No lies. No self-deception or pretense.”

“You mean, someone who has no expectation of love. Is there such a woman?”

“Among my parents’ short list? No.” Except for Sofia. Sofia who devoted her life to charity work in Africa and had a missionary zeal to help people.

He came to sit on the corner of the desk so his legs brushed hers. “But an extraordinary thing happened to me today. I’ve met someone who would be the perfect consort to come to my rescue in this emergency situation. At the same time I could help her in ways no one else can. She’s of royal blood yet is under no illusions about life or me. Better yet, she’s single and uninvolved with a man at present.”

As the portent of his words sank in, Alex’s eyes widened in disbelief. What he’d just intimated was so outrageous, an odd sound escaped her lips. She slid out of the chair to put distance between them.

“You are out of your mind and can’t possibly mean what you’re saying.”

He rose to his intimidating height. “I never say what I don’t mean,” came the words of steel. “When you get to know me better, you’ll realize I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”

She shook her head. “So you’ll pay my mother’s debts if I agree to marry you. Then you’ll become king and two strangers will live unhappily ever after in a loveless marriage with no hope of producing an heir and both of us sneaking behind the scenes looking for fulfillment elsewhere.”

He gave a careless shrug of his elegant shoulders. “If that’s what you want.”

Alex hugged her arms to her waist. “What I want doesn’t come into it. This conversation is utterly absurd! Don’t you know that old movie script has been done and redone ad nauseum?”

One dark brow quirked. “But not to the tune of twelve million dollars. That will be my wedding present to you. In return, you’ll play the loving wife in front of other people, be it my family or the public.”

“I will not!”

“I’ve spent time with your great-uncle,” he continued talking, unfazed by her outburst. “Do you know you have the same regal bearing? I noticed it immediately. The perfect plum from the royal Grigory tree.”

She let out a strangled cry that was probably heard by everyone inside the House of Savoy.

“I meant that as a compliment, Alexandra.”

The way he said her name just now with his slight Italian accent made her body tremble. That angered her further.

“However tarnished the sordid legacy from my mother, I’m not a piece of fruit to be plucked!”

His expression grew solemn. “No. Like a gift from the gods you’ve fallen into my hands at the providential moment to save us both from a hideous fate.”

Hideous was the word, all right. The thought of going back to Los Angeles to face her mother’s creditors, to face poor Manny, let alone live with the smear tactics the media would always use against her caused bile to rise in her throat.

“I’m not asking that this arrangement last forever,” he added in a velvety tone.

“Of course not. Just a lifetime,” she blurted on a note of sarcasm.

One dark eyebrow dipped. “Who knows? Neither of us can see that far ahead into the future.”

She bit her lip. “How inconvenient for you.”

“You have no idea,” his voice grated, conveying some deep-seated emotion that caught her on the raw.

“When is your wedding supposed to take place?”

“Preferably yesterday.”

“Obviously.” She tried to hide her smile but lost the struggle.

“To answer your question, my parents have planned it for a month from today. The wedding ceremony will follow my coronation in the cathedral.”

Only four weeks? “I’m sure a royal wedding takes a great deal more time than that to organize.”

“You don’t know my parents. Everything’s been arranged. It’s only a matter of adding one detail… the name of the woman I’ve chosen. They’ve been living for this day.”

“That’s nice. I can’t say the same thing about mine. Now I’m afraid I have to go. My job is waiting for me back in Los Angeles and I have a plane to catch.” She started for the outer door once more.

“Is it your chosen career?”

When she reached it, she looked over her shoulder at him. “What? Putting makeup on movie stars? No. The job chose me and has kept me alive.”

He moved closer. Her heart did a funny kick. “What job would you choose if you could?”

That gave her pause. “You mean, in my wildest dreams?”

It was his turn to chuckle. “Is it that out of the ordinary?”

“For me, yes.”

“You want to be an astronaut?”

“No.” Her mouth curved upward once more. “This is something very down-to-earth.”

“What would that be?”

“It’s as improbable as my meeting a real prince today.”

“Why?”

“In the first place, I have to find a job where I can earn a lot of money in order to pay off mother’s debts before I do anything else.”

“And in the second place?” he queried.

“I don’t know if I could make the grade.”

“Doing what? Humor me,” he prodded.

“Plastic surgery.”

His intelligent gaze grew thoughtful. “Why that particular profession?”

“My mother was labeled the most beautiful woman in the world. Her love affair with herself was obscene. There are people out there born with facial problems who’d give everything they possessed to be able to look in the mirror and not cringe or grieve at the sight.

“If I could change one person’s looks enough to make life more bearable for them, I’d give anything to do it.”

A marked stillness pervaded the atmosphere before he spread his hands in a typical Italian gesture. “A noble aspiration. If that’s your raison d’être, then make it a reality once we’re married.”

Maybe she was hallucinating.

“Why not?” He read her mind. “Castelmare University in Capriccio has a medical school linked with the University of Genoa.”

The man was starting to get to her and that was frightening.

“Look—I was talking about my wildest dreams. The point is, not even I would want to be married to me. And lest you forget, one has to speak Italian to go to your university. For your information, I can only say one word in your language. It’s ciao.”

She opened the door to leave, but it was blocked by the same person as before. Another bodybuilder type was standing behind him. In the next breath she shut it again and turned on the man whose charisma was positively lethal. “Will you please tell Salvatore and his brother out there to let me pass?”

He let out a hearty laugh at her reference to the famous Italian bodyguard Salvatore Bartolotta, who lost his life trying to protect an antimafia prosecutor during the 1930s. While admiring his quick mind, Alex tried hard not to react to his full-bodied response. It made him appear younger and even more appealing. She hadn’t thought it was possible.

“Carlo will be flattered when I tell him. You’re obsessed by the mafia. Why is that, Alexandra? More than likely it was the mob that targeted your father because of his title and financial affluence. When he wouldn’t cooperate, they rubbed him out. I believe that’s the American term.”

The prince knew it was. He was too intelligent by far.

“Wherever the truth lies, anyone linked to the mafia eventually dies like the father I never knew.” She looked down. “I don’t know why we’re having this conversation. You’ve picked the wrong woman to help you out of your nightmare. I need to go home and face mine.”

“I’m not prepared to let you go yet,” he whispered silkily. “A little while ago you accused me of being hard up. That’s putting it mildly. My back’s up against the proverbial wall and my time has run out. I can’t fly home and face my parents without producing the name of my intended bride. As I’ve told you, I’ve been overdue in that department for the past ten years.”

She couldn’t believe she was still standing here listening to him instead of banging on the door to demand her freedom.

“And you honestly believe they’ll be overjoyed you’ve chosen the most unsuitable female on the planet to parade before your kingdom? Marriage to Kathryn Carlisle’s daughter will make you the laughingstock of the civilized world.”

“Let me worry about it.”

“I’ll do better than that. You won’t have to be concerned about anything because my answer is no! Can you imagine what the media would make of it?

“In a shocking palace exclusive today, the bachelor crown prince of Castelmare has bypassed many a royal swan to choose the ugly duckling of the deceased, washed-up American film goddess Kathryn Carlisle for his bride.

“Rumors at court say the prince hasn’t been himself since a golf ball hit him in the temple in Pebble Beach, California, where he was on hand for the U.S. Open with international super-model Germaine.”

His grin disarmed her. “You, of all people, should know better than to believe the tabloids. That ball hit one of my bodyguards in the knee. Any photo of a model was superimposed for effect.”

Her jaw hardened. “Where my mother was concerned, I do believe them. Don’t forget they wrote the truth about her. Marrying you will give them enough fodder to start a whole new feeding frenzy.

“The headlines will read, ‘With the promise of a twelve-million-dollar wedding present, it appears the daughter is following in the footsteps of the mother. Time will tell if this is the first of her many marriages destined to fail. Bets in the Las Vegas underworld are already running high that the marriage will fall apart within months.’”

Something flickered in the dark recesses of his eyes. “Then prove them wrong, Alexandra.”

There he went again saying her name in that unusual way, making her nerve endings tingle. While blood surged into her cheeks, her hands formed fists. “Enough is enough! I could never take your money.”

Lucca liked tangling with her. He’d finally met a woman who set off exhilarating sparks when they were together. He couldn’t remember the last time this had happened.

“Fine. Then become a surgeon and pay back the debt with your hard-earned money. A few operations for those who can afford it and you’ll have wiped your mother’s slate clean as you indicated earlier.”

Her chin lifted. “Even if by some miracle I did get in medical school, I wouldn’t be able to start practicing for another eight years!”

“I’ll pay for your medical school for as long as it takes. Once you do your residency, you’ll receive a salary and can start paying me back like you would a school loan. It’s a good bargain. I guarantee you couldn’t do better with anyone else.”

She stared at him through glazed eyes. “Attending medical school isn’t one of the duties of a king’s consort.”

“My consort will do what she wants because I won’t be a normal sort of king.” He flashed her a self-satisfied smile. “Your only royal duties will be to accompany me on certain occasions that will come up from time to time.”

“I see.”

“I’ll arrange for you to start Italian lessons tomorrow after we arrive at the palace. By the time we’ve returned from our honeymoon six weeks from now, the fall semester will be starting. With the help of a tutor, you’ll be able to keep up with your fellow medical students.”

“Perhaps you didn’t hear me. I’m terrible at languages and I’m not going anywhere with you.” Least of all on a honeymoon.

“When I explain your predicament with the American press, my parents will insist you live at the palace for the next month. Being sequestered with the family will protect you from the worst of the media for a while.”

She felt like stomping both feet. “Aside from the fact that you’re speaking pure nonsense, I can’t just quit my job and leave my apartment!”

“We’ll talk about that later.” He checked his watch. “Right now we’re going to meet your great-uncle. He’s the deputy consul at the Russian Federation here in New York. When he finds out you’re his brother’s granddaughter, he’ll be overjoyed and insist we meet to get acquainted.”

The prince moved past her and opened the door where both his bodyguards were still standing on alert. With a hand cupping her elbow he said, “While you visit the ladies’ room on your right, I’ll make the arrangements.

“Don’t take too long. There’s a lot to accomplish before we board my private jet this evening. And one more thing. My name is Lucca. I’d like you to use it.”

CHAPTER THREE

“YURI Pavlovich Grigory? May I present your grand-niece, Princess Alexandra Carlisle Grigory.”

“Alexandra, my child.” The tall, eighty-year-old widower with his strong Russian accent kissed her on both cheeks. “Welcome to the family.”

“I can’t believe I have living family,” Alex whispered shakily, touched by his unexpected warmth. She was still incredulous any of this was happening. If it weren’t for Lucca, she would never have been united with her father’s family, let alone known of their existence.

Though she was indebted to him, she was also terrified because this reunion had come about at a price. There was only one way Lucca wanted repayment, but she couldn’t do what he asked.

“There are quite a few of us Grigorys so you’ll have to believe it.” He chuckled. “Call me Uncle Yuri.”

She blinked back the tears. “If you don’t mind.”

“Mind?” He shook his gray head. “I’d be hurt if you called me anything else. This is a great day. Do you know you’re the living image of my nephew, except you’re much prettier?” He squeezed her hand. “That’s because of your mother. She and Oleg created a beautiful daughter.” His eyes misted over. “If only your father and grandfather could see you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Yuri. I’d give anything to have known them.”

“Well—” He wiped his eyes. “I’ll do my best to tell you all about them. Come into the conference room and we’ll talk over lunch.”

Lucca escorted her through the double doors to the other room where a meal was waiting for them. Over the next few hours her Uncle Yuri told her so many wonderful stories, the time flew by and she never wanted the afternoon to end. Between the pictures and anecdotes, she felt as if she really did belong to a great family.

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