Page 37 of My Prince

I looked around frantically. I knew that these cameras didn’t pick up sound very well, but I still didn’t want to have this conversation with Fade here. “Let’s go to your room. “I’ll tell you there,” I promised.

Fade glowered, but he grabbed my hand. He hauled me through the common room and down the hallway to his room. He pulled out his keys and unlocked his door. He pulled me inside and shut the door. “Spill, cupcake. Who the hell is Don?” he demanded.

I didn’t even have a chance to look around Fade’s room before the weight of my thoughts came crashing down on me. “Don is one of the producers of the show, and...” I trailed off, unsure how to continue.

“And what?” Fade demanded, his eyes narrowing. “Are you dating him or something, and you don’t want him to know about us?”

I wrinkled my nose and cringed. “God no,” I gasped. “Don is sixty-three, and my father.”

Fade reared back in surprise. “Your father? Why the hell do you call him Don?”

“Because Don and I don’t have the best relationship, and I like to keep it on the down-low that he is my father. Mark and Garett don’t even know.” The history between Don and me was complicated. Rocky didn’t even begin to cover it.

“So, just tell your dad about me and call it a day.”

“I disappoint my dad daily just by being me, Fade. I’m not looking to pile on being a bigger disappointment.”

“How the hell are you a disappointment?” Fade asked, genuinely perplexed.

“Because I’m twenty-seven years old and only a production assistant. By the time he was my age, he was heading up production and climbing the ladder. The difference between the two of us is that I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life. He got me this job when what I really wanted to do wasn’t panning out.”

“What do you want to do?” Fade asked, his tone softer, more curious.

I chewed on my bottom lip, feeling a wave of vulnerability wash over me. I had never really talked to anyone about my true aspirations. “Uh, I was a cake decorator. I wanted to have my own business, but I couldn’t cut it in LA. He gave me five years to make a go of it, and then he told me I needed to grow up and get a real job.” I motioned around, feeling the weight of my reality. “Enter me becoming a production assistant.”

Fade’s eyes softened as he listened. “Cake decorator, huh? That’s pretty cool. Everyone likes cake.”

I shrugged, feeling the sting of past failures. I plopped on the end of the bed. “It was my passion. I loved creating edible art, making people happy with my designs. But the business side of things... it just didn’t work out. LA was too big. I was treading water, not even able to pay my bills.”

“Why didn’t it work out?” he asked, genuinely interested.

“LA is tough,” I said, sighing. “Competition is fierce, and I made some bad decisions. I wasn’t prepared for how cutthroat it would be. My business floundered, and eventually, I had to close shop.”

Fade sat beside me on the bed, his presence comforting. “That doesn’t make you a disappointment, Adalee. You tried to follow your dream. That’s more than most people can say.”

I looked at him, feeling a mix of gratitude and lingering self-doubt. “Yeah, but my dad doesn’t see it that way. To him, I’m just wasting my potential.”

“Your potential is still there,” Fade said firmly. “You haven’t lost it. You’re just in a different place right now. That doesn’t mean you can’t go back to what you love.”

His words stirred something inside me, a flicker of hope I hadn’t felt in a long time. “Maybe,” I said quietly, not quite ready to believe it but wanting to.

Fade leaned in and kissed my forehead. “You deserve to be happy, cupcake. Whether that’s with cakes or something else, you should follow what makes you happy.” He laughed lightly. “And now I know why you were so surprised when I called you cupcake.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I thought you somehow could see into the past and knew what I used to do.” I sighed and felt a weight lift. “So, now you know that we can get back to figuring out what we will do about the cameras.”

“I don’t think we need to do anything. You guys are here to capture our day-to-day, right?” He wound his arm around my waist and pulled me onto his lap. “My day-to-day just changed to having you in it. And in my bed. And wherever else I want to have you.”

“You’re crazy, Fade. I’m pretty sure you and I dating is going to be a huge conflict of interest.” I could already hear Don yelling at me, demanding I get back to LA. It would be a miracle if I had a job when the dust settled.

Fade shrugged. “You wanna be with me, or make your dad happy?” he asked.

Even if Fade and I weren’t a thing, my dad wasn’t going to be happy. “I’m not saying we can’t be,” I motioned between us, “I just don’t know if I wanted it to be broadcasted on TV.”

“Welcome to my world, cupcake,” Fade laughed. “Time to be on the other side of the camera with me.”

Fade moved me so I was straddling his waist, his strong arms wrapping around my waist as I rested my hands on his chest. The warmth of his skin and the steady beat of his heart under my palms were comforting and exhilarating all at once.

“That would make things pretty real between us,” I pointed out, trying to ignore the heat rising between us.

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