Page 13 of The King's Fake Bride

“Your Majesty.” He bows slightly, looking down at the ground.

I grab my wallet and pull out a large tip, pressing it into his hand. “You didn’t see me here, understood? I’m nothing but a figment of your imagination.”

The man smiles and nods, pocketing the couple hundred dollars and scurrying down the hall. I shut the door behind him, sliding the latch into place while I wonder how long it’s going to take him to tell someone else that I’m here.

I’m going to have to leave sooner than I planned.

Amy sits up in bed as I wheel the cart into the middle of the room. “What is that?”

“Thought you might like some breakfast.” I pull the lids off the food, revealing eggs Benedict and a mountain of bacon and waffles. “Wasn’t sure what you were going to like, so I got a little bit of everything.”

I pull off another lid, fruit piled in little ramekins beneath.

Amy shuffles to the edge of the bed, her hair a wild mane around her, the white sheet wrapped around her body. She clutches it to her chest, her lips still a little swollen from last night.

I swallow hard, picking up one of the orange slices. “So, there are some things I probably need to tell you.”

She removes the last lid, gasping when she sees the perfect little chocolate croissants beneath it. “You’re in the witness protection program and now that I’ve blown your cover, you’re going to need to leave?”

Chuckling, I pop the orange into my mouth. It tastes bitter, though that could be the worry over what I’m about to ask her.

Once everything is out in the open, she’s going to think that I’m crazy. I doubt that she’s going to want to ever see me again.

And that would be a shame.

“Worse.” I give her a wry smile, gaze flickering around the room. “I’m the king of Katastinia.”

She bursts out laughing, the sound warm and friendly, urging me to laugh with her past the sense of dread that’s swirling inside me right now. “Okay. That was a good one.”

“It’s not a joke.” I clear my throat. As I turn to grab my phone to show her proof, her eyes burn into the back of my head.

“I thought you said you worked in human relations?” she says, her tone accusatory.

I turn back around with my phone in my hand, pulling up Katastinia’s main news website. As I scroll to the article on my being crowned king, a pit opens in the bottom of my stomach.

This was a bad idea. I should have told her goodbye and left.

Ordering her breakfast and trying to warm her up to the thought of pretending to be engaged to me is probably the worst idea I’ve ever heard.

No. That my advisors have ever had.

Although, some of the blame is to be put on me.

At least there’s an end date to this arrangement — if she agrees.

The site loads, and I pass her the phone. “All the information is here, but if you want more proof, I’m sure you could look me up online and see all kinds of other articles about me and my family.”

Amy sits back on the bed, propping her feet up on the frame. Her gaze flickers across the screen as she reads the article.

I know what she’s seeing right now. News that I took over the crown after the death of my brother. A picture of me at my coronation. More comments about how I’m eager to serve the country and do what’s best for them.

Amy finishes reading and hands me back the phone. “So you’re telling me I slept with the king of a country last night. Does this mean that security is going to be showing up at my door soon and making me sign all kinds of paperwork?”

Wincing, I nod. “Probably. If my advisors figure out where I am, they’re going to be on their way with NDAs in hand.”

Her eyes widen and she gets up from the bed, pacing from one side of the room to the other. “There is no way this is happening right now.”

“Well, it is.” I put the phone to the side. “I’m the king of Katastinia. I should’ve told you last night when you asked what Idid, but it was nice to meet someone who didn’t know who I am for once.”

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