Page 16 of His Royal Bride Replacement

‘So, there was no romantic connection at all?’

‘Romantic isn’t in Graziana’s toolbox.’

‘But it must be if she ran off with her bodyguard.’

‘I still find that hard to believe. She enjoyed her life the way it was. Something I don’t know about must’ve happened,’ he said grimly. ‘And why are we talking about all this? Graziana is old history now. You’re my wife…’

Rosy winced. ‘Well, more sort of…your wife fornow.’

‘Or my wife for as long as you are happy being my wife.Madonnamia, I never looked on you as some temporary solution on my path towards some ideal marital candidate!’

‘You…didn’t?’ Rosy frowned at him, all at sea, unsure how to interpret that statement or its exact meaning, even though everything it covered was fundamental to their marriage. She scrambled upright, suddenly ill at ease beneath that gleaming green intense gaze of his, which made her feel hot all over. ‘I’m going to take a dip and cool off again!’

And she ran down the beach, struggling to work out what he had meant by what he had said.

Following her, Alessio caught her hand to tug her back towards him. ‘Rosy…do you really think I could have you crowned by my side in a couple of weeks and then dispense with you a few months later without causing a huge scandal?’

Rosy went pink. ‘I hadn’t thought about it quite like that.’

‘It would make both of us look like idiots for getting married in the first place!’

Rosy flinched. ‘Probably…but even so, that’s what I assumed you intended.’

‘Obviously not. I’m a little more practical and realistic than that. I find you attractive. I respect you. I think you can do the job. So, why shouldn’t we give it a go?’ Alessio demanded forcefully.

Rosy wanted to slap him but she resisted that temptation. Instead, she pulled her hand free of his and darted into the water to escape the conversation and snatch a moment alone to think.

Why shouldn’t wegive it a go?

As if a marriage, a serious relationship, were just one more novelty to try and she had nothing better to do with her life than try it with him! And possibly, to Prince Alessio Maretti, itwas. She was shocked and increasingly angry with him.

Matters she should’ve understood before their wedding were only now falling into place to form a totally different picture of his attitude in comparison to her own. But whose fault was it that she had got totally the wrong idea about their marriage? He hadn’t spent any time with her before the ceremony, hadn’t discussed any important details or his own expectations, never mind hers. No, he had just dumped those on her unforewarned the night before when she had realised that he had simply assumed that she would share a bed with him.

Alessio took a lot for granted with women, she reflected angrily, breaking into a fast crawl and ploughing back and forth through the water in the mouth of the cove. That wasn’t a surprise. How many women had ever said no to Alessio? He rejoiced in a level of male beauty that was surpassingly rare and he was incredibly sexy. He was drop-dead gorgeous, wealthy beyond avarice and charming even with the staff. He was accustomed to being the centre of attention. He was royal, and that explained a lot. A kind of unconscious arrogance and very high expectations. He assumed that people would go out of their way for him. He assumed his attentions would invariably be welcome. He assumed that most women would be attracted to him. He assumed that the ordinary Sedovian citizen he had married at the last minute would naturally go that extra mile for him.

But no blasted way on earth was Alessio Maretti going to give marriagea gowith her! He hadn’t asked her to marry him andstaymarried to him. He hadn’taskedher to share a bed with him as his wife. No, he had left her to assume that their marriage would be as fake as plastic flowers and as short ashechose. As for the prenup, there had been more about the terms of them breaking up than staying together. Yes, it had said that for every year she remained married to him her eventual settlement on their separation would increase. Yes, it had said that any children born of the marriage would have to remain in Sedovia with him as royal progeny.

Obviously, none of those terms had surprised her because Rosy had not at any stage expected Alessio to tell his legal eagles that their marriage was a big fat fake in which no marital bed would ever be shared. She had naturally believed that those specifications belonged to his desire to be discreet about their secret arrangement. On the strength of that conviction she had signed the prenup, sincerely crediting that none of those terms would ever come back to haunt her. Andnowthat they were well and truly married, Alessio had not only moved the goalposts, he had blown them sky-high!

Rosy stalked back up the beach in a temper such as she hadn’t experienced in years. She snatched up her clothes and a towel and headed for the cave to get changed without looking at Alessio once. It would be rude and inexcusable to slap him and probably juvenile to scream at him for misleading her, and Rosy did not like to be rude, aggressive or juvenile. Staying out of Alessio’s way until she simmered down was definitely a necessity. And then later, she would sit down with him and talk like an adult, she promised herself. She would admit that she felt deceived, insulted and angry.

Give it a go?

He could forget that idea! Her teeth gritted as she stripped off her swimsuit and wrung the sea water out of it.

It was cool in the shade of the cave. She shivered as she dried herself and wriggled back into her shorts and her halter top, wishing she had thought to pack under garments. Her toe nudged something slimy and she fell back with a stifled shriek, looking down to see that she had got her foot entangled with a strand of seaweed. Rolling her eyes at her own foolishness, she kicked it away.

‘Rosy? I heard you cry out. Are you all right?’ Alessio called urgently from out of view.

‘A stupid piece of seaweed gave me a fright. I’m fine,’ she said thinly.

‘But very angry with me,’ Alessio commented, stepping into her line of sight and lounging back against the rocky outcrop that guarded the cave’s entrance from sight. ‘You don’t hide it well.’

‘So sorry about that. Does your security team have binoculars on us? I will try to do better in the future,’ she said stiltedly, dark blue eyes flaring like flames. ‘But maybe you could trynotmaking me angry the next time.’

‘I don’t know what I said or did to make you this angry,’ Alessio informed her without hesitation.

Rosy sent his lean, powerful figure a stabbing glance of resentment. ‘You’re not that stupid. You didn’t spell out what I was getting intobeforethe wedding. Now you’re trying to change our agreement altogether. I didn’t sign my entire life over to you, Alessio! I believed this marriage would last eighteen months or two years at most, now what are you talking about? I also don’t want anyone giving me agolike I’m a new shoe to try on—I deserve better than that!’

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