Page 1 of Forbidden Prince
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Renee Brown ordereda pepperoni pizza on her phone app, her attention snagged by the brilliant orange and red hues outside the kitchen window and over the parking lot. Where was Kristin? Her roommate was late, and Renee wanted to hear all about the sexy prince and Kristin’s jobinterview.
If Kristin landed the secretarial position, Renee would be one step closer to meeting actual royalty. Would the pictures of Marco Aussa, the youngest prince of Avce, turn out to be tricks of the light? There was no possible way a man that handsome existed. And aprince!
Renee taught history for a living—and never had her blood stirred at a photo in a book as it had perusing Marco Aussaonline.
With one last look out at the parking lot, still no Kristin, Renee went to the kitchen and gathered lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, and tomatoes. If she met a prince on her summer vacation from work, she'd have the best story to share with hercoworkers.
She glanced out the window again and saw her neighbor, Greg, working on his car. He was the kind of guy she could bring home to meet her brother and parents. Good-looking, an accountant with a decent job—better than average pay but nothing flashy—handy around the building, and polite. If he asked her out, she'd have said yes simply because he was everything she’d put on her list. He wasn't the kind her parents would dismiss. However, he never noticed her, so that wasn't going tohappen.
The salad needed something else…Renee found some celery behind a tub of cottage cheese and chopped it in thinslices.
The lock to the apartment clicked. Renee looked up from salad making and greeted her best friend in the world, the dark-haired and fabulous Kristin. "Where were you? I already ordered thepizza."
Kristin put her pocketbook on the lamp table by the door and kicked off the black heels she’d borrowed from Renee, then joined her at the counter. "You know I had my job interview with the Royal Prince Antonio Aussa from Avce thisafternoon."
Renee studied Kristin, who wouldn’t meet her eye. Had she gotten the job? Renee's pulse zipped to find out if she'd get a shot at seeing the youngest playboy prince in person. She put the salad tongs down. "That was at three. You'relate."
Kristin went to the refrigerator and took out the orange juice, pouring a small glass. "I was driving aroundaimlessly."
Yes, something important must’ve happened—Kristin always had a plan. Renee’s chances of meeting Marco were about as good as winning the Powerball but she wanted to know. She picked up the salad tongs and tossed the vegetables in a blue plastic bowl to mix the ingredients. "Why? Did you get theposition?"
Kristin put the juice on the counter and hugged her waist. Oh, no. Renee turned toward her friend. What if she’d been driving because she was upset aboutnotgetting thejob?
A few weeks ago, when Kristin had first applied, they’d joked about marrying two of the prince brothers. Kristin's white face made Renee's memory seem sad now. "I’m…"sorry.
Finally, Kristin looked up with a dazed expression. "He asked me to marryhim."
No way. Was she kidding? Her heart beat faster. Renee dropped the salad tongs on top of the romaine. "Shut thedoor."
Kristin turned her head toward the front door. "Idid."
"Slang. You have got to enter the 21st century." Renee reached out and took her hand. Joking aside, her only big plans this summer were book-related as she prepped to teach her history class and she could do that anywhere. Now she had a reason to buy a plane ticket and go to Europe. "When do you start? Will it be inEurope?"
Kristin seemedconfused.
Renee slowly realized that she wasn’t joking. "Seriously? He asked you to marry him?"Crazy.
"Yes." Kristin's gaze lowered. "And I’m tempted toagree."
Renee's heart hammered. "I saw your application for secretary...did he take one look at you and fall inlove?"
Kristin shook her head. "Not love. That doesn't happen and never lastsanyhow."
"Well, nothing is ever asurething." She’d thought her ex, Tom, had been solid but he’d left her high and dry, something her family never let herforget.
As if reading her mind, Kristin said, "To be fair to your parents, I never liked Tom. He always seemed like he was up to something." "Don’t agree with them on anything." Renee gave Kristin a warninglook.
One day a man like Greg would ask Renee to marry him and she'd bring him home. This time, she'd make the smart choice and her family would be excited to see her get married in their country club. But Kristin didn't have any of that responsibility. She was free and now she could marry a prince, forreal.
"Your break-up with Tom is another reason why I think love is a sick joke we play on children and teenagers. It’s a lie bigger than SantaClaus."
Her friend might not believe in love, but she deserved a fairytale.
"That's cynical and untrue—love can last a lifetime." Renee squeezed Kristin’s hands. Her parents claimed to love each other, so at least Renee had a basis for understanding. "So whatdidyousay?"
Kristin stepped back but kept her head down. "I told him that I needed time to think. Part of me was so mesmerized by him that I almost said yes, but my parents warned me all my life that work and security would bring me happiness more than romance. Marrying a prince I just met isn't exactlypractical."
