Page 4 of Forbidden Bastard
This time she ignored the desire that raced up her arm because being with Charles wasn’t ever going to happen. Business mattered more. She nodded convincingly and said, “I’ll get the women in groups according to what you're looking for, and set up casual meetings. You can pick from that selection.”
He glanced down at her and asked, “Will you be in this costume the entire time?”
She’d pack away her bunny outfit for another hospital visit back home in Denver. She straightened a droopy ear. “No. I’ll… be more circumspect.”
He pivoted like he’d leave but then nodded and turned back toward her. “Tell you what--I’ll give you a forty-eight hour window where we’ll test your matchmaking skills. I’ll be attending a fundraiser for the Arabian horses care here, in Paris. My secretary will give you the address. Bring yourself and five other women.”
Find five stunning women, strangers to her, in a foreign country. Right. This was a test, but she didn’t blink. She would have her shot to make sure she only married who she chose if she found Charles a wife. “Consider it done, Charles.”
He headed to the door and paused at the threshold. She joined him as he said, “If you find me an alternative wife in thirty days, the contract with your parents still stands.”
From the front desk, the thin-lipped woman's eyes widened like she'd heard their conversation and was interested.
Maybe she'd be the first of five.
Sandi needed to ignore how her stomach twisted at the idea of the pretty woman near Charles. “Then I’ll see you again soon.”
“Goodbye, Miss Smith.” He headed down the hall, leaving her in his office.
She watched until he was out of sight, then she collapsed against his desk.
Today she'd go back to her hotel, lose the bunny outfit, and somehow find five women for Charles to choose from.
She’d fight for her freedom. She had to.
Chapter 2
Charles Esposito knew a couple things in life.
One, the bunny girl would never replace the perfect woman he’d lost.
Another was that life never went from bad to good. It always went from one tolerable pool to another but nothing sweet ever lasted.
And three, the princes of Avce were all fools who'd let emotions like "love" decide their future.
Men and women had the freedom of choice and his choice was always going to see to his own happiness, first and foremost.
Since revealing his bloodline, Charles’s bank account had grown, he was now a titled Dukedel Pescatore, and his business in the shared economy where people traded "gigs" of what they were willing to do for others in his app had become more lucrative. La Belle Époque, his business, had started out as an online avenue to sell art and he named his business after a historical period, but he'd grown to accommodate whatever people wanted to offer and pay for.
All of this had led to him having dinner with his half-sibling and the future king of Avce. He squared his shoulders as the maitre’d brought him to a private room in the candlelit restaurant.
The future queen wasn’t there. It was just the two of them. The man less than a year his junior and with cheek bones like his own made his own heart feel even more hollow than it already was. The royal prince stood and held out his hand to shake.
A year ago Charles never thought he’d be part of their lives. He clasped the prince's hand. “Antonio.”
The prince motioned toward the empty chair across from him at an oval table. “It’s good of you to join me.”
A century ago, Charles might have lost his head if he'd refused. At that time, he probably wouldn't have had DNA proof that he was related, either. He sat and said, “I’m surprised at your generosity nonetheless.”
Antonio adjusted in his seat while a waiter served them wine and bread with olive oil and pepper. As the waiters finished up, Antonio put his water down and said, “You shouldn’t be. This is business, remember?”
Business where they would discuss the king, the father who had abandoned him as a baby. Charles sipped his water and waited until they were alone. “I’ve never had brothers-”
“You always had them,” Antonio interrupted and raised his eyebrow like he dared him to argue. “We just didn’t know you existed.”
Antonio and the others had been raised in the palace, as royalty. In no way had they ever struggled.
Ever.
