Page 18 of Fake Fiancée, Real Baby
“And that’s why you deserve to succeed in what you do,” he replied.
Claire had quite forgotten about her own soufflé in the course of their discussion. It had sunk now — like all her youthful dreams.
“But I haven’t got there yet, and with the years going by…” Claire said, but before she could finish, the prince interrupted her.
“I can make your dream come true. I can give you the restaurant. You can have everything you’ve ever wanted.”
Claire’s eyes grew wide with astonishment at these words, and she stared at him in disbelief. He’d blurted it out as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“But… how? You can’t… it’s…” she stammered, but again, the prince interrupted her.
“How would it be if we told a little white lie to make it happen?” he replied, raising his eyebrows and leaning forward as he spoke.
CHAPTER 10
CLAIRE
Claire looked at the prince in confusion. She didn’t understand what he meant — she didn’t understand how he could suggest what he was suggesting. It was madness. Was he really going to finance a restaurant for her based on a few days’ worth of cooking?
“Your Highness…” she began, even as the prince reached across the table and took her hand in his.
“Listen to me,” he said, lowering his voice to a whisper. “I want you to have your restaurant, but there’s something I want you to do for me.”
Claire didn’t know what to think — was he proposing something indecent? There’d been propositions in the past — guests of Mr. Bellagio who’d thought it their right to slip their arm around Claire’s waist and draw her into their embrace. But the prince wasn’t like that, whatever the media might say about him. He’d had ample opportunity for such a proposition, but his behavior had always been impeccable.
“But what? I don’t understand,” she said.
“You know what they’re writing about me — the playboy prince. I need to put an end to that, and I need to satisfy my parents, too. If only for a while. I’m asking you to pretend to be my betrothed — to be engaged to me. We can go back to Flandenne, you can have your restaurant, and we’ll make it known we’re engaged to be married. Once you’re established, it can all quietly disappear — we’ll say there was a disagreement, no scandal.”
For a moment, Claire didn’t know whether to laugh or stare at him in disbelief. It was an extraordinary idea, and yet, in knowing what she now knew about him, there was obviously a sense of desperate times and desperate measures.
“You want us to pretend we’re getting married?” she said, repeating his words lest she’d been dreaming.
He nodded, looking hopefully at her, as he clasped her hand in his. His hand was warm, his grasp firm but gentle. His touch had sent a shiver running through her, and gazing into his eyes, she saw both hopefulness and sincerity. He was serious.
“I know it sounds incredible, but yes… that’s just what I want. Think about it, Claire. It’ll solve both our problems. You’ll have your restaurant, and I’ll have my respectability back. They’ll leave me alone if they think I’m going to be married and settle down.”
Claire didn’t know what to say. It seemed so incredible, and yet an opportunity she could hardly turn down.
“Well… but won’t there be interest in me? I’m just a chef. Can a crown prince really marry a cook from a yacht?”
“Perhaps not in previous years, but now… I don’t see why not. Besides, no one need know anything about you. Let them speculate. If the tabloids look down on you, it’ll show themfor what they are — only interested in vacuous celebrities with nothing about them except money and reality-show demeanors.” Claire wondered if he was referring to the princess from Le Paradis.“Let them think what they want. Why can’t a person with ambition and dreams marry a prince? For that matter, why can’t a prince marry a person with ambition and dreams?”
It was the most extraordinary offer Claire had ever received. Period. The very thought of it was extraordinary, like some kind of modern fairytale — rags to riches. But the prince was serious. His offer was genuine, and now Claire had to decide what to do.
“Can I… think about it?” she said, for there were so many thoughts going through her mind — so many questions.
The prince nodded. “You have to, of course. But please… don’t take long about it. I’ll have to go back soon. I can’t stay on this yacht forever, as much as I’d like to. I want to step off board in Monaco and show the world my new future.”
Claire had butterflies in her stomach. To be thrust into the spotlight in such a way, and to know her life would change forever…
“I’ll think about it tonight… later… I’ll tell you,” she stammered, just as footsteps from the galley announced the return of Anton.
The prince withdrew his hand, and Claire rose to her feet, making a pretense of clearing away the empty ramekins. Anton glared at her.
“Anna-Marie needs you in the kitchen,” he hissed, as he poured the prince another glass of wine.
As she went down from the deck, Claire was overwhelmed by the thought of what had just happened and paused for a moment to catch her breath. The crown prince of Flandenne had just askedher— the chef on the yacht he was taking refuge on — to pretend to be engaged to him in return for a restaurant of her own. The implications were extraordinary. It would mean leaving everything behind and beginning again. For a moment, it was all Claire could do to stand in disbelief, shaking her head as though she was in a dream.
