Page 63 of Beachside Kisses With My Bodyguard

I lower my gaze and find hers. “That’s not why I’m upset. Well, it is, obviously. I’ve got less than five days to find a place for the wedding. But … there’s more.” Now I put my hand on top of hers. “Lucy, I’ve been lying to you.” The tap dancers on my stomach increase their pace and intensity, jab, jab, jabbing me.

Her eyes flicker and she sits back ever so slightly. “About what?”

“The wedding … it isn’t for me and Frederick.”

She wrinkles her nose. “Well, that’s ridiculous. I mean, who else would it be for? And why would you lie aboutthat?”

Here goes. “The wedding’s actually for my brother, Topher, and his fiancée, Lauren.”

“That literally makes no sense, Chlo.” She pretends to knock a fist against my skull. “Did you fall and hit your head on that hike with Marilee and Jordan on Sunday?”

“I know it sounds crazy. And it probably was. But my brother is … someone important. And this is actually kind of a surprise wedding. Like, the ‘real wedding’ is happening in April, but it was getting out of hand, and I wanted to give them this fantastic memory of a day that’s truly all about them.”

Lucy takes her glass in hand and takes a sip, her eyes squinting at me. “So, is he like, a celebrity or something?”

“Or something.” I gnaw the inside of my cheek. “He’s actually a prince.”

She spews water at me, and her eyes widen. “Sorry!” Jumping up, she races into the kitchen and returns with a towel, which she hands to me before plopping back down. “But wait, are you serious? A prince? But wouldn’t that make you …”

“A princess. Yes.”

“Like … a real one?”

“No, a fake one, Luce,” I tease as I wipe the droplets of water from my face and toss the towel back at her. Then I sober. “And there’s more. Frederick is my bodyguard. I hadn’t thought of trying to put any sort of cover story on the wedding, but when he arrived, and you made assumptions about it being my wedding and him being my fiancé, well … we sort of went with it.”

Lucy’s just staring at me, and for once, I can’t read her.

I tuck my head down. “I’m so sorry for lying to you. I’ve felt terrible about it ever since, but at the time it made sense because the paparazzi have been all over the coverage of the wedding back in Kentonia. And then, you and the rest of the gang here became true friends, and I wanted to tell you the truth but … I was so afraid of losing you.” I race on, afraid she’ll shut me down before I’ve fully shared my heart. “In my world, it’s so hard to find real friends, people who don’t care about the power and prestige that come with my position. You have no idea how nice it was to just be … normal. But I have no excuse for lying, and I understand if you don’t want to help me anymore. If you want me to leave. But either way, I had to tell you the truth.”

Lucy is silent for a good while, brushing her purple lips together. Finally, she speaks. “So let me get this straight. You’re a princess.”

“Yes.”

“And your brother is a prince who’s getting secretly married ahead of schedule.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re planning the wedding.”

“Yes.”

“And you traveled all the way here, to random Hallmark Beach, to do that.”

“Yes, though to be fair, my future sister-in-law is from San Diego, and I’ve been there for a few months. And because Shelby is getting married here, I got a chance to visit a few weeks ago with her. I fell in love with the town in a matter of days. So it wasn’t random.” I inhale. “I believe it was fate.”

“Hmm.” She rubs at her hot pink cheeks. “I won’t pretend that it doesn’t hurt to be lied to, but I understand why you did it. I was just a stranger at first. One with a big mouth. You didn’t know if you could trust me with a secret.”

I reach for her hand again. “But I know I can now.”

She studies me. “So you want to keep it a secret still?”

“From most people, yes. But I’m going to tell Marilee, Jordan, the Lovelands. You can tell April, if you want. Stephanie already knows.”

“She does?”

“That I’m royalty, at least.”

Then she nods. “Of course she does. She’s always reading those celebrity gossip sites online. I’m surprised she hasn’t blabbed.”

---