The Princess Finds Her Match

She took a sip of water and gazed at her surroundings for the first time since she walked in with Julian by her side. It was a discreet, three Michelin star restaurant frequented by Hollywood A-listers, but even with the famous, blasé clientele, they were attracting a fair amount of attention. She was the current It princess in love with the handsome, sexy polo player. What was she doing dining with the Delicious Duke?

“You’ve hardly touched your food. I should call the chef−“

“No! Everything is perfect, Julian,” she rushed to say, afraid he might indeed call the chef and attract more attention than was warranted. All she needed was another front-page photo of her and Julian splashed on the covers. Heaven knows how they would spin it.

The press! They would have a field day if she had indeed gotten pregnant out of wedlock. Her gut tightened at the thought of the disappointment and shame she would bring Stefan. She bit determinedly into her perfectly poached sea bass and forced it down her throat.

Julian’s eyebrow rose imperiously. “We can order another dish if it is not to your liking.”

“It’s fine, Julian. I just ate quite a heavy lunch.” Of toast and tea. She couldn’t very well tell Julian her appetite had deserted her since she last saw Nic. She felt quite disgusted with herself, pining for a man she hadn’t seen or heard from since the disastrous after-photo shoot sex. She looked straight into the Duke’s green eyes and sighed that it was totally wasted on her. Why couldn’t life be more simple? Her heart less foolish?

“I would have seen you as soon as I got here, but I got tied up with some business matters with the L.A. office.”

Not only titled and gorgeous, Julian was also a successful venture capitalist and any woman’s dream catch. Lexie stilled, trying to catch a tiny beep. Nope. Not even a tiny ba-dump in her heart. Totally wasted. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

Julian frowned. “Some industrial spying inside the company. But I’ve got my men working on it. We’ll catch the culprit. It’s only a matter of time.” He took a sip of his wine, appearing to mull some things over. “How is it going with Fernandez?”

His tone was casual, at odds with his assessing gaze.

“Haven’t you seen the papers? Apparently we’re madly in love with each other.” Lexie tried to sound blithe, but even to her ears, her voice sounded brittle.

“You weren’t sticking to the itinerary and you haven’t seen each other in two days.“

“Don’t look at me. It was his idea−” she paused abruptly and leveled Julian a suspicious gaze. “You’ve had your men spying on me!” Lexie felt the rush of mortification on her cheeks. Surely Julian would know how Nic stayed the night in Blair’s mansion. ”Oh, don’t tell me. Stefan put you up to it.”

He didn’t deny it. “He’s your brother. Naturally, he was worried. He was concerned Fernandez,” he paused, “might take advantage of you.”

“He should have thought of that before he threw me in the company of that−that polo player.” Too late. She sounded as if Nic had indeed taken advantage of her.

Julian fixed her a deadly serious stare. “Just say the word, Lexie, and I’ll take care of him.”

Lexie shivered at the cold way Julian said those words. He might be her brother’s best friend, but Lexie suspected there were things she didn’t quite know about Julian.

“Julian, there is something I need to discuss with you.” She licked lips that had gone dry.

Julian just stared at her, waiting for her to continue. All pretense of eating had gone.

“About the betrothal.”

“I’m surprised after all these years you’ve only just brought it up now. Has this something to do with Fernandez?” His tone was casual. His beautiful face was unreadable, but he was too perceptive.

“It’s got nothing to do with Nic,” Lexie protested, but deep down she knew it was a lie, and she was sure Julian did, too. Even if the thing with Nic didn’t work out as she suspected it would, she refused to be part of something that wasn’t right for her. And unfair for Julian.