The Prince's Scandalous Wedding Vow

“How did it go with Phillipe?”

“Not well.” He hesitated. “Damian was there.”

One of her winged eyebrows arched higher. “You didn’t expect to see him, did you?”

“No. And it was an awkward meal. I left early.”

“And your cousin? How was he?”

“Baffling,” Alexander said after a long moment. “I don’t understand it. I don’t understand him.” And then he shrugged impatiently. “Let’s not discuss him anymore. He ruined my night. I won’t allow him to ruin today, and I’m organizing something fun for us for dinner tonight. It will be just the two of us. We’ll leave here at six. Our reservation is for seven.”

Josephine studied him a long moment, trying to read his expression because he wasn’t smiling and yet there was this curious light in his eyes. He looked tired but also eager, and she suddenly pictured him as a boy and thought how lovely he must have been. He wouldn’t have been one of those who hurt things and broke things. No, he would have been smart and thoughtful and kind. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said, and she meant it.

“Good.”

“How should I dress? Do I need one of my formal dresses that require the spandex girdle beneath?”

“That sounds horrendous.”

“It feels horrendous.”

“Then no, please don’t wear one. Be comfortable. Choose a dress that makes you happy.”

Josephine went through her wardrobe and in the end chose a ruby-red silk dress that was sleeveless, fitted through the waist, and featured a stunning bright pink flower on the full skirt. The neckline plunged, showing off her tan and her curves, making her feel gorgeous and feminine.

After saying good-night to her staff, she hurried downstairs, where Alexander was waiting by the front door for her. He smiled as she came down the steps. “You look stunning.”

Pleasure filled her. She felt stunning tonight. “And you’re very dashing in your...um...trousers and...shirt.”

He laughed, the sound low and husky and unbearably sexy as the butler opened the front door for them. “I’m rather boring—is that it?”

“Actually, no. You’re anything but boring,” she said as they stepped outside. Her attention was immediately drawn to the hunter green convertible sports car parked in the drive. It was low and sleek with a handsome cream interior. It was also a two-seater, which meant no room for a driver. “Is that for us?”

“It is. Do you approve?”

“Very much so. But where will your security go?”

“Security will be behind us, but they’re to be discreet and give us some room.”

“I love it, but I think I might need a shawl for the way home. Let me run back up. I won’t be long.”

“I can have someone fetch you something—”

“No need. I won’t be but a moment.” Josephine went back inside and up the marble staircase.

She’d just opened the door to the suite when she heard one of her ladies say, “They said Damian found them together on the yacht, in her room, in her bed. He confronted them and things turned ugly. It’s why Damian has been forbidden from coming here.”

Josephine froze, unable to make herself move.

“Not surprised about the love triangle. There has always been some friction between those two,” someone said.

“It doesn’t help that the king has always favored Damian over his own son.”

“And Claudia? Where is Claudia now?”

“Paris, I believe.”

Josephine felt sick. Her legs shook. She put a hand to the wall, trying to steady herself. Was it true, what her ladies-in-waiting were saying? Had Alexander gone to Paris not to see Phillipe but to see Claudia?

Was it possible that Alexander wasn’t who she thought he was?

Closing her eyes, she pictured him downstairs waiting for her next to the sleek sports car, handsome, smiling.

She pictured him as he was when he came to her in the tower...

She remembered how he’d pulled her aside to talk to her in the picture gallery...

Had he been lying to her all those times? Had he been twisting the truth, pretending to be someone he wasn’t?

She didn’t think so. Maybe she was crazy, but she trusted him. She did.

Josephine drew a breath and pushed the door all the way open, silencing the conversation as she stepped into her sitting room. She ignored the startled glances—as well as the fact that the ladies were sitting in her sitting room—and continued on to her bedroom.

Adina jumped up. “Did you forget something?” she asked, following Josephine into the bedroom.

Josephine counted to ten as she went through her wraps and then selected a charcoal-gray pashmina and draped it over her arm. “I have it now,” she said, turning around and heading back out. She didn’t pause until she reached the door to the corridor, and then she glanced back at the three women. “If you’re going to gossip, please do not do it in my rooms. Good night.”

For the first twenty minutes of the drive, Josephine was quiet, replaying the conversation she’d heard in her room, wondering if she should tell him. She didn’t want to spoil the night, and it would certainly spoil the night. She chewed on the inside of her lip, wishing she hadn’t gone back to her room, thinking she would be so much happier right now if she’d never heard any of that.

Alexander shifted and glanced at her. “Is my driving making you nervous?”

“No. Just thinking about something I heard earlier. It was disturbing.”

“Want to tell me?”

“No.” She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “I’m just upset on your behalf.”

He shifted again and braked, pulling off on the side of the road. Alexander faced her. “Tell me, cara. We’re in this together. Let’s do this together.”

“People are talking,” she said quietly after a moment. “Staff. They’re saying you...” She closed her eyes, shook her head. “I can’t say it. I can’t. And I don’t believe it, so it doesn’t matter.”

“But it does matter because clearly it’s upset you.”

She opened her eyes. “They’re saying on the yacht, Damian found you...in bed...with Claudia.”

“What?”

“And that’s why Damian is angry.”

“No.”

“And Claudia is in... Paris.” She looked at him. “Tell me it’s just a coincidence. Tell me you didn’t go to Paris to see her—”

“Absolutely not. I didn’t even know she was in Paris. Furthermore, we weren’t in bed together. I can promise you that. And yes, I know I have memory issues, but there has been nothing between Claudia and me since I ended the relationship, and I haven’t wanted to be with her. I might not remember the trip, but I know me, and I wouldn’t start something with her again, not when she’s involved with my cousin. I hate even discussing Claudia with you, but you must believe me—”

“I do.” She reached out, her fingers light on his cheekbone and then his jaw. “I do. I’m just disgusted by the gossip. I’m disgusted that people in the palace would speak that way about you.”

“Damian grew up in the palace. His father, Aldo, was my father’s twin. I think Damian has always struggled with the fact that my father was born two minutes before his father, making my father the future king and me the heir instead of the other way around.”

“Damian resents you.”

“I think Damian is envious, yes.”

“That explains a great deal,” she murmured, leaning forward to kiss him. “But let’s not let Damian and his green-eyed jealousy ruin our evening, because I’m so happy being out with you. Let’s just savor our night.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Now outside the city, they turned off the main highway onto a narrower rural road, and for the next half hour they threaded thei