Royal Ruse - Emma Lea Page 0,16

propose to Frankie. There was no sound, but it wasn’t hard to tell what was going on, especially when I flashed the diamond ring.

I was having an out-of-body experience…or something. As I watched myself and Frankie on the screen of my mother’s smartphone, I was reliving the entire thing. The way Frankie felt in my arms when I picked her up and swung her around. The way her lips felt when I kissed her. I can’t say it was my finest hour. The kiss was…odd and yet…I wanted to do it again.

I cleared my throat and tried to corral my weird reaction. I needed to get through this breakfast with my parents and explain how I went from supposedly proposing to Clarissa to actually proposing to Frankie.

There was no way I could tell them the truth.

“So?” my mother said. “Details.”

I cleared my throat again. “Clarissa and I broke up,” I said, leaving out the bit where I proposed to her and then she dumped me.

“Well, obviously,” Mother said. “So did you finally realize you’ve been in love with Francesca all this time?”

“She isn’t my first choice for a wife,” Father said from behind his newspaper. “But she comes from an excellent family.”

My mind was racing and I couldn’t keep up with the conversation. I had one of those record-scratch moments when my mother asked me if I realized I was in love with Frankie. I did love Frankie, there was no question about that, but being in love with her? That was kind of ridiculous and I had to hold in a snort.

Falling in love with Frankie would be an exercise in frustration and a sure way to experience heartbreak. I might have had a crush on her for years, but I knew it could be no more than that. Frankie and I were just too different. It surprised me we even worked as friends. Turning our friendship into a romantic relationship would be a disaster and Frankie would end up hating me for all eternity.

“Shush, Demetrius,” Mother said. “Francesca is a little headstrong, but no more so than your own daughter. And her family might not be in our usual social circles, but they are well respected. Besides, Lucas needs someone with a bit of fire. Clarissa was lovely and all, but a little bland. Francesca is perfect.”

It appeared I didn’t need to do anything to convince my mother that Frankie and I were the real deal, even if we were just pretending. I also didn’t expect the unwavering support of my mother. I didn’t think she even liked Frankie.

“Um, so Frankie will go to Kalopsia with me,” I blurted out.

“Of course she will,” Mother said with a twinkle in her eye. “She will keep those filthy gold-diggers away from you.”

I rolled my eyes, but I also made sure my mother couldn’t see me do it. I doubted very much that there would be any gold-diggers trying to seduce me. I wasn’t the guy who attracted that sort of attention—thank God. I didn’t think that would change when I went to Kalopsia.

I stood and ran a hand down my shirt. “I need to get to the office.”

“Invite Francesca to dinner next week,” Mother said. “We need to start planning the wedding.”

I nodded and then fled. I swallowed thickly and clenched my fists to stop them from shaking. Why did I think this would be easy? How were Frankie and I going to pretend to be engaged? I was beginning to think I’d made a stupid mistake and untangling us from it would be harder than just standing up to my parents and telling them I didn’t need a fiancée to go to Kalopsia.

Chapter 5

Francesca

My phone beeped yet again with another notification and I sighed. My phone had been blowing up all morning, and I was about ready to throw it through a window. I hadn’t realized somebody was filming Lucas’ fake proposal, and I really didn’t think they would post it on TikTok of all things. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Lucas’ mother hadn’t then tagged me in it. I could have been blissfully unaware of the social media storm and wouldn’t be interrupted every five minutes when I was trying to study.

My phone beeped again, and I growled as I picked it up to look at the display.

Mom: Did you forget to tell me something?

She attached a link to the TikTok video in her text and I groaned again. That was not how I planned to