Page 4 of Royal Heir (Westerly Billionaire 3)
A man showed up beside Westerly and said something into his ear. Westerly nodded and said, “I have to go. Stay away from my sister.” He left without making sure that would happen.
Westerly had been smart enough to not have security attempt to remove Magnus. Talking the cocky actor into visiting his country would not be easy, but few negotiations were. Westerly wanted something, and when Magnus figured it out, he’d have the upper hand.
His attention returned to the woman beside him. Rather than still be angry, she looked hurt. He didn’t like the idea he might have put that expression on her face. “Are you okay?”
She clasped her hands in front of her and blinked a few times quickly. “I didn’t have a chance to tell him why I’m here.”
It was a curious comment. “I’m sure he knows.”
She spun on him. “You’re sure about a lot of things that are wrong. I’m not a prostitute, and my brother doesn’t know how I feel, but he needs to. At least I thought he did. I hoped I could make things better by coming here. Now I’m not so sure.” She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
He put a hand on her lower back and began to guide her across the room. “Come, I see a chocolate fountain in the corner. It’ll make you feel better.”
She started huffing again. “That’s so sexist I should slap you again. Your arrogance needs a trim.” She frowned, and in a calmer voice said, “No, that’s wrong. Violence is never the answer. I shouldn’t have slapped you.”
“I accept your apology.”
She stopped in her tracks and turned toward him. “Well?”
She really was a stunning woman. “Well, what?”
“This is where you apologize.”
He chuckled. Outside of his father, no one spoke to him in that authoritative tone. She was fire and honey. He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “I sincerely apologize for offering to rescue you from a life of illicit hookups. I must admit, however, to never having been more relieved to have been mistaken. Now that I know you could come to the decision of your own free will, I would love to spend the night bringing you pleasure.”
She tensed beneath his hand, but he saw passion in her eyes. “You heard what my brother said. He told you to stay away from me.”
Magnus shrugged. “Words. He doesn’t care. If he did, he wouldn’t have left you standing with me.”
She gasped and shoved him away. The hurt in her eyes took him by surprise. “Don’t say that. Don’t you dare say my brother doesn’t care about me. In fact, don’t say anything else. Just stay the hell away from me.”
She strode off, and he let her. He hadn’t meant to imply her brother didn’t care about her, merely that he didn’t care about them being together.
His instincts had been correct about one thing—any involvement with her would be messy and emotionally charged. He’d be better off focusing on his reason for attending the premiere.
He wasn’t leaving London until Westerly agreed to visit Finn in the hospital. All things considered, he shouldn’t leave without Westerly beside him on the plane. He had told Finn he’d meet Water Bear Man, and that was exactly what was going to happen.
Chapter Three
Rachelle did what any self-respecting, mature woman would do after being mistaken for a prostitute and slugging a prince. She found the nearest exit that didn’t lead to where the paparazzi were and stepped out into the night, propping the door open behind her. If she were a smoker, she would have been puffing away. If she were a drinker, she would have grabbed a bottle of something and been well on her way to the bottom of it. I don’t even know any really good swears.
She took out her phone and called Alisha, her best friend back home. Thankfully, despite Rachelle’s initial negative response to Alisha falling in love with Brett right after Spencer found out the truth about his paternity, they’d remained friends. Good friends didn’t require perfection. Best friends shook sense into you when you needed it.
I need it now.
Alisha answered in a whisper. “Hey, Rach. I just put Linda down for a nap. Let me go downstairs so she can’t hear me.”
“Okay.”
With a groan of satisfaction, Alisha said, “Ah. Peace. It may have been a mistake to sit down on the couch, because I didn’t get any sleep last night. So if I start snoring, yell at me.”
Simply hearing Alisha’s voice had Rachelle feeling a little better. “If you want to take a nap, we can talk later.”
“No. No. I need adult conversation. I’m just warning you that I’m flying with one engine today. So, how is Eric?”
If nearly anyone else had asked, Rachelle would have softened the truth, but that was another wonderful thing about having a best friend who was like a sister—Rachelle had never felt she needed to hide anything from Alisha. “I don’t know if I should have come here. What was I thinking?”
“You were thinking you wanted to get to know your brother. Flying over to stay with him was a bold move, but sometimes life requires leaps of faith. Are you still staying with him?”
“Oh, I’m in his house, but it’s been a week, and I’ve spoken to his staff more than I’ve spoken to him.” Deep breath. “I’m actually at his premiere tonight.”
“That’s fantastic.”
“Yes and no. He didn’t invite me, but I came anyway. Then I assaulted someone, and now I’m hiding in the side alley.”
“This doesn’t sound like you.”
“I know. I met a code red, and then I may have publicly slapped him across the face.”
“May have?”
“Fine. I slapped him, but he thought I was a prostitute or something. I knew this dress was a little tight, but really? Really? A prostitute?”
Alisha laughed. “Okay. Rewind. I need to hear this story from the beginning.”
Rachelle laid it all out for Alisha, not prettying up any part of it. She wasn’t looking for approval from Alisha as much as the kind of guidance a good friend can give you when she has all the facts. Well, all the facts that mattered. She left off the part where she’d stood there on the red carpet, drooling over a prince.
“So, here I am. Do I go back in? Do I go home? I used to trust my instincts and follow my heart. Mark always said if you made a decision based on love, it couldn’t be wrong. I don’t know if I’m here for the right reasons. Am I really here for Eric, or is this about me?” She closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall. “When I think about how I treated you last year, I feel guilty calling about this shit.”
“Stop, Rachelle. We talked that through. Of course you wanted to protect your mother. Of course you were concerned about Spencer. I look back at that time and see a hundred ways I could have handled the situation better. We can’t go back and change what we did, but we made it through. And we’re all still here. You can love someone and still need something for yourself. That doesn’t mean your intentions aren’t good. Brett said if anyone can reach Eric, it’s you. I agree. You love with all your heart. You fight for people, and sometimes you make mistakes, but we all do. Don’t change. I love you just the way you are.”
Rachelle blinked back tears. She didn’t want to add looking like a raccoon to how the evening was going. “Thank you. Linda is lucky to have a mom like you. When did you get so wise?”
“Wise? I don’t know about that, but I do know you. I know your heart. I’ve also learned a few things about love lately. It requires trust—and faith. You know why you’re in London. Even if Eric isn’t responding to you yet, have faith that he will. I’ve seen you reach students no one else could because you don’t give up. So, what do I think? I think you’re where you’re supposed to be.”
Opening her eyes, Rachelle looked around at the trash cans. “Technically, I’m still in an alley.”
“Okay, so physically, you’re not where you should be—but you know what I mean.”
“I do. Thank you, Alisha. You don’t know how much I needed this.”
“Oh, we’re not done. I want to hear ever
y last detail about this code-red guy. I mean everything. You leave something out and I’ll fly over there to kick your ass. Got it?”
Rachelle chuckled. “Got it. I’d also like to start by apologizing for doubting that code reds exist. I thought you were exaggerating how you felt about Brett.” She described seeing Prince Magnus for the first time and then where their conversation had led.
“It’s like I said—when it’s the right one, you know. Nothing else compares to it.”
