Best Friend To Princess Bride

Kara continued to hold his stare.

‘Look, I just like to be careful who I trust. You’ve done pretty much the same since Nick,’ he argued.

‘Agreed, but then I’m not the one who now needs to marry. Maybe if you had been more open to those few women you actually dated over the years, willing to trust them, then you wouldn’t have to resort to asking your friend to marry you.’

Edwin stood and, pacing the tiny floor space of her kitchen, raised his hand in exasperation. ‘Like how I trusted Salma Rosucci?’

Kara winced. ‘I’ll admit it was unfortunate that Salma told the paparazzi you were holidaying together in Sardinia.’ Biting back a smile, she added, ‘On the positive side, the photos they took of you sunbathing cheered up millions of women across Europe.’

Edwin scowled. Then, walking towards her, he placed a hand on the countertop next to her and asked with quiet pride, ‘Would marrying me be that bad?’

For a moment something deep inside her wanted to say no, that marrying him would be…would be okay. Better than okay, in fact. She would get to spend her days with him. Would that be such a bad thing? But then logic kicked in. Picking up the teapot, she poured tea into all four cups. ‘The media are going to go crazy.’

‘Let them. They’ll soon come to recognise what an incredible person you are.’

‘They’ll eat me alive first. I can see the headlines—“Prince Edwin to Marry Builder’s Daughter.” Or how about, “Why is Kara Duffy Marrying Billionaire Prince Edwin?” And what will your family say?’

‘Luis and Ivo don’t care about what I do—they’re too busy leading their own lives.’

‘And what about your father?’

‘He doesn’t have the right to an opinion. He may have forced my hand on marriage but he has no say in who I marry.’

Kara buried her head in her hands. ‘In other words, he’s not going to be happy when he finds out you’ve chosen me.’ At best Kara would have said his father was indifferent to her whenever she visited the palace, and there were certainly times when he seemed to think she was an annoying creature sent to test his patience. ‘I know he still blames me for that time I went out racing with you both and cost you the competition because I was so seasick we had to go back to the marina.’

‘As I’ve said before, don’t take it personally—my father is cantankerous with everyone. Including his own children.’

‘But he rarely speaks to me and the last time I visited the palace he called me Salma…not only does he not know my name but he also mistakes me for one of your ex-girlfriends. Does he know you want to marry me?’

‘No.’

A thought snaked its way into her brain. ‘Asking me to marry you wouldn’t be your way of getting back at your father, would it?’

Unbelievably he grinned at that. ‘I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it could be an added bonus.’

Shaking her head at the constant tension that existed between Edwin and his father, she pushed a cup along the counter towards him. ‘I’d almost be tempted to say yes, just to witness first-hand how you and your father manage the succession; you’ll drive each other insane with your alpha-male jostling.’

She carried the other two cups to the front door.

Edwin followed her. ‘Alpha-male jostling. Where the hell did you get that idea from?’

She laughed at his indignation. ‘It’s a constant battle between you two—can’t you see that? You and your father are too alike—that’s why you clash. You both always want to be in control, the decision maker, the leader.’

He gave her a disbelieving look. ‘No, we clash because my father is stubborn and work obsessed.’ Indicating the teacups, he added, ‘You know, you really don’t need to give tea to Domenico and Lucas.’

‘So you pointed out the last time you visited, and the time before that. And several times before that too. I hate the thought of them sitting out there in the cold with nothing to drink.’

Unlatching the door, instead of standing aside to allow her to go outside, Edwin took the cups from her. ‘I’ll bring them out—you should be resting. And making tea for the protection team will be a definite no when you’re a princess.’

‘I hate to point out the obvious, but I haven’t agreed to be a princess.’

He gave her a grin. ‘Not yet. But you will.’

He stepped outside. She called out, ‘And you think your father’s stubborn,’ before going into the sitting room, where she turned on some table lamps against the fading light of the day and then lit the fire before going back into the kitchen to fetch their teacups.

Back in the hallway, she met Edwin on his way back in and she gestured for him to follow her into the sitting room.

She took a seat on the occasional chair beside the fire. Edwin carried a low stool from beneath the window and placed it before her. She lifted her leg onto the stool, wincing at the tightness that gripped her thigh.

Edwin sat on the sofa facing the fire, tucking a leg under himself, an arm running along the back of the navy sofa that was too small for his bulk. The flames from the fire cast shadows on his face. And then his eyes met hers. Silently he waited for her answer.

‘I can’t marry you, Edwin.’

‘Why?’

‘Where do I start? My background. What if something goes wrong? I like being your friend. I don’t want to lose that.’

He shifted forward in his seat, his eyes holding hers all the time. ‘I promise never to hurt you.’

Edwin always kept his word, but what if he couldn’t do so in this instance? Sometimes, despite their best intentions, people hurt each other. Not in a deliberate way like Nick, but purely due to human fragility. Look at what had happened between her parents. At first Kara had stood on the sidelines, bewildered and frightened, watching their pain and guilt and dismay over losing Michael destroy their love for one another. They had once loved each other. She was certain of that. But just not enough to counter the tsunami of grief losing Michael had caused. Her dad had looked to her mum for support, but she had pushed him away. Day after day she had watched her mum turn her back on her dad, grow more remote and uninterested in everything, while her dad had become more desperate, constantly trying to get through to her, to make things okay. Eventually, and not surprisingly, her dad had stopped trying, and had become bitter and defensive. It was the speed of it all that still astounded her: within weeks their family life had been stripped away and they were behaving no differently to three strangers living under one roof.

‘What are you most scared of?’

She stared into the fire, considering his question, and then studied her ring-free fingers. Nick had given her a ring to mark their anniversary of dating for a year. He used to sulk when she didn’t wear it. She hadn’t worn a ring for years. The thought of even doing so now made her wince.

She understood why it was so important to Edwin to marry and she hated not being in the position to help him on this one occasion that he had asked for her support, so, despite the tightness in her throat, the wave of vulnerability rolling through her, no matter how sickening it was to have to rake up old memories, the least he deserved was her honesty. ‘I’m scared of feeling suffocated, losing myself in a relationship, even in a marriage of convenience.’

‘I’m not following.’

She swallowed, the ability to talk suddenly vanishing. ‘After Michael…well, you know how crazy my life got for a while…’ she tucked her hands under her legs, liking the way her thighs squashed the tingling in her hands at the memory of Nick’s ring on her finger ‘…too much partying and drinking and getting into relationships and friendships that weren’t healthy.’

Edwin shrugged. ‘You were trying to work things out.’

She exhaled, remembering how much it had cut her to see Edwin’s disappointment each time he had learnt of yet another of her long litany of disastrous acts and decisions in the years after Michael’s death. Studying him, she bit her lip, wondering if she could dredge up the courage to ask the one question she’d always wanted to ask him, but never had the guts to—why he stuck around. She couldn’t bear the thought that it was just because he pitied her. ‘You were incredibly patient with me back then.’

Moving even further into his seat, he placed his forearms on his knees, his hands clasped, his gaze holding hers. Her heartbeat rose and rose as the seconds passed. ‘You were hurting.’

She blinked. Nodded, her throat knotted with emotion. Was it losing his mother that made him so empathetic to how deeply she had grieved Michael?

‘Once I graduated and moved here to Brighton for work, I thought for a while that I had my life under control. Mum and Dad’s divorce had gone through and I wasn’t having to constantly deal with their arguments. I was enjoying work and I had my own little flat, which I loved. But I knew nobody here in Brighton. And then you moved back to Monrosa.’ Picking up her teacup, she held the warm porcelain in her hands. ‘With you out of the country I didn’t even have someone to give me earache about my lack of judgement.’

Edwin smiled. ‘Not earache, guidance.’

With a deep inhale she admitted, ‘And then I met Nick. He seemed to be everything I was looking for—really attentive, and he wanted to be with me all the time. Our relationship made me feel safe.’

She shuffled her chair a few inches away from the fire, a burning, embarrassed heat flaming inside her, knowing she needed to continue her explanation as to why relationships terrified her. ‘It’s hard to explain, but over time I began to realise that he was just too into me. He was constantly texting and calling me. Most evenings he came around here. He’d get angry when I had to work late or if I wanted to go out with work colleagues. He started to call me several times a day. Wanting to know where I was and who I was with. He said he called just to make sure I was okay. And then about a year into our relationship he entered a phase where he’d blow all hot and cold. One day he’d be kind and attentive and the next day he’d totally ignore me. I never knew where I stood with him and it utterly confused me.’

Edwin’s nostrils flared.

She could understand his anger.

She rubbed the back of her neck. Would she ever stop feeling embarrassed for being so clueless? Would she ever stop feeling somehow responsible for Nick’s behaviour?

‘My self-confidence took a dive. I lost all direction and sense of myself. I felt so confused. You probably won’t remember this, but you came to visit after you had attended a financial summit in London. You knew something was wrong, so I pretended I was sick and just generally stressed out by work, and you insisted I take some annual leave. You brought me back to Monrosa to stay in your family’s villa in the mountains.’

‘I remember. You said it was a virus—you never said anything about Nick.’

‘I didn’t really understand myself what the matter was. I just had this overwhelming sense of panic. So I thought it was something physically wrong with me—some type of stress response to missing my parents and being so busy with work. What I failed to face up to was how destructive my relationship with Nick was.’ Kara swallowed at how Edwin’s mouth was pulled into a tight line, anger sparking from his eyes.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

Because I didn’t want you to know that I had messed up once again. I wanted you to see me as a peer. Not Michael’s little sister who kept tripping up in life and needing your help.

‘It was during my week in Monrosa that the idea to set up a charity started to form in my mind. I thought about Michael and how he struggled in university. And how I had struggled when I moved to Brighton, away from everything that was familiar to me. I wondered if there could be more support and awareness-building for young adults on managing major transitions and their mental health. I also faced up to the fact my relationship with Nick wasn’t healthy, so I broke up with him when I returned to England.’

His eyes narrowing, Edwin asked, ‘How did he take that?’

Grimacing, Kara admitted, ‘Let’s just say it took him a while to accept it.’

Edwin let out an angry breath. ‘Did he harass you?’

‘I had to block his number.’

Edwin sat forward, rolling his shoulders, his expression perplexed. ‘Why didn’t you ask for my help?’

‘Pride and embarrassment, along with a dash of disbelief.’

Edwin threw his head back and studied the ceiling before returning his gaze to her. ‘I wish you had told me.’ Then, with integrity burning brightly in his eyes, he said quietly, ‘I understand why you’d be cautious about getting into a relationship again and I swear to you I would never hurt you…but I get it, Kara. I’m not going to try to persuade you into something you don’t want to do.’

Oh, thank God.

But boy, did she feel guilty.

‘Is there anyone else you can ask?’

‘There’s no one else I can trust.’

She leant back in her chair feeling weak with the simple sincerity of his softly spoken words. ‘I know how much this means to you.’

‘It’s my problem to sort out, not yours.’

‘Can you challenge the new law your dad passed?’

‘I’ve spent the past month trying to do just that. He’s refusing to budge.’ He stood and moved towards the door. ‘I need to go back to Monrosa tonight.’ Turning, he added, ‘Thanks for listening and I hope you can understand why I asked you—people respond to you so positively. Despite what people might like to think, being a royal requires a strong work ethic, empathy and above all the ability to be a strong role model—and you have those qualities in bucket loads.’

Was that how he saw her? Really? Not the chaotic young adult who tested his patience endless times, or the charity CEO with a propensity to over-commit?

‘I assume it’ll be a temporary arrangement…if you find someone to marry.’

He paused and considered her for a moment. ‘I can see no reason why it couldn’t be permanent.’

‘But what if you meet someone else? Actually fall in love?’

‘I have liked being single and not being tied down, but that doesn’t mean I won’t stay true to my marriage vows. This may be a working marriage but I will respect the marriage even more for that. I will respect that whoever marries me will do so in good faith and deserve my utmost loyalty.’

Thrown, she asked, ‘But what of your father’s wish for grandchildren? How is that going to happen?’

A hint of a smile lifted on his lips. ‘Are you asking me for a sex-education lesson?’

‘No!’

‘I’ve told my father he may have forced my hand in marrying but that he has no say in whether or not I have children.’

‘How did he react to that?’

‘He was surprisingly unperturbed. I can’t help but think he didn’t want to give away his annoyance that he hadn’t included the need for children to be born in the marriage to be part of the succession rules.’

Edwin left the room and, lost for words, Kara studied her hands. They were shaking. How hadn’t she noticed that before now? His footsteps echoed on the tiles of the kitchen floor. He came back into the sitting room, shrugging on his jacket. She moved in the chair to stand. He gestured for her not to.

As usual he went to give her a hug goodbye.

But rather than hug her for the normal quick squeeze they usually shared, he laid his hands gently on her shoulders, their warmth seeping into her bones, his cheek brushing against her hair. Pinpricks of awareness bubbled on her skin. An air of sadness, almost vulnerability, surrounded him.

She went stock still. How much must it have taken Edwin to ask her to marry him—this proud, self-sufficient man who never asked for help or support? A whoosh of admiration for him hammered through her. Edwin would have agonised over this and would not be asking her to marry him lightly. He really mustn’t have another option. She knew what it meant to him to succeed to the throne. All his ambitions for Monrosa. Her head swam with all the reasons why saying no was the only sane thing to do. But how could she turn him down when he had been her lifeline so many times before?

He straightened. Her heart beating like a trapped butterfly, she tried to keep her voice steady. ‘I’ll give you two years. After that we can divorce. Anything less would seem…unbecoming.’

‘Are you saying yes?’

‘I think so.’

Edwin pulled her into a hug, his arms holding her tight. Her head swam again. His chest was solid warmth, his scent the usual reminder of the mountain forests of Monrosa.

When he pulled away his gaze held hers. ‘I need to leave for my flight. Think about your answer overnight. Call me tomorrow. I don’t want you rushing into a decision you may later regret.’

With that he left the room and a few seconds later she heard the front door open and quietly shut. She let out a long exhale and clenched her shaking hands. Her gaze ran around her sitting room. This was her home. Was she really prepared to move away from this life she had built for herself to live in a country where she would know no one other than her pretend husband?

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