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“T and I will come walk you to dinner.”
T. Prince Tristan. That was who she was supposed to be faking an engagement to. Faking was much smarter than falling. She was so dumb to think a man like Ray could ever be interested in her for anything more than some teasing, a couple kisses that probably meant nothing to him, and her help with this case.
How would she get through this mission without making a bigger fool of herself than she’d made with Steve? Without her heart exploding like Sutton’s house had?
CHAPTERTEN
Ray had no idea what to think or how to act. He felt as off and confused when Macey wasn’t close by his side, talking to him, sometimes touching him, as he had when his mum died.
He made it through dinner that night, mostly because they had no guests so Kiera felt free to be her adorable and exuberant self. It was almost eerie how the little girl could flip a switch and be the demure princess, but it was one of the things Mum had trained her to do, so she seemed to hang on to it.
They all watched some new animated movie with Kiera in the family area after dinner. Ray didn’t pay one bit of attention to the movie. He heard Macey’s tinkling laugh occasionally and wondered if his brother or Kiera were making her laugh or if the movie was funny. He didn’t know. He stewed the entire time about why Macey was sandwiched between Kiera and T on a loveseat and he was sitting by his dad on a huge wraparound sofa.
After the movie, they all walked back to their suites together, with T keeping the conversation going as Ray didn’t know what to say.
When he and his brother were alone in T’s suite, his twin once again tried to get Ray to admit he was falling for Macey. He had to stay very strong to keep the farce up and not beg T to change places with him until Macey fell in love with him.
The next morning, he worked out by himself at four a.m. T called for him to work out together at six, but Ray was already showered and dealing with emails and issues he had to deal with before taking the day off. He had two of the guards follow T up to the gym with instructions to shadow the crown prince until Ray spelled them off.
By ten minutes after ten, he was halfway caught up, hadn’t eaten breakfast, and T was calling him again, saying he and Macey were waiting in the garage for him. Oh, they were waiting together, were they? That was what was supposed to happen. Them together. Macey protecting T when Ray couldn’t. He had no idea why it made him so upset. Okay, he did, but he couldn’t let this draw to Macey consume him.
Macey was an incredible lady, but she was here for T. Ray’s country and family needed him to focus right now. He also had a niggling worry that Macey wasn’t ready for a relationship. She’d obviously been through something hard—had been damaged, maybe? The way she’d said, ‘it’s awful to be afraid,’ in that trembling voice had wrenched at his heart.
He’d known hard work learning and preparing for his career, and he’d felt fear of his commanding officers or when he’d been lost in the mountains as a child, but not real fear—the fear that had made Macey’s voice tremble and her eyes fill with it. Why? What wasn’t she sharing with him? She’d shared about Steve—he hated that guy—and she’d shared that she usually hid behind large glasses and frumpy clothes. At first that revelation had been a relief because she wasn’t dating all those men, but knowing she was hiding from pain and fear had hurt deep inside.
He stood swiftly, clenching his fists. It shouldn’t matter, couldn’t matter, not to him. He wasn’t the one who had the privilege of being engaged to her. He wasn’t the one she should share secrets with, the man who could shelter her from pain and help her heal. His responsibilities had to take priority over his need to help Macey, be there for Macey, hold Macey, kiss Macey. He growled deep in his throat.
Today he’d have to watch her and T pull off the act around a whole lot of people who would probably know if they tried to switch again. His troops knew him. He’d trained them and evaluated them, and they might have a hard time guessing between him and T, but they’d figure it out. Besides, T hadn’t offered to switch again. Why not? Did he want his own shot at Macey? Was he becoming enamored with her too? Since Ray wouldn’t admit he was falling for her maybe T thought her heart was fair game?
Ray hurried down the stairs and past the kitchens, waving to Malory, their head of housekeeping, and Grace, their head cook, but not stopping to say hello like he usually would. The kitchens and Malory’s office were bright and state-of-the-art with large windows as they weren’t underground at all. Mum had updated the below levels with the rest of the castle and the family liked their sparse staff.
He burst through the doors into the massive garage filled with luxury cars, trucks, sport utilities, side-by-sides, four-wheelers, road bikes, and dirt bikes. T was pressed close to Macey, and they were talking animatedly. Ray’s stomach twisted and his heart felt like it had fissures in it.
They turned to him. Macey’s dark eyes were all lit up. They weren’t playing for any crowd down here. T didn’t even have the grace to look guilty for being so close to her.
Ray’s fist clenched. His brother didn’t need to feel guilty. Macey was supposed to be in his arms and Ray kept claiming he wasn’t interested in her. Bile rose in his throat.
“T says I can pick any car, and I can drive,” she announced happily. Oh, it was ‘T’ now? Ray had rather liked how she called his twin his full name but shortened his own.
“Oh?” He forced a smile. “So beautiful American computer specialists know weapons, how to fight, and they can drive?”
“Can they drive?” She puffed herself up and gave him a challenging look, still smiling. The effect was adorable. “That clinches the decision. We’ll take the Bugatti Chiron. Unfortunately we’ll have to take the four-door, not the Super Sport, so I’ll have to top out at two-hundred and thirty-six miles per hour, not break the three-hundred mile per hour like I could in the sport.”
T laughed, but Ray just stared at her in wonder. She really did know weapons and cars. Her laugh was like angels’ bells. Her dark eyes captivated him. She was a mix of sweetness and confidence that had never been matched. His perfect woman stood in front of him. With his brother’s arm brushing hers, wearing his mum’s ring, and engaged to his perfect twin.
He was going to be sick.
“Impressive,” he muttered.
“I haven’t impressed you yet.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave him a sassy look. He knew she was only playing. Macey wasn’t really sassy. He felt like he knew her so well, and he wanted to tell her she’d impressed him over and over again the past two days. Had he impressed her? With his lips?
He hurried toward the sleek silver four-door luxury car and opened the driver’s door for her. She walked away from T and Ray breathed a little easier without his twin too close to her.
Her sweet scent tantalized him as she smiled and slid into the car. She was wearing a blousy short-sleeved white shirt and stretchy black pants with red high heels. Beautiful, but that was only part of her appeal.
He stepped back to the rear door. T met his gaze over the top of the car. “Impressive,” he mouthed, winking obnoxiously before sliding into the passenger seat. Next to Macey.
Ray loved his brother, but he desperately needed to knock him on his butt. He slid into the car and tried to go into military mode, focus on their surroundings, his men tailing them in a Range Rover, any other dangers.
