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Chapter One
Macey Clifton gaped out the window of the silver Audi A8. Her boss, Sutton Smith, drove smoothly through the narrow country road of a picturesque mountain valley, past lakes and fields and the most perfect stone homes with flower baskets on each window.
Sutton slowed as he reached the far end of the valley and entered the quaint village of Greenville. The row of shops and restaurants, each two stories with balconies and flowers spilling over the wrought-iron railings, and a perfect stone church with a steeple reaching to heaven, butted up against a peaceful mountain lake. Above the lake, perched on a green knoll and watching over its valley below, was a castle.
A castle! She, Macey Clifton, reclusive nerd who hid from the world in Sutton Smith’s basement command center and made sure every computer program, security protocol, and all the various surveillance equipment worked correctly for the hundreds of security details Sutton and his people were undertaking at any given moment, was going to live in a castle with the royal family of Augustine and pretend to be engaged to the crown prince.
There were many problems with this op, the first one being she was a reclusive nerd.
No, the first problem was that Macey had seen a picture of the crown prince.
“Hyperventilating again,” she muttered.
“Deep breaths,” Sutton counseled, unruffled as ever.
Macey tried. In … and out …
Prince Tristan and each of his five brothers, one of whom was his identical twin, had been blessed with startling blue eyes, welcoming smiles, and insanely handsome faces. They were all sought after by gorgeous, influential, accomplished, and powerful women throughout the world.
None of the princes had married yet, even though Prince Tristan and his twin were thirty years old. Macey wasn’t worried about some jealous female trying to take her out, though that was a possibility. She was concerned how anybody would believe the ultra-good-looking, wealthy, apparently charming prince would choose her. Somehow she had to play the part of confident future princess … future queen … oh boy.
Sutton pulled up to a barrier. A guard holding a Beretta ARX 160 greeted them. It was Augustine’s southern neighbor, the Italians’ choice for a military rifle—versatile, effective, and lightweight—but she knew many other military and police forces had adopted the weapon. Apparently the kingdom of Augustine was one of them.
The soldier was dressed in all-black and looked tough and impressive holding the rifle, but she’d seen many tough and impressive soldiers in her day. Well, retired soldiers. Sutton’s San Diego mansion was a revolving door of tough security men and occasionally women, most of them former military and skilled in the fields of security, protection, weaponry, and fighting. She was friends with all of them, but she had a strict no-dating policy since Steve …
She scowled. Not going there.
The soldier marched up to them, and Sutton rolled down the window. “Pardon, sir, but no private vehicles are allowed access to this road. If you’d like to return to the tourist center, you can book a ticket to view the castle in the enclosed gondola lift that will take you to the top of the mountain.” Even though he looked bored and annoyed, his accent was exotic.
Macey could only imagine how many tourists visiting Europe had tried to access the castle on the hill. It was more majestic than anything she’d seen in real life. Not that she was some expert, as she rarely left her security control center to view much of the outside world, but this was definitely an awe-inspiring sight. From what her research showed, the royals of Augustine used to allow tours in select rooms in the castle and host parties and foreign dignitaries, but their security had increased and their welcome to the outside world had become almost nonexistent after the queen was killed six months ago.
The white marble towering edifice looked to be ten stories tall, with towers and ramparts and spires and balconies and patios. It overlooked the lush green valley below, where several glistening blue lakes dotted the landscape and verdant mountain peaks surrounded the entire scene, framing the back side of the castle. The country of Augustine was in the Swiss Alps, sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria with mountainous peaks as border guards except on the northern tip, which they shared with Germany and where their larger cities were located. She’d never known such beauty truly existed and wasn’t simply a photo-shopped version of an impressive photographer’s still shot.
“Sutton Smith,” Sutton greeted the man with a friendly smile. “I believe King Nolan is expecting me.”
“Oh, yes, sir.” The guard lowered his gun. His hazel eyes filled with interest and respect. He gestured to the gatehouse. When the gate didn’t move, he gritted his teeth. “Pardon me, sir. One moment.” Striding back to the small structure, the man seemed to have barely said two words when the iron gates were swinging inward and out of their way.
“Cheers.” Sutton waved to the guard.
The man bowed slightly, stiff but definitely respectful. “A pleasure, sir.”
“Is there a person on earth who doesn’t move out of the way for Sutton Smith?” Macey teased him. Sutton was her surrogate father, trusted friend, and respected boss all rolled into one. He’d helped her and her brother Gage. She would do anything for him. As evidenced by the fact that she was sitting in this car without hurling herself out the passenger door and running for the safety of those mountains.
“Liz.” He gave her a confident grin.
Macey laughed. “Your wife is far too in love with you.” The sweet angel and former Duchess had been proclaimed the most beautiful woman in the world and now was lauded as the most benevolent. Macey adored Liz, loved seeing Sutton so happy with her, and appreciated their example of a happy marriage. She’d never seen one up close and personal before being around Sutton and Liz. She had seen Liz get after him a time or two, and Sutton had immediately changed course when that happened.
“And I with her.” Sutton was always classy, always kind. Underneath his polished and successful veneer, he was tougher, smarter, more battle-savvy and resilient than anyone she knew. Yet he truly cared for everyone who crossed his path. Liz was at the top of that list. Somehow Sutton made time for everyone, even Macey. She wondered when he slept.
“Yep, you’re a big old softie for Liz,” she teased.
He smiled patiently but didn’t refute her comment. The Audi snaked up the hill, driving through a tunnel of trees and thick undergrowth, leaving the guard station and the little village behind. The ground dropped away to her right, and she sucked in a breath. The view wasn’t the gorgeous valley they’d driven through, but of a deep-blue mountain lake fed by a towering waterfall. The back side of the castle was just visible through the trees.
“Stunning,” Sutton said.
“You know I don’t get out of your basement much,” Macey said as the trees closed in around them again and they wove through them toward the castle. “But this is the most stunning place I’ve ever seen.”
“There are so many impressive spots in this world, but I would agree this is one of the most picturesque. It also feels as if we’ve stepped back in time, which is a novelty I appreciate.”
