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Even though I knew she was irritated with me for not calling, I was thrilled to talk to her. “Kinda both. I was whisked away the moment I got off the plane and between being with Liam and the royal family, I haven’t had a minute to myself. I’m so sorry. I’ve been dying to call you.” My voice trembled and I did everything I could not cry.
“Okay, come on back home. This was a fun experiment, but from the sound of your voice, it was also a terrible mistake. No one is gonna care, we just want you back. A man is not worth this much pain.” God, I loved her.
“No, it’s not Liam, he’s… well he’s been good. It’s just the royal family is no joke. I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Is it just the royal family? Is Liam worth it? How can you even know? Come home, get to work and take some time to figure yourself out.” For some reason, Madison’s suggestion made me mad.
“No, I want to do this. I can do it. I can make this work. I mean, it’s great for publicity. Eventually, this will all be behind me and I can be the former queen of Ireland. Maybe I’ll patent the name and create an haute couture line.” I laughed uncomfortably.
“Well, you do you, Avery, but you know I’m not comfortable with any of this.” I hated the scolding in her tone.
“You may be right, and I may be crazy, but I’m not ready to jump ship just yet. I love you and I know you’ve got a life raft with my name on it if I need one.”
“You know I do. Love you, you crazy fool,” she said before she hung up.
“Great publicity?” Liam stood in the doorway, his imposing frame casting a shadow across the room in the low light.
I nearly jumped out of my skin seeing him standing there. “How much of my conversation did you hear?” I was both terrified and angry.
“Enough.” He didn’t seem mad, which I found surprising.
“You know I’m not doing this for publicity, but after that lunch, I have to admit, I’m not sure what I’m doing this all for.” There were the damn tears.
“Well, my father would ask the same question. I seem to be the only one who knows. I know today was intense, I’m sorry. My family can be very intimidating.”
“Intimidating? You mean annihilating don’t you?”
“I must say you braved them brilliantly. Even to the point where my father has reluctantly given his consent for us to marry. We will be having an engagement party in two months and our wedding date has been set for five months on the sixteenth at the chapel in Hillsborough Castle.”
“All for a fake marriage?” I was so stressed I was starting to tremble.
“It wouldn’t be the first, in fact, I’d say fake marriages among royals are the norm. Most over history have been arranged by families and often the bride and groom met for the first-time days before their nuptials. In some instances, they didn’t even speak the same language. No, our marriage will be in line with most other royal marriages and in the end that is probably why my father eventually gave his consent. Our only real concern is the fact that you have a name, though a small one, in the United States as a fashion designer and you are an American… And you’re not Lady Lucy O’Day.” For some reason, his words hit a sensitive chord.
“So basically, the thing that makes me unique and special in my home country is the thing your father hates the most?” I wanted to draw blood at that point.
“No, my father hates that he didn’t choose you himself. I think you’ve won him over actually and the moment we have a child, he’ll forget he ever protested my marrying you.” Liam had an odd kind of triumph over that fact.
I slumped down into the couch, feeling numb. Liam sat beside me and took up my painful feet, still stuffed into stockings and rubbed my aching toes and arches.
“Wow… we’ll really have to race to have that kid won’t we?” It all felt so wrong.
“I don’t care if our marriage is a sham, at least we can just enjoy our budding friendship and some remarkable sex. Of course, there will be kids, now… later, who cares. It won’t be half as bad as your imagination has painted it. Just let go and let’s give it a whirl. I promise to be the best husband I am able to be. I can keep up my end of the bargain for as long as our marriage shall last and for you, I just want you to enjoy the ride.” He was too damn convincing.
So, I agreed to this crazy thing that we had set in motion. Our engagement announcement party was to be two months from that day. In those two months, Liam and I made love every day and he was right the sex was remarkable. We tried new things and really experimented with each other’s bodies each night growing closer and closer. We spent a lot of time walking the grounds talking about life and our hopes and dreams.
