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“We’ll go to the military center tomorrow with T, but then we can start interviewing people if you like.”
“Okay.” She smiled and pushed on the door handle.
“Macey.” Ray’s hand on her arm stopped her.
Her stomach pitched. “Yes?”
“You’ve been through … something hard that you don’t want to talk about.”
Her eyes widened, but she nodded. She might not be ready to tell him all her sordid background, but she could admit she’d been through something hard.
“I want to be here for …” His voice trailed off. His blue eyes filled with conflicting emotions, and he released her arm.
Macey wished he’d said ‘you.’ He seemed to be interested in her like she was him, but he kept closing himself off. He was probably keeping his distance for the fake engagement—or was that just the excuse she was making up for him? What did she know about relationships? Maybe it was just her that wasn’t the right fit.
“I’d love to listen if you ever need someone to talk to,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said almost automatically. He was a great guy who wanted to help, but he didn’t want to be with her. She wasn’t surprised, and she didn’t blame him. She’d only been in this fairytale castle with the handsome prince—or rather princes—for two days now. It was incredible. Ray was incredible, and being with him made her think this was her spot, her home.
But that was a delusion. She wasn’t meant to be here. She needed to figure out who had murdered his mom or prove it was suicide, figure out who was threatening Tristan, and then she could get out of here. Back to her cave. Back to the command center. Normal life. Work. Hiding behind her glasses. Not seeing Ray.
Tears stung her eyes. She pushed the handle and hurried into the room, shutting it on his next words.
“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?
Chapter Ten
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.
