Behind Palace Doors(3)

"Why did you wait so long to ask me?"

"Honestly I thought I could find a way around this." God knows he'd  exhausted every avenue looking for one. "When I realized I couldn't, I  knew I had only one option. You are the one person in my life I'd ever  trust with something so personal, so serious."

She laughed. "I'd do anything for you, Stefan, you know that, but this  is asking a lot. What about the people of your country? Won't they feel  let down if we end the marriage? And how will this work out after your  coronation? Will the country still remain yours?"

"No, my people won't feel let down," he assured her. "I will still be  their leader. I will still keep control over my country. I just need the  title to do so, which is where you fit in."                       
       
           



       

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" She crossed her legs  and shifted her body toward his. "You can't expect me to put my life on  hold for six months. I'm a busy woman, Stefan."

He'd always admired her take-charge attitude and the way she matched  him in this volley of wills. Not to mention the fact the woman was  classy and beyond sexy.

Just as when he'd been in his late teens, Victoria Dane made his gut  clench and still made him want her as more than a friend. But years ago  he'd attempted to pursue her into something sexual. She hadn't taken him  seriously, so to keep his ego intact, he played it off like he had  indeed been joking. And the second time he'd been ready to take charge,  she'd been in a relationship. But now she was free.

"I know you're busy, and I'm not trying to take your life away, but I  do have something to offer you." He edged forward, taking her hand in  his. "You'll get to show the world that you are stronger than the poor,  humiliated woman they are making you out to be. The woman the media has  portrayed as being overshadowed by her brothers and jilted by her  fiancé. If you do this, not only will you design your wedding gown for  this day, this could help you launch that bridal line you've been  wanting. Make a play off the fairy tale of being a queen, if you like."

Her eyes darted back to the ocean. The sun was just starting to set,  and Stefan knew as far as proposals went, this was probably the least  romantic. But her apparent inner war with herself only told him that she  was indeed considering his offer.

"I can practically see your mind working." He hoped she was leaning  toward a yes decision. "This is a win-win for both of us, Victoria."

"Your way of thinking is not very Greek," she told him. "Aren't you all known for love?"

He laughed, squeezing her hand. "I think you know how passionate I can be about something I want."

She looked down at their joined hands. His dark, tanned skin next to  her pinker complexion made for quite the contrast. But when she looked  up into his eyes, he knew she wasn't going to deny him.

"You've always been determined," she whispered. "That's something I can  understand. With my recent scandal and public embarrassment, I was  adamant to get back on track, to take control of my life."

He waited, not wanting to interrupt as she guided her own words down the path toward everything he wanted.

"And what about the sleeping arrangements?" she asked, her wide eyes seeking his for answers.

Stefan laughed. "You know, you live in Hollywood where sin flows as  freely as wine in my country, and you're blushing at the subject of us  sharing a bed. I'm wounded."

Obviously this was something she hadn't expected, but he wasn't going  to push. Yes, he'd desired her for years, but he wanted her to come to  him. To realize that maybe something spectacular could happen between  them behind the bedroom door.

He stroked his thumb over the soft skin on the back of her hand. "We'll  have to share a room to keep up the pretense with the staff."

Her heart beat hard against her chest, and Victoria couldn't help the  image that immediately popped into her head of the two of them entangled  in satin sheets in a king-size bed. She knew that his dark skin was  part of his heritage and not from lounging by the pool-which meant he  would be lean and golden brown all over. There were rumors of hidden  tattoos-some she'd seen, some she hadn't. The man simply exuded  mysteriousness and sex. He'd been her best friend as a teen, and even  though circumstances had gotten in the way of them seeing each other the  past couple years, their phone calls and emails had kept that line of  friendship open.

"I just don't know," she muttered aloud. "I'm scared of what this will do to us."

"We'll be stronger than ever," he assured her with a devastatingly  handsome smile. "We've spent too many of the past years apart. Let's  just focus on the fact we'll be together like old times. I need you,  Tori."

Was she really about to risk more scandal and the bond she shared with  Stefan? Yes, because he meant that much to her, and if the tables were  turned, she knew he'd drop everything to help her. Besides, she was a  member of the prestigious Hollywood Danes; it wasn't as if scandal  hadn't been part of her life before.

For years she'd been in the spotlight as the sister of Hollywood's  hottest producer and daughter of the Grand Dane-her mother's  Hollywood-dubbed nickname. The threat of scandal followed her family  everywhere.                       
       
           



       

Stefan's family had also had their share of scandal surrounding his  mother's death years ago. His loyalty to his family-and his country-to  maintain control of the crown was everything to him. And she completely  understood family loyalty.

As she thought about it, Victoria was liking Stefan's proposal more and  more. How could she not consider showing the world she could still come  out on top-and with a sexy Greek prince, at that?

When Alex had put a ring on her finger, she'd been so determined to  have a lasting, loving marriage like her mother, her brothers. Victoria  didn't want pity, didn't want people looking at her as though she may  fall apart if they brought up the broken engagement. Unfortunately,  that's exactly what her family and friends were doing. But Stefan faced  the topic head-on and didn't back down. He wasn't treating her like some  wilted flower, but as a woman who was tougher than what most people  thought.

Victoria was determined to come out stronger on the other side of this  scandal. She was going to prove to everyone, including herself, that her  iconic mother and hot-shot brothers were not the only ones who could  rise above anything life threw at them.

She looked down at her hand joined with Stefan's, knowing they could  help each other...just like always. The arrangement was just on a larger  scale than anything they'd ever confronted.

This proposition Stefan blindsided her with may truly be the answer to  get everyone to stop throwing sympathy her way, to see that she was fine  and had made her life her own. Not to mention she could use the  publicity to help establish her bridal line, as he'd suggested. What  better way to launch it than to design the royal wedding dress and wear  it?

"You're thinking too hard," Stefan joked. "Go with your gut, Victoria.  You know this is going to work. I won't let anything happen to you."

She looked into his vibrant eyes, confident he would do anything to  keep her from facing heartache again. And that made his proposal even  more appealing.

There was no denying the man was beyond sexy. He'd been dubbed the  Greek Playboy Prince by all the media outlets for years. But Alex had  been just as handsome, just as cocky...until he'd confessed he'd been  using her for her family name to help further his acting career. Of  course the truth had only come out after he'd impregnated another woman  and had to call off the engagement.

Oh, how could she even sit here and compare the two men? Alex wasn't even worth her thoughts, and Stefan was everything to her.

Another look into his smiling eyes and Victoria nearly laughed. Stefan  had been up-front and honest with her because that's the type of friend  he was. What he was proposing was nothing like what Alex had done to  her. Other than this marriage, what could she offer Stefan that he  couldn't get himself? He certainly wasn't a rising actor like Alex had  been. How could she deny him when she knew he was in a vulnerable state  and he trusted only her?

"I'd expect you to be faithful, even if this is pretend," she told him.

"I assure you, you will have my undivided attention."

Swallowing the doubts and throwing caution to the wind, Victoria smiled. "Stefan, I'd be honored to marry you."





     Two

Stefan had invited Victoria to stay in the palace so they could get  some alone time to reconnect in ways that phone calls and emails  couldn't provide. They had to attempt to make this seem like the real  thing because the media would definitely pick up on any  uncomfortableness between them if every touch, every lingering gaze  didn't look authentic-like they were secret lovers.