"I'm going to have to tell my parents about this now," she muttered. "I was really, really hoping to avoid that."
Alex paused outside the door and glanced at her in surprise. "You haven't told them we're dating?"
The expression on her face was almost insulting. "Of course I haven't. It's not like they'll find out living at Ocean Meadow."
That hurt for reasons Alex most definitely didn't want to examine. "Well. Ready to meet the rest of my family?"
"Not really."
"That's the spirit." He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, fighting the urge to bring it to his lips. "Just remember-their bark is worse than their bite. Mostly."
He pushed the heavy wood door open, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu as they entered the living room. The two white linen couches that faced each other were filled, his parents on one side and siblings and cousins on the other. Great. They'd left the seats next to his parents open.
Nicolette rose, her blonde hair glinting in the light. "Nice of you to join us, son," she said, her Galian accent thicker than he ever remembered hearing it. Not a great sign of how this conversation would go.
Geoffrey rose as well, his shoulders straight and baring regal. Always the king. "What in the blazes happened in there tonight?"
"Calm down, Daddy." Charlotte flitted over to their father, a book tucked underneath one arm. She rose on her tiptoes and kissed Geoffrey on the cheek. No one could calm him down like she could. "I'm sure it was an accident."
"I always thought I'd be the one to get accidentally engaged," Henry joked. "Thanks for taking the pressure off, Alex. Well done, mate."
"I'm sure Alex has an explanation for things," Stefan cut in.
"Yeah," Henry said. "He was distracted by a gorgeous girl again."
Libby stiffened, and Alex moved closer, hoping his presence would offer at least a semblance of comfort. When had they stopped being enemies and become friends? "This mess isn't Libby's fault, any more than it's mine."
"It's somebody's fault," Nicolette shot back.
"Believe it or not, there is such a thing as an accident," Alex countered.
Nicolette threw up her hands and rose to pace in front of the fireplace mantle. "This whole thing has been an accident from the very beginning. Why we thought an American gold digger could be the solution to all of our problems-"
"I am not a gold digger," Libby said hotly, stepping forward. She placed her hands on her hips, face practically glowing with fury. "My ring slipped off. Alex picked it up. This isn't some big conspiracy to become queen."
"Good," Nicolette said, her voice raising. "Because I will die before I see you on the throne. Cleverer women than you have tried to buy their way into this family. Isla didn't succeed, and neither will you."
"I'm not buying my way into anything," Libby protested. "I didn't-"
Alex stepped between his mother and Libby and held up both hands as the outer door opened. "I think we need to all take a deep breath and calm down."
Maggie slipped inside and closed the door behind her. "Excellent idea," she said, pushing her red glasses up the bridge of her nose. "And once we've all done that, we can get down to business. Congratulations on the accidental engagement, Your Highness. Now what are we going to do about it?"
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Libby fought the urge to shrink behind Alex. Hiding in the face of the queen's fury seemed like a wise move, but she refused to cower like a scared rabbit. Hadn't they come to her with this whole crazy idea? She'd done everything they asked of her, completely upending her life to help the royal family out of a bind. And yeah, she was getting paid to do it. But that hadn't made the last month any easier.
Nicolette's glare was intense enough to make Libby sweat. The tone of her voice clearly indicated that Libby was a problem they needed to solve. Even Maggie seemed to be turning on her.
"There's nothing to be done," Alex said, as though sensing the direction of Libby's thoughts.
"Something must be done," Nicolette shot back, her eyes bright with fury. She thrust a finger toward Libby. "You can't marry her."
Ouch. The warm grays of the living room suddenly seemed cold and unfeeling, the soft couch cushions hard.
"Trust me, no one is getting married." Libby held up her hands and noticed they were shaking. When had that happened?
She couldn't marry Alex, no matter how amazing their kiss had been earlier tonight. Between Cedric's betrayal and her parents' impending divorce, the idea was about as appealing as sleeping on concrete. It was bad enough that she'd have to tell her parents about the fake engagement. They'd never forgive her if they found out from someone else, and this news was too big to hide from even Ocean Meadow.
Nicolette snorted, bringing Libby back to the present. Seriously, what was this woman's problem? Libby folded her arms and shifted closer to Alex. His arm came around her shoulder, warm and comforting.
Maybe marrying him wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Her parents would definitely not have to worry about money anymore. The warmth of Alex's lips still lingered on hers, the imprint of the memory making her entire body tingle.
No. She was not getting married. That would be insane.
"We're going to have to move very carefully now," Maggie said, adjusting her glasses. She glanced down at the tablet in her hands, as though maybe it held the answers. "An engagement is … well, I'm not going to lie to everyone. This is pretty serious. The royal family doesn't have the luxury of getting engaged on a whim."
"It wasn't a whim," Alex ground out. "It was an accident."
"Sure it was." One of his brothers-Libby was pretty sure it was Henry-rose from his place on the couch across from them and clapped Alex on the back. "We've all lost our minds a bit around a pretty girl, Alex. No shame in that." He winked at Libby and she couldn't help but smile back. The wink hadn't been flirtatious, but instead meant to put her at ease. At least one member of the royal family didn't hate her.
Maybe two. Alex couldn't kiss her like that if he had no feelings toward her, right? Then again, hate was a feeling. Just not a good one. And that kiss had felt so good.
"Maybe we can keep this news to just tonight's party," Stefan piped up. He sat stiff and tall, his hands resting loosely on his knees. "Tell Sara Greene that Alex and Libby were caught up in the moment. We could ask her to not air the story until they make the news public."
"Right." Charlotte rolled her eyes, relaxing on the couch next to Stefan. She held a book in her hands and her dark hair hung about her shoulders in a smooth curtain. "Because the press is always so willing to bury a story if it might inconvenience us. Brilliant idea, Stefan. Seriously, top notch."
"If you have a better idea, I'm sure we'd all love to hear it," he shot back.
"We cannot tout a free press if we buy their silence whenever it's convenient," Geoffrey said. Stefan and Charlotte fell silent.
Libby glanced around the room and immediately got the sense that Geoffrey usually had the final say in all family matters. "I think we can be reasonably certain that they're going to air the story within the next twenty-four hours. So let's come up with a plan to minimize the damage."
"Very wise, Your Majesty." Maggie clutched the tablet so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Libby knew exactly how she felt. "My recommendation is to make an official announcement first thing in the morning-hopefully before the story airs."
Nicolette continued to pace in front of the fireplace, her steps angry and posture stiff.
Maggie glanced nervously at the queen but continued. "I think we should set up an exclusive interview where Libby and His Highness can sit down with Sara Greene. We'll tell everyone it's been a whirlwind courtship and they're desperately in love. People understand falling in love quickly. It'll make Prince Alexander more relatable and likable, while also planting seeds of doubt about whether the relationship will work. When we eventually call the whole thing off, no one will be surprised."
Libby couldn't get rid of the swooping sensation in her stomach. She felt Alex's eyes on her but couldn't look at him. Did he think she was a gold digging American, too? Hysterical laughter bubbled up and she pressed her lips firmly together. "Can't we just tell everyone this is all a big misunderstanding?"
"You should've considered that possibility before making the whole thing so believable," Nicolette said.
Libby took a calming breath. She pitied whoever Alex did end up marrying, because Nicolette would be a formidable mother-in-law. "We can tell everyone we were caught up in the moment, but realized everything is moving much too fast."