“You really do, don’t you?” She tried to grip his wrist, only her fingers didn’t fit all the way around. She scowled, trying to focus on it, but then let out a huff of exasperation. “I really like it here. I love my country. I do. But I have to be on my best behavior all the time. I can’t dance on tables or have hookups or wear anything revealing. Even at university I couldn’t.”

“That would suck.” He didn’t like that this spirited woman had spent a lifetime on lockdown. That’s no way to live. “You can do all that here.”

An image struck him, her stumbling in drunk, late at night, with some random guy on her arm, laughing as she led him into her bedroom.

Fuck, he didn’t like that at all. He had an uncomfortable feeling in his chest that almost felt like indigestion.

But then she gazed up at him, all sweet and vulnerable, and he let it go. Rosie needs to spread her wings? She’s come to the right place.

“I know.” She said it dreamily. “I like that. A lot. And I’m going to do everything. Except…maybe not with tequila.”

“So, what I’m hearing is, I’ve got a Princess gone wild on my hands.”

“Yes.” Her smile flattened. “As long as my identity doesn’t get out.”

“Not to spoil the mood, but how does the fiancé fit into this plan?” He didn’t want to push, but he had a feeling she’d broken up with him. She wouldn’t be talking about hookups if she hadn’t.

Her features tensed, and an unbearable sadness came over her. “Hello, hello, hello.”

Sounded like a terrible impression of echoing. “What’re you doing now?”

“Checking to see if we’re in the vault.”

“We are. Always.” He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what she had to say.

“But, like, this is royal-jewels-in-a-safe level of secret keeping.”

He drew in a breath. Did he really want to go there with her? If he listened to her unload, he’d get involved. And he was trying to keep some distance between them.

But he was drawn to this woman in a way he knew meant he couldn’t deny her anything. So, yeah, he was in. Crawling across the bed, he lay down beside her. “I got you, Rosie. You’re good.”

She rolled towards him. “He did more than double-cross me.” She stroked a finger across his cheek, moving the hair away from his ear and said, “He cheated on me,” in a loud whisper.

The way his body jerked, you’d think someone had taken a cattle prod to him. “That fucker.”

“With my friend. She’s…she was my assistant.”

“They’re both pieces of shit.” Jesus, no wonder the princess was a mess.