European Billionaire Beaus: The Complete Series Read online

  “What they need is family.” It came out more urgently than she’d intended. “Consistency of family, Prince Armin. A schedule is well and good, but it’s the people in our lives we count on.”

  A skeptical grin turned up the corner of his mouth. “Are you sure about that?”

  “A hundred percent. Think about it. It’s one afternoon. They won’t become uneducated miscreants if they have fun with their dad every once in a while.”

  Something flashed in Armin’s eyes at those words. “Won’t they?”

  “They won’t,” she assured them. “Unless you’re too worried.”

  “Worried about what?”

  “Ruining your only pair of pants by playing in the grass.”

  Armin stared her down, eyes alight, and Katie’s heart ran wild in her chest. This kind of familiar banter was far enough outside the lines of their relationship that it was a risk. She knew if she stepped too far over the line, he’d fire her, and that would be that.

  But Armin wasn’t the kind of man to back down from a challenge. And as mild as it was, she had challenged him.

  “My only pair of pants,” he said, screwing up his mouth into something resembling a grin.

  At that moment, the girls came back out into the hallway, running straight for her side. They tilted up their faces to look at Armin, who towered over all of them.

  “Now,” he said, authority ringing in his voice. “You’ve got piano lessons in less than an hour.”

  “Yes,” answered Lily solemnly.

  “I thought we could make an alternate plan.”

  “An alternate plan?” Seraphine echoed.

  “Yes.” Armin glanced up into Katie’s eyes. “I thought…well, Ms. Crestley had the idea—”

  “Oh, no. It was your idea, Prince Armin.”

  “What idea?” asked Lily, her voice bright with excitement.

  “To spend the afternoon together instead of going to lessons,” said Armin. “If there was something else you’d rather do instead…”

  “The gardens!” cried Seraphine. “Let’s play in the gardens.”

  The afternoon was warm, and the gardens were already beginning to brighten with spring blooms. The girls ran ahead through the winding paths, stopping at fountains and benches and one hidden pond.

  It was, Katie thought guiltily, relaxing enough that Armin might share something with her.

  Her first priority was protecting the girls…and the prince. But in order to do that she needed to keep Papazyan at bay. The editor was not making it easy. He had brushed off the surface-level information she’d given him about their lifestyle and some details about the living quarters within the palace.

  He wanted more.

  And if she wanted to keep this job …

  She needed something.

  “Find us! We’re going to hide!” shouted Lily, disappearing somewhere into a hedge.

  Katie glanced at Armin, expecting him to put an end to the game. He’d surely find some reason, even with the bodyguards in the background, to say it was too risky. But with a conspiratorial glance at her, Armin boomed, “Here we come…ten…nine…eight…”

  A chorus of giggles rose up from the hedges, the sound spinning in nearby circles. Katie readied herself to wend her way through the paths and find the girls. When she had, they could all come back to where Armin waited.

  But when he got to one, he burst into motion, taking big, loud steps.

  “Where are my girls?” he called, and thundered off through the hedges, Katie close behind. It took no time at all to hear little feet in flight, giggles escaping them every so often, but Armin played it up, letting them think he couldn’t find them. Finally he caught them crouched beneath the lip of a fountain, and then the girls declared that it was Armin’s turn to hide.

  To Katie’s utter shock, he did.

  The three of them prowled the gardens, Katie giving pointed suggestions now and then, and in the end, Armin jumped out from the middle of the hedges. The girls shrieked so loud it turned into laughter.

  He was a different man, out here in the garden, counting off for game after game of hide and seek and pretending not to see where the girls ran to hide each time. Armin thought nothing of climbing into the hedges again and again.

  When they finally wore themselves out, the sun was sinking low in the sky, golden light stretching over the gardens and casting long shadows over the lawns. The girls were dirt-streaked and tired. Lily tried to hide her yawns on the way back to Whitestone. Seraphine didn’t bother.

  Armin disappeared into his offices to catch up on a few things while Katie took the girls downstairs for dinner and hustled them into the bath. He came back in time to help her brush out their hair, the fine strands drying so quickly that they wouldn’t have to worry about wet pillows. Seraphine begged for Katie to tuck them in, too, so she and Armin made a team effort of it.

  Out in the hallway, as Katie pulled the door to their room closed with a soft click, Armin said, “Come sit with me.”

  He led her through his personal quarters down the hall, a great expansive space with many rooms. But the highlight was the wide balcony with a view of the old city stretched out in front of them.

  Katie collapsed gratefully into one of the lounge chairs on the balcony. With a flick of his wrist, Armin spread a blanket over her legs, then went to get a matching chair for himself. He must have hit a switch somewhere, too, because a fire bloomed to life in the ornate metal pit in front of the chairs.

  Armin set his own chair down beside hers and relaxed into it. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he settled in, looking out over the city. After a minute, he folded his hands behind his head.

  It was different, now that the two of them were alone. Katie had seen flashes of this man—the one who was relaxed, at peace—out in the garden, when he had smilingly held his breath, his face half-hidden in the hedges.

  “I’m glad you got this chance to spend time with the girls this afternoon,” she said, not bothering to keep the warmth from her voice. Katie meant it.

  “Me too.” There was a hesitation in his voice, and after a moment of silence, she answered it.

  “What is it?”

  With the firelight flickering over his face like this, it was easier to talk.

  “I’m a little concerned about something.”

  Katie pulled the blanket tighter around her. “If it’s the missed lessons, I can schedule in an extra—”

  “It’s not that.” Armin shifted his arms back in front of him. “I’m worried that you think I’m not interested in being a father to the girls.”

  “I know that you are,” Katie said, though she sounded more confident than she felt. She had no doubt that he wanted to give the girls a nice life, but Armin had seemed more concerned about scheduling them than spending time with them up until today. “I’m only surprised that you…played as hard as you did in the garden.” Katie laughed, her voice echoing back at her off the balcony wall. “I didn’t think you had a fun bone in your body.”

  Armin chuckled, the timbre rueful. “I had more of them in the past.” He took a breath and let it out. “I always have demands on my time, on my presence…every hour of the day. Perhaps it doesn’t look like it, but some days I struggle to fit it all in.” He gave a little sigh. “I’m working on an orphanage project that is turning out to be more trouble than I expected.”

  Katie blinked, her interest piqued. Could he seriously resent the orphans? If so, that would make him…well, it would make him a real jerk, and then she wouldn’t have to feel guilty about trading little tidbits about him to Papazyan in exchange for her future at the palace.

  “It’s not the orphanage itself,” he went on. “It’s that…I thought it would be relatively simple. Who wouldn’t want to help orphans? But I’m getting pushback about the spending, and it’s infuriating. And it’s personal. My grandmother’s legacy could be forgotten if this project gets tied up in red tape.” Armin shook his head. “We need more
of her kindness and compassion in this country. People are already forgetting. There’s so much new wealth and technology that everyone forgets that not everyone is being lifted by that same tide.”

  “It happens fast,” Katie agreed.

  “But why wouldn’t they approve of renovating the orphanage?” He glanced at her, the firelight reflected in his eyes. “Everyone’s more concerned with how they look than what good they do.”

  So he wasn’t aloof. Maybe it was true that Armin kept his feelings to himself during the day, but it was because he cared. He cared about his girls, and his people. He had to be Prince Armin every hour of his day, with only a few stolen minutes to be the father to two grieving girls.

  Right now, with his hair still disheveled from the garden and a shadow of dirt on his cheek, he looked more princely than Katie had ever seen him.

  And very, very handsome.

  Katie swallowed hard, forcing her gaze back out over the city.

  She never should have given in to Papazyan. She should have told him to screw off, to reveal her secrets if he wanted, and let the dice fall where they may.

  But there was no way out now.

  If this had just been about a few photos of her at the wrong place at the wrong time and her past history, she could have told Armin everything and apologized. That ship had sailed. She’d already passed information along to the papers. It wasn’t anything major, nothing that would hurt anyone—she’d been meticulous about that—but he would still see it as a betrayal of trust. Even if she meant to protect all of them by doing it.

  “What’s wrong?”

  His voice broke her out of his thoughts. “I should get cleaned up,” she said, her heart aching at the moment they’d shared, broken open between them.

  Armin looked at her for another moment. “Me too. I have one more call to make this evening.” He stood up, brushing a blade of grass from his pants, suddenly the regal, distant prince. “I have to look the part.”

  6

  It had devolved into the kind of meeting that made Armin want to roll his eyes into eternity, but at least it had been productive.

  The prince had met with the young contractor from before, Mr. Klemen, and when Armin had him alone in a room with Alexei Mihailo, he’d finally been able to make some progress, especially when Armin had hinted on the verge of a guarantee that the two of them would be first in line for future projects.

  For the moment, it would all remain private, like he’d wanted. There was some concern about the project becoming tainted by association with the royal government, but more than that, Armin didn’t believe in doing charitable works for public praise. That was a sentiment that his grandmother had believed in above all else. It was about doing good, not approval or acknowledgement. And the orphanage needed it.

  Armin settled in behind his desk in his office, feeling altogether pleased with himself.

  He set aside the orphanage project in his mind and prepared himself to switch over to the letters. Armin’s staff sorted through the letters he got each week, and one morning a week he sat down with the ones that had risen to the top and answered them personally. In a world of email and text messages, he had come to appreciate people who sat down with pen and paper and sent him their thoughts in written form. He owed them a response in kind.

  Armin had only skimmed the first paragraph of the first letter when his head assistant, a woman named Natalia, knocked at the office door. Natalia was the most professional person he’d ever met in his life, so the slight downturn at the corners of her mouth was all that warned him bad news was coming. “Sir? Valentina is here to see you.”

  Valentina, the publicist.

  “Send her in.”

  The petite woman came in briskly, her navy heels perfectly matching her suit. Unlike Natalia, she didn’t bother to hide her frown as she approached Armin’s desk, carrying a blue folder tightly in her arms.

  “Sir, I’m here to deliver this news in person before the story goes any further.”

  He was instantly on alert. “What story?”

  She took a deep breath, straightening her back. “The Defender has just released a piece …in the poorest possible taste. And it highlights…certain rumors.”

  Armin kept his face carefully neutral, even as his heart pounded harshly against his rib cage. There were always rumors, but this sounded serious. “What rumors?”

  Valentina steeled herself. “That one of your brothers—perhaps even the king himself—might have a…secret family. A mistress and a child. In the United States. Of course, they’ve provided no evidence of this, but the anti-royalist faction will do anything to push their agenda.”

  He folded his hands on the desk, trying to be the very picture of calm. “Where did they get this idea, if there’s no evidence?”

  Valentina shifted her weight from foot to foot. “There’s no telling where these people get their ideas. It may be best if we put our best people on finding the source and making sure they’re put in their place. Otherwise, the situation will only drive us mad with worrying.”

  Armin knew when she said us, she was talking about him.

  “Show me the article.”

  It didn’t give anything away, just to read it. He needed to buy some time. He needed to consider.

  Valentina opened the folder and took out a copy of the front section of The Defender, placing it on Armin’s desk. The words floated before him.

  The phone on his desk rang. Valentina leaned forward and picked up the handset, answering on behalf of the prince. She looked down at the surface of his desk while she listened to the person on the other end of the line. “All right,” she said. “I’ll pass that along. He’s not in right now, no. No. Thank you.” Then she hung up again.

  Armin flipped the paper over and waited for her to hang up the phone.

  “That was Mr. Klemen.”

  Frustration welled through Armin. He didn’t need any more details to know what that would be about. He blew out a breath through pursed lips, saying nothing. He’d come so close to stabilizing the orphanage project, and now this.

  There was another knock at the door.

  “Sir?”

  Something shifted in him, warmed, at the sight of Katie there in the doorframe. Valentina gave him a crisp nod and went out.

  “Yes?”

  “If you’re busy, I can—”

  “No. What is it?”

  “The girls are asking for—well, they’re asking if I can take them shopping.”

  “Shopping?” This was new.

  “They want new dresses for an event at their school, and I’d love to take them shopping.” She came into the office and hesitated at the edge of the desk, her cheeks a shade of pink that Armin found himself instantly obsessed with. Katie searched his face. “You know, we can really talk about this another time. I can see your mind is occupied.”

  “My mind is occupied,” he admitted. Katie raised her eyebrows. “But if you’d like to take the girls shopping, feel free.”

  “How is it occupied?” she asked.

  “It’s just…political nonsense.” It was utter nonsense. There was no better way to describe it. “None of your concern. Nothing that will affect the girls.”

  “What kind of political nonsense?” He saw the care in her eyes, the way she was tiptoeing toward that line that separated them, as royalty and staff.

  He met her eyes. “An unflattering article in The Defender. Spreading more rumors about my family—claiming that someone in the royal family has been hiding a secret love child.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “What will you do?”

  “My publicist is telling me that I should engage. Flex the muscles of the monarchy and shut whoever this is down.”

  Katie was already shaking her head. “I disagree.”

  He let loose a laugh. “Do you?”

  “Don’t ignore it. But…give me a day. Stay quiet, don’t respond, and I’ll bring you something.”

  Katie turned on her heel an
d left, not waiting for him to say another word.

  As soon as she was gone, Valentina came back into the room, shooting a glance over her shoulder. “The staff is getting a bit out of hand, isn’t it?”

  He ignored the question completely.

  Because the truth was, Armin was desperately intrigued.

  * * *

  “Ready? We’ll go in, show Prince Armin your new dresses, and head off to school.”

  It was early yet, but Armin was already in his office for the day. Lily and Seraphine each held one of her hands, beaming at the new dresses they wore. Lily’s dress was blush pink, and Seraphine wore a darker shade, closer to a dusky rose. Katie had brought their school things with them and set them on a table nearby the door.

  “Let’s go, let’s go.” Lily rocked up on her heels, her smile bright as the dawn.

  Katie released her hand and knocked on the door. “Prince Armin? It’s us.”

  “Come in,” he called back right away, and when she opened the door he was already smiling. As the three of them came into the room, he clapped a hand to his mouth in faux surprise. “Who are these beautiful creatures? What’s happened to my daughters?”

  The girls giggled, basking in the attention.

  “Show him, then.”

  “We got new dresses!” cried Seraphine, and both of the girls did a little twirl.

  “Beautiful,” Armin said, coming out from behind his desk and kissing them both on the crown of the head, one after the other. “You’ll look wonderful at school today.” He made a show of checking his watch. “But hurry, or else you’ll be late.”

  Both girls stepped forward without Katie saying a word and gave him a quick little embrace. Armin’s face lit up. And then the girls, excited to show off their new clothes, were tearing for the door.

  Katie had to go after them. But first, she pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Armin. “A press release.” Out in the hall, she could hear the girls getting their satchels, but she couldn’t resist watching as Armin opened the paper and read it. His eyebrows lifted.

  “This is good.” He flicked his eyes up toward hers. “This is very good.”