He started toward the house, only to realize that if she hadn’t left with her father, she was still here. He stopped outside the back door, not wanting to go inside, yet wanting to see her. Only he couldn’t want that because the Bethany he’d known, the Bethany he’d started to care about, wasn’t real.
He’d understood Lynette was vain and selfish, but he’d told himself her love for him would overcome all that. He’d ignored the problems in their relationship, her willingness to sleep with him without ever talking about the future. He’d assumed she would grow up a little and see they belonged together, and he’d been wrong.
In hindsight, he’d been lucky to escape as easily as he had. If she hadn’t dumped him, he might have been tempted to hang around and try to change her mind. What a disaster if he had.
But with Bethany, everything was different. He knew her. Knew she was a hard worker, knew she was kind and funny and determined. She was fearless, affectionate and it had all been a lie.
Maybe not all of it, but enough. He had no idea which parts of her were real and which were just a game—the princess playing at being like everyone else.
He walked into the house and found her waiting in the kitchen. She’d dressed in jeans and a T-shirt—her usual work uniform. He took in the thick braid, the big blue eyes and felt a stabbing sensation in his gut. He wanted to tell himself he’d gotten off easy a second time, that his luck was holding, but he knew better. Forgetting Lynette had taken a couple of weeks and then he’d been over her. With Bethany it would take longer. Possibly several lifetimes.
She stood with the kitchen counter between them. She placed her hands on the worn tiles—hands that were almost as strong and scarred as his own.
“I’m sorry,” she began. “I want to be clear that I’m not going to say I didn’t mean to lie to you. Of course I did. I came here as Beth Smith. I didn’t want you to know who I was. I didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Everyone has fun in her own way.”
She flinched. The movement was small, but he caught it. Caught the intake of breath, as if he’d hurt her. He tried to find pleasure in that, and couldn’t. Instead he wanted to go to her, pull her close and tell her he was sorry. That they would figure it out. Only he knew that forgiving her would begin a spiral from which he would never escape. Better to let her talk, then send her packing.
“It wasn’t for fun,” she told him. “From my perspective, it was for survival.” She hesitated. “At the risk of playing the ‘poor little princess’ card, it’s not easy being in my position. I’m an American at heart, living in El Bahar as the daughter of the king. I straddle both worlds and I don’t do it well. I love my family but I want more from life than an arranged marriage and having babies. The problem is there are limitations to what I can do as Princess Bethany.”
Her expression turned pleading. “Imagine how things would have been different if I’d come here as her. You wouldn’t have talked to me or let me stay at the house. You would have treated me differently.”
He wanted to say that wasn’t true, but it was. He wouldn’t have teased Princess Bethany or taken her to dinner with his family. He wouldn’t have kissed her or...
“You lied,” he said, more to distract himself than accuse her.
“I did.” She continued to hold his gaze. “I’m sorry about that. I was wrong, but I’m not sure I could have made another decision.” She drew in a breath. “I like being plain Beth Smith. I like being the same as everyone else. I like being accepted for me and not having to worry that people are pretending to like me because I’m a member of the royal family. I’m not famous enough to be recognized in my regular life. Not outside of El Bahar and I want to keep it that way.”
She glanced down, then back at him. “Do you remember when I told you about the guy in college who took pictures of me?”
He nodded.
“He didn’t just post them on the internet. He sold them to a tabloid. It was a big juicy headline.” She made air quotes. “I Deflowered a Princess.”
Rage exploded. Cade took a step forward, then realized he had no one to attack and no reason to defend.
“I was so humiliated. My parents never said anything, but I knew they were disappointed. It was horrible. I left college. Maybe I should have stayed, but the press was everywhere. I felt so naked every second of every day. I just wanted to hide. That’s when I started working in my dad’s stables. There nobody cared. When I delivered my first horse to a new buyer, I went as Beth Smith and it was great. I wasn’t recognized. I was just that girl with the horse. It never mattered before. Not until I came here.”
He wanted to believe her. That was what got him. He wanted to say it was fine, that he would forgive her and they would go on as before. Only he knew that was a joke. Just like them.
“I get it,” he told her. “You wanted to escape the whole royal thing and you did. Good for you.”
Her expression turned wary. “What aren’t you saying?”
“That it doesn’t matter. You had your reason, Princess Bethany, but at the end of the day, you lied about everything and we have nothing. We never did.”
*
BETHANY SUPPOSED THAT on her list of sins, taking one of the ranch trucks without asking was the least of it. She would have told Cade she wanted to borrow it, but since he’d walked out of the kitchen two hours before, she hadn’t seen him.
She was already packed and had a car coming to pick her up and take her LAX. From there she would fly home. But until the car arrived, she had unfinished business.
She drove through Happily Inc, doing her best to memorize all the cute businesses, decorated for the holidays. It was a great little town with lots of character and warm people. She thought maybe she could have been happy here.
She parked outside of Wedding Out of the Box. She’d already texted Pallas to ask if she could stop by. She didn’t want to leave until she’d spoken with her friend. Although to be honest, she wasn’t sure if she and Pallas would still be friends after Bethany told her the truth.
Pallas greeted her on the stairs and brought her up to what looked like a small break room. “What brings you to town?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Pallas grinned. “I should probably be subtle, but I think I can guess the topic. I saw the way you and my brother were looking at each other at dinner the other night. There were some serious sparks.” She paused, then laughed. “Okay, I want to know everything right up until the kissing starts. Not that I’m not going to be a good friend, but Cade is my brother and there are some things a sister simply doesn’t want to know.”
Pallas poured them each a cup of coffee, then opened a small box of Oreos. They settled at a round table.
“So?” Pallas beamed at her. “You’re crazy about him, aren’t you?”
Bethany was shocked to feel her eyes fill with tears. Pallas was at her side in a second.
“What?” her friend demanded. “Did Cade do something stupid? I hate it when men are stupid. What happened?”
Bethany sniffed. “It’s not him, it’s me. I lied to him.” She looked at her friend. “I’m sorry. I lied to you, too.”
“Oh, please. About what?”