Crown Jewels (Off-Limits Romance #1)



I manage to put my troubles out of my mind the first day Amelia is here. We get a pedicure, talking more about Am’s vegan experiment than my drama while we get our legs scrubbed and our toes painted. After that, we drive into the Rocky Mountain National Forest. It’s only a few miles from the ranch, and I have a year-long pass.

We flash my pass at the entry booth, meander through fields dotted by bighorn sheep, and wind our way up Trail Ridge Road, this super twisty strand of asphalt that goes all the way up to the really tall peaks. We roll our windows down so we can feel the air cool while Am talks about her internship at Imagine Luxe Animation Studios, a Pixar type of company that just got bought out by Disney.

The internship is super exclusive and amazing, taking intern artists and writers—or story crafters, as they call the writers—and pairing them with a writer or artist who works fulltime at Luxe or Disney. The intern/staffer duo have to create the first fourth of an animated film to pitch to company exces. It all sounds like a dream, and I’m so proud of Am, I’m not sure what seems “off” until we’ve made it back down the mountain and are walking around Sprague Lake.

“My partner? The artist?” Her eyes widen, then squeeze shut. “It’s Dash. Frasier.”

Dash, the older brother of our mutual friend Lexie. Dash and Lexie lived next door to Am. Due to some things that happened the summer Lexie, Am, and I were 16, Am’s history with Dash is complicated at best.

I can feel my jaw hit the floor. “Dash Frasier. Is your partner on the project.”

She nods frantically, like a mime.

I toss my head back with a low laugh before throwing my arms around her. “Amelia Frank! How dare you not tell me!”

She shoves me, laughing. “You had a secret crush on Prince Liam.”

“That’s different! Way different! Dash is such a bastard! Have you kicked him in the nuts yet?”

And so the afternoon and evening are all Dash. My God, she’s in deep, poor Amelia. She doesn’t tell me in so many words, and that’s the very biggest sign.

In a way, it’s nice to spend the rest of the day talking about Dash.

I toast her at dinner, winking. “At least I’m not the only one with a totally effed up love life.”

“No.” She sighs.

“Drink more wine, babe.”

And she does. I drive her home from the Italian restaurant, and she’s asleep within the hour. Good, I tell myself. She probably needed it. Sounds like Dash has been working her to death.

I get a long bath, then curl up on my bed with a book on my iPhone. I don’t recall falling asleep, so I’m confused when I wake up—lamp on, my phone in hand. The screen is flashing. I squint before I notice the weird number. Then my stomach bottoms out.

It’s Liam.

I hesitate a moment. Then I rasp, “Hello?”

I hear a low chuckle from him. “I should feel worse for this. For waking you up.”

“What time is it?” I ask, smiling against my pillow despite my nerves.

“For you—ten forty-five.”

“Oh. Well that’s not so late. No wait, it is. It’s still pretty late for you.”

“Early,” he corrects.

A flash of heat sears through me. That Liam called me again. My system processes it like pure adrenaline. I sit up, feeling strangely energized and even slightly confident. “I think I’m mailing you some Ambien.”

“Trying to get rid of me?”

“Not yet,” I tease. “I just feel sorry for you.”

“Don’t feel sorry for me, Lucy.” His voice is rough and soft.

As his words spread into silence, my heart gives another little thump. “You have a pretty weird schedule, huh?”

“Lately. Yeah.”

“Are you a shitty sleeper? Like insomnia and stuff?”

“I didn’t think so, but…”

I want to pry. To ask what’s going on. But I don’t know him well enough. Despite our strange connection—my hand goes to my lower belly—I don’t know Prince Liam at all.

“So where are you? Like, when you go home—where is your home exactly?”

“I’m at my residence, in the city of Torr. It’s on the northern part of the island.”

“By residence,” I grin, “do you mean castle?”

“What do you think?”

“I think castles are awesome.”

Liam chuckles.

“Is it one?”

“It is.”

“So do you have a really big staff?”

“That depends on what you mean by staff, Lucy.” His voice is dead-pan, causing me to giggle like an idiot.

“No, not many right now,” he continues. “Sometimes they get off time in the summer.”

“But when they’re there, do people work day and night, like on Downton Abbey? Is the castle really big? Is there a dungeon?”

I hear the smile in his voice when he says, “I’ll never tell.”

“I’ll Wiki it!”

“We don’t have a floor plan online, Miss Rhodes. That wouldn’t be safe.”

I snort. “I’m not exactly worried about your ability to keep yourself safe.”

“How are you?” he asks abruptly.

“Mmm, I’m fine.” Just pregnant. I feel a tug toward telling him, but my instincts tell me it’s too early. I want to finish the first trimester before I spill the beans. If I’m going to upend his life with baby news, it seems considerate to be sure first.

“Is that why you called?” I blurt. “To check on me?”

“Do you want it to be?” His words are soft, and I can’t read the tone.

“I don’t have a want, one way or the other.”

He makes a sound that’s slightly sigh-like. “Truth?” he asks me.

“Truth.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“How come?”

“Mnn.”

“You males and your noncommittal noises.” I laugh. “You’re a brooder, aren’t you? You’re a brooding insomniac trying to pass yourself off as a partier/playboy.”

“You don’t think I’m a playboy?” He sounds hurt, but also like he’s smiling.

“You might be. I just don’t care about that part.” I smooth the blankets over my lap. “I want to know some things about you. The real Liam.”

“The real Liam.” He laughs. “What sorts of things?”

“Real people things.”

“So now I’m not a real person? This keeps getting worse.”

“Do you know Lucy Rhodes’ favorite kind of cereal? Favorite color? I think everybody knows about my obsession with Lucky Charms and adoration of the color red. They’ve seen me dressed up for parties, giving interviews at film premieres. But tabloid Lucy isn’t real.”

“I see,” he says softly.

“So where’s your favorite place? On Earth.”

“On Earth?”

“On Earth.”

He makes another soft sound. “I love Africa. Kili—Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Egypt and Tanzania are both amazing.”

“Is there an individual place? Like a particular spot that’s really beautiful or awesome, where you love to go?”

He’s quiet for so long, I wonder if he fell asleep. Then I hear him shift around. “I live between the ocean and a…lake. In the lake, there’s an island. My mum used to call it Pirate Island. We would take a canoe there and bring a picnic.”

Hearing him mention his mom makes my chest tighten. She died when he was little, but I can’t remember how. Some kind of sudden illness.