Bad Boy Prince: A British Royal Stepbrother Romance Read Free

standing on this stage, why I wish he would stop glancing over at me, like he’s wondering if I’m real .
    I should never have come back to Courtland.
    For a panicky second, I start to wonder if my mum is about to announce something about me and the younger prince. A surprise engagement, a royal connection to redeem the Savilles once and for all?
    But… that doesn’t make any sense.
    And in the next moment, mum taps the mic and chuckles, bringing all eyes back to her.
    “Yes, hello everyone. His Royal Highness Prince Archibald and I have a bit of an announcement to make, everyone,” she says, giving Prince Archie an affectionate glance. I get goosebumps, watching her dote on him. It’s… unnatural.
    Everyone applauds politely; I wonder whether most of the people in this room already know what the announcement is going to be.
    “We are betrothed!” Mum says, and my mouth goes dry. “Just three months from now, we’ll be married here in the Palace, with full honors. Mark your calendars for the first of May, everyone! It will be an event to remember.”
    I am… absolutely, completely shocked…
    And everyone in the room is watching my reaction.
    Great. Thanks, Mum .
    Everyone cheers and claps, and I’m just standing there in shock.
    Why? Why would she want to do that? Prince Archie is a complete asshole; mum’s said that herself, hundreds of times.
    I realize that I’m glaring at my mother. Once I force myself to blank my expression, I glance over at Prince Archie’s side of the stage.
    His son and daughter are both glaring at him with the same degree of rage as I was just showing moments before. So… maybe this is a surprise to them, too?
    Or maybe neither of them wants to be tied to the Savilles. I mean, who would? I don’t, and I am one.
    I bite my lip and try not to look in Rex’s direction.
    “Thank you, everyone. Enjoy the party!” my mother announces at last.
    And then I’m free. The crowd breaks up and I can’t get off the stage fast enough, ignoring my mum calling after me. I need something. Champagne. Maybe something harder.
    It’s everything I can do not to run to the closest waiter. I snag a glass of champagne and give him an exasperated smile.
    “I’d like something a little stronger. Could you bring a champagne cocktail out to the terrace?” I ask, pointing to the wide double doors that lead outside.
    “Ma’am,” he says, inclining his head.
    “You’re a lifesaver.”
    I escape onto the terrace, walking out over the mosaic floor to the white marble balcony railing. I stand there and gulp deep breaths of air until I feel calm enough to turn and survey the guests milling around inside the ballroom.
    I freeze.
    I see a man with dark hair and an outmoded suit, and for just a second I think…
    “Daddy?” I whisper into the night air.

2
Kit
    Six years earlier…
    I don’t know a thing about my father’s troubles until the Crown Police show up at the door of Auberge House. They throw open the big oak front doors, the headlights of their cruisers spilling in.
    The small reflective patches on the officers’ midnight blue uniform jackets keep flashing, and from my hiding spot on the second floor landing, it’s a bit like watching lightning bugs winking in a darkened summer field.
    I blink, and the lovely thought is gone.
    The only thing left now is the apparent truth, and it is ugly indeed.
    There I am, standing on the polished wood stairs in my bare feet, looking down into the foyer as the officers put my father in handcuffs.
    My teenage gawkiness and lack of dress keeps me from stepping forward and saying all the things that are on the tip of my tongue:
    Where are you taking him?
    When will he be back?
    Do you know where my mum is, then?
    He hasn’t done it, you know. He can’t have done anything so bad as this.
    There’s a moment, as they’re leading Daddy out into the chilly night, where he glances up and our gazes meet.
    He looks… penitent.
    He looks… broken.
    Daddy