Behind Palace Doors Read Free

when we were in our teens and twenties. The media practically had us engaged at your twenty-first birthday party when I bought you a diamond necklace. The history is there, and the media will eat it up.”
    “Oh, Stefan.” She sighed. “This is such a big decision. You can’t expect me to give you an answer right now.”
    Leaning back against the chair, Stefan nodded. “I’m asking for only six months, Tori. After my coronation I’ll have my title as king and the country will be secured with my family again.”
    “Then what?” she asked, her eyes searching his.
    He shrugged, not really worried about anything beyond getting married and gaining his title. “After that it’s up to you. You can stay married to me or you can end the relationship. The control is yours. Who knows, you may like being queen.”
    True, he may be a playboy, but he could think of multiple circumstances that would be worse than being married to the stunning Victoria Dane.
    She stared out across the estate toward the ocean. Victoria’s beauty was remarkable and surprisingly natural. She came from the land of perfection brought on by plastic surgeons, yet she looked more stunning than the fake, siliconed women he knew. And he was damn lucky she was in his life.
    “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.” With a slight laugh she looked back to him. “You’re taking something as serious as a royal wedding, a wedding that will create the new leaders for your country, and turning it into a...a lie. My God, Stefan, this is really putting the pressure on our friendship. Do you realize how risky this is? I can’t lose you.”
    He sat forward, dead serious. “You could never lose me as a friend. If I thought that was the case I never would’ve asked you. Just think of this as a long, overdue reunion. I need someone I can trust not to back out at the last minute or use me for money in the end.”
    “Why did you wait so long to ask me?”
    “Honestly I thought I could find a way around this.” God knows he’d exhausted every avenue looking for one. “When I realized I couldn’t, I knew I had only one option. You are the one person in my life I’d ever trust with something so personal, so serious.”
    She laughed. “I’d do anything for you, Stefan, you know that, but this is asking a lot. What about the people of your country? Won’t they feel let down if we end the marriage? And how will this work out after your coronation? Will the country still remain yours?”
    “No, my people won’t feel let down,” he assured her. “I will still be their leader. I will still keep control over my country. I just need the title to do so, which is where you fit in.”
    “You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?” She crossed her legs and shifted her body toward his. “You can’t expect me to put my life on hold for six months. I’m a busy woman, Stefan.”
    He’d always admired her take-charge attitude and the way she matched him in this volley of wills. Not to mention the fact the woman was classy and beyond sexy.
    Just as when he’d been in his late teens, Victoria Dane made his gut clench and still made him want her as more than a friend. But years ago he’d attempted to pursue her into something sexual. She hadn’t taken him seriously, so to keep his ego intact, he played it off like he had indeed been joking. And the second time he’d been ready to take charge, she’d been in a relationship. But now she was free.
    “I know you’re busy, and I’m not trying to take your life away, but I do have something to offer you.” He edged forward, taking her hand in his. “You’ll get to show the world that you are stronger than the poor, humiliated woman they are making you out to be. The woman the media has portrayed as being overshadowed by her brothers and jilted by her fiancé. If you do this, not only will you design your wedding gown for this day, this could help you launch that bridal line you’ve been wanting.