Ivy’s nervous. I can feel it exuding off of every inch of her body and out through her fingertips as I hold her hand and walk her through the castle. I wasn’t expecting her to be nervous. I was expecting her to be skeptical. I was expecting to have to woo her with all the amazing things that come with living in a castle. But I wasn’t expecting her to be nervous about meeting my family. She doesn’t have anything to prove to me. I already know that she’s amazing, strong, and talented.

I, on the other hand, have everything to prove. She’s never known me as anything other than a bum and a liar. But, for some reason, unlike her, I’m no longer nervous. My anxiety disappeared the second I had her back in my arms and when I realized that she would get to live, not die because of me and my selfishness. I don’t care if she likes my family or impresses them. All I care about is that she is still breathing and that I get to be a part of her life for one more day.

I pause outside of Murray’s sitting room and grab hold of both of Ivy’s hands, doing my best to give her a reassuring smile to calm her nerves before she meets my father.

“You have nothing to be worried about. You don’t need to worry about impressing Murray or anyone else. You’re already better than anyone else.”

Ivy bites her bottom lip as she looks up at me with big brown eyes. “But what if I want to impress him? What then?”

I shake my head. “Then, you will.”

She nods and fakes a small smile.

I keep holding on to one of her hands as I lead her into the sitting room. She stops about two feet in, and we separate for just a second. I look back, confused as to why she stopped, and then I see the look of amazement on her face. I glance up at the expansive ceiling that is at least three stories tall. One wall is covered in books, and another has massive artwork done by one famous painter or another. The other two are floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the hillside and forest that stands for miles. It is a sight to see if you’ve never seen it before. I take a second to appreciate it like she does. It’s amazing how she makes me look at things differently, like I haven’t really seen it in years.

A snoring sound quickly brings me back to reality. I look over at the armchair where I already know I’ll find Murray in. I nod my head at Ivy, pointing to Murray sleeping in the chair.

She stifles a giggle when she sees him with his head back in the armchair, a tiny bit of drool dripping off his lip, while a newspaper is spread out over his large belly. I walk over to the old man, who is sound asleep, and slap him hard once on the shoulder.

“I can see you’re hard at work, as usual,” I say loudly to ensure that he wakes up and hears me.

Murray startles awake, grumbling to himself, and then he sees me. He smiles—or at least, he opens his mouth and shows his teeth in what I know is a normal smile for Murray.

“Good to see you, boy. It’s been a while. And, of course, I’m hard at work.” He begins folding up the newspaper and sets it on the table next to him before he gets up and gives me a rough hug, as usual.

“I have somebody I’d like you to meet, Murray,” I say, running back over to grab Ivy’s hand. I pull her forward. “This is Ivy Lane. She’s—”

“She’s beautiful and talented and smart. I can already see it, just from looking at her. I think you have a good one here, Luca.” Murray holds out his hand to Ivy. “I’m Murray Mores. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ivy.”

Ivy surprises me by hugging Murray, just like I did earlier.

Murray chuckles. “You’ve definitely got a keeper. But I’m sure you’ve already gone and messed it up, like usual, Luca,” Murray says, his eyes going back and forth between Ivy and me.

Of course he already knows that I screwed it up. He can read me that well.

“He hasn’t done anything that is unforgivable. And he’s done quite a bit in these last twenty-four hours to show me that he might be worth forgiving anyway,” Ivy says, looking over at me with a gleam in her eye.

I smile back, but honestly, I would hate it if she forgave me right now. Not until she knows everything. Not until she understands what’s at stake. Then, she can decide.

“Well, you just come and talk to me if he mistreats you in any way. I’ll give him a stern talking-to again, like when he was a boy,” Murray says.

Ivy laughs. “Will do, sir.”

“Please call me Murray. And definitely don’t start calling me all that King and Your Highness nonsense that the staff will try to convince you to say.”

“Thank you, Murray. I have enjoyed the tour of your home. It’s quite spectacular,” Ivy says.

“Has Luca shown you the secret castle ruins yet?” Murray asks.

Ivy’s eyes brighten as she looks up at me. “No. He seems to have missed that stop on the tour.”

“Well, he definitely has to do that. My favorite place on all the grounds. You’ll love it, Ivy.”

“We should make it our next stop,” Ivy says.

I shake my head. “I’m going to show you your room first and give you time to freshen up before Margaret gets back,” I say.

Ivy frowns.

“Oh, yes. My dear wife will definitely have a comment if you meet her in a dress that has a spot of dirt on it, even if you do look beautiful. And I’m sure you want to rest. I’ve heard about your adventures today,” Murray says.

“Adventures?” Ivy asks, a little annoyed that he called her kidnapping an adventure.

Murray sighs as he walks over to the small TV in the corner of the room and flicks it on. Immediately, her face appears on the screen. The image is most likely from her driver’s license, and it appears next to footage of her shirtless, making out with me on the street. There is no mention of her kidnapping, just that the prince has returned and found himself a rather promiscuous princess prospect.

I run my hand through my hair and then rub my neck hard. I knew this was bound to happen. I was just hoping I could get Ivy settled before she saw this.

“Why are they not mentioning my kidnapping?” Ivy asks as she walks closer and closer to the TV.

Murray and I exchange glances.

“Because we didn’t—” I start to say.

“Because the media are shitheads that only care about selling magazines and newspapers and will paint you in whatever light they feel. Don’t worry; Margaret will have you in a pretty ballgown by the end of the day, and they won’t have any choice but to see you as a beautiful, intelligent woman who made one past mistake,” Murray says.

“But I didn’t make a mistake. It’s not like I just went on the street and took my shirt off to make out with Luca.”

Murray sighs. “Honey, don’t worry about it. This family has seen worse scandals than this. This is nothing. They already think Luca is rather promiscuous anyway, and once they really get to know you, they’ll realize that they don’t have a story—at least, not the one that they think they do. Don’t worry about it. The country will love you if you choose to let it.”

My eyes go from Murray to Ivy, trying to see if she buys it, if she understands, or if I’ll have to explain more of why we aren’t doing anything to clear her name and explain the reason she was half-naked on our streets.

Ivy looks from Murray to me. She looks deep into my eyes, trying to decide if we’re telling the truth or not. I put my hands in my pockets, trying my best not to encourage her one way or the other. All I’ve ever done is lie to her, and I don’t really want to have to do more of that now if I don’t have to. I’d rather let Murray fib a little bit along with the truth other than flat-out lie to her myself. She takes a second longer and then seems to accept Murray’s words.

“I guess I’d better get used to it if I’m going to be hanging around this one,” she says.

“No. You don’t need to get used to it. In fact, if you’re smart, you will stay far away from us all. But, if you do end up as part of this family, know that you won’t have to face it alone. You can ignore all the horrible stuff that is said about you anyway,” Murray says.

“Thank you,” Ivy says.

I take Ivy’s hand back in mine. “Let’s get you to your room, so you have time to change before you have to face the last obstacle of today—Margaret.”

Ivy nods. “It was nice meeting you, Murray. I’m looking forward to talking with you more tonight,” Ivy says.

Murray chuckles. “Good luck with that. Margaret rather likes to hog conversations, but I’m sure we will be spending more time together in the future.”

Ivy raises an eyebrow at me in fear.

I just shrug. I can do my best to protect her, but I can only do so much to protect her against Margaret.

I lead Ivy out of Murray’s sitting room and head toward her bedroom.

“Wait,” she says.

I stop and look at her. She has a sexy grin on her face.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” I ask with a grin because her grin is infectious.

“Show me the ruins.” Her grin brightens even more.

I laugh and shake my head. I look down at my watch to see the time. “We have forty-five minutes, tops, before Margaret gets here.”

Ivy places her hands around my neck and then closes her eyes as she leans up and kisses me on the lips, slipping her tongue into my mouth, enticing me to give in to what she wants along with my own desires. She pulls away but not before she sucks on my lip just a second longer. When I open my eyes, I can see from the look on her face that she knows she’s won. That I’ve given in and that I will do whatever she wants.

“I’ll show you the ruins, but we have to be quick.”

Her face lights up, and she starts skipping as I lead her down the long corridor and outside to the warm fresh air where the sun beats down on top of us.

“You know, you can’t always use that to get your way,” I say as she skips in front of me even though she has no idea where she’s going.

She starts skipping backward so that she can face me. She looks so beautiful when she’s this happy. I wish I could make her this happy every day, but I’m thankful that she was so quick to get her spark back after what had happened to her only hours before.

“I’m guessing it’ll work at least ninety to ninety-five percent of the time. I’ll play my odds,” she says with a wink.

I sigh and shake my head. “You’re probably right. It’s just because I find you so irresistible.”

She smiles. “I know,” she says before biting her finger. Then, she slowly runs her finger down her body before slipping her hand beneath her dress and underwear, touching herself. Turning herself on.

I stop walking, frozen, just looking at her touch herself in the backyard, but there’s at least two dozen staff within eyesight of us at the moment. I don’t tell her that because I don’t want to embarrass her, and more importantly, I don’t want her to stop.

“You’re a dirty girl, you know that?”

“I’m your dirty girl,” she says, removing her fingers from her panties. She sticks one finger in my mouth, followed by the next one and then the next, until I have tasted all her juices off each finger.

“Your Highness, is that you? I need—” Thomas’s voice rings out over the gardens.

“Run!” I shout to Ivy as I give her a mischievous look with my eyes.

We both take off running down the hill that leads to the initial gardens, then past another large field filled with fountains between two large pools on either side.

We keep running even though I know Thomas can no longer hear, see, or find me to ask me some silly question like, What should be on the menu for dinner tonight? I honestly couldn’t care less.

But we keep running anyway because I don’t want any other staff members to stop us and because it’s fun. Ivy starts running toward a clearing on the right, assuming that’s where we’re going. I run harder to catch up with her and then scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder. I start running in the other direction where there is no trail.

She squeals, “What are you doing? I can run, you know. Just tell me where we’re going.”

I smack her ass. “But this is way more fun.”

We both laugh again as I run through the woods, ducking left and right to avoid tree branches that have fallen and bushes that are overgrown. I go on a very small trail that is only visible to those who know it’s here. Mainly, me and Murray. But, unlike Murray, who hasn’t been back here in years, I come back every summer. It’s my favorite place on earth, and I would live here if I could. I don’t get lost along the old almost half-mile trail that leads down to the abandoned ruins of the castle that is now part castle, part garden, and part forest. When I get close, I stop and put Ivy down so that she can get the full image as the castle comes into view.

I look at her breathing heavily as she stares at my favorite place on earth. She starts walking closer but very slowly, like she doesn’t want to disturb anything around her. I follow right next to her so that I can see her face and the castle ruins at the same time. She stops, and her face is as beautiful as the place. All I can think about is how much I want her right now. How beautiful she is when she’s like this. Her lips are lush and red, her hair relaxed and natural, her body so focused on something. The rest of the world no longer matters. I want her to look at me the same way that she looks at these ruins.

“What do you think?” I ask.

She doesn’t say anything. She just takes another couple of steps forward.

I ask again, “What do you think?”

But she again takes a few steps forward, like she doesn’t hear me. We continue this pattern over and over until we are both standing inside the ruins in the center of the large room that used to be a ballroom with only three of the four walls remaining. The ceiling is gone, and roses and all sorts of flowers crawl up the walls and take over the floor, making it the perfect hideout.

“What do you think?” I ask again. Even though I already know what she thinks, I need to hear it. I need her to love this place as much as I love her.

She still doesn’t answer. Instead, she lies down on her back, looking up at the sky and everything around her. I lie down next to her, feeling the thorns of the roses and the sticks that cover and layer the ground stick into my back. But the pain is soon forgotten because of the beauty that surrounds us.

“I know that this is a little overwhelming for you, Ivy. But I need to know what you think. I’m desperate to hear that you love this place as much as I love you.” I hesitantly look over at Ivy, hoping she’ll finally give me an answer.

Ivy turns over, so we are looking at each other. Nose-to-nose. Body-to-body. Our lips just barely touching, just enough to call it a kiss.

Then, Ivy says, “I love it as much as I love you.”