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.

“That sounds beautiful. What was your mother like? Did she look like you?”

“You don’t know what she looked like?”

“No. I mean, I’ve seen pictures of her before, maybe. But I haven’t looked her or your family up any time recently. I kind of wanted to,” I confess, “after we met. But it seemed unfair.”

“Unfair?”

I laugh. “I don’t know why. I guess you know all about my family.”

“Your father’s dental implant.” He chuckles.

“Exactly.” Almost all the nuances of my family’s life have been televised these last few years.

“There was never as much about you,” he says.

I smile. “I wouldn’t let them.”

“You were a mystery.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” Again, the line is filled with silence as I rub a chipped spot on my nail. “Anyway, I wanted to look up stuff about your family…but I haven’t. So I don’t know as much about you. It’s more like we just met each other at a party.”

“We did.”

“Well, it’s more like we’re normal people.”

“Ah. The normal ones.”

“Are you making fun of me? And getting pseudo-philosophical?” I tease.

“Too much?” His voice lowers. “Take off your panties, Lucy,” he says in a rough whisper.

My heartbeat booms in my ears, even as I hear myself say, “How do you know I’m wearing any?”

Heat blooms over my skin. My cheeks burn. I start to sweat. And more when I hear Liam let out a low groan.

“I’m not,” I whisper.

“Christ…”

What am I doing?

“Are you a boxer guy? Or briefs?”

“Boxer-briefs.” His voice is strained, making me warm between my legs.

“Are you going to take them off?” I ask.

“You want me to?”

“That’s up to you.”

“This is where you’re supposed to say ‘yes’, Lucy. Not interested?”

“Kind of embarrassed,” I say, sounding breathy.

“For wanting me?”

“Is that pretty abnormal? To have a little shame?”

“Of course.” He gives a rough laugh.

“Do all the ladies want you, Prince Liam?”

“Always,” he says.

“I’m sure they do.” I use a tone that makes it hard to tell whether I’m teasing or being sarcastic, and it helps me get my footing back. “Do you have your boxer-briefs off yet? What color are they?”

“Black. I’ll take them off—for you.”

“Only for me. How kind.”

“Disparaging comments while I’m getting naked, Lucy? Harsh.”

“It’s been said.”

“What would you do to me if you were here?” he murmurs.

“I would touch you. Stroke you. Maybe lick you if you’re nice.”

“Fuck.”

“Would you like that? If I licked you?”

“Oh yeah.” I can hear his ragged breathing. “Lucy…”

“Yes,” I whisper.

“What do you want me to do?”

I can tell that he’s enjoying this. Getting a kick out of me giving him orders. He’s probably never been on the receiving end of them before. Distantly, I know I’ve lost my mind, but…I can’t seem to stop. I love the feeling of control as I say, “Touch your balls first. Lightly. And then put your hand around your dick. Grab on, and stroke it up and down.”

His rough voice seems to crack across the line. “Spread your legs, Lucy. Touch your clit. Just for a moment. Then I want your fingers in your pussy.”

I hesitate a moment before rubbing myself through the fabric of my panties. “Run your fingertip around your head,” I whisper, “and imagine it’s my finger.”

I hear him breathing. “Push your fingers inside. Get them wet. Then drag back up and go around your clit. Shut your eyes. Imagine it’s my tongue.”

His voice is so damn sexy. I still hear him breathing.

“I wish I could see your face,” I murmur.

“You want to see my face?”

“Of course,” I whisper.

The line goes dead. My phone rings, and it’s FaceTime. I answer with my left hand, holding the phone above my face and looking into the camera, even as my other hand moves over my pussy.

I see Liam’s handsome face, his eyelids heavy, mouth curved slightly as he stares into the phone. He smiles, and it’s panty-melting.

I take in his lightly bearded cheeks, thick throat…and then I’ve got an eyeful of his bare, beautiful chest. I can see his tattoo, black ink in the dark. The small, hard pebbles of his nipples, flawless pecs, a six-pack that is painfully perfect. And a happy trail that disappears behind the elastic of his boxer briefs.

He pans out a little more. I see his huge erection straining against the cotton of his boxer briefs. It’s so long, it’s stuffed inside the underwear, curved a little at the elastic. I watch his thumb stroke over something, and when he moves it, I can see the spot is wet.

“Oh God. That’s…”

I swallow as I push my underwear aside and ease two fingers into my slick pussy.

“God.” I can’t help the little moan that comes from my throat. “Pull them down. I want to see your hand around it.”

He must set his phone on his chest, because for a long moment, I see a sheet of fabric sort of like a canopy.

Then the camera is in motion, giving me a glimpse of his rock-hard abs before…Crown Jewels. Lord, but he is absolutely perfect. His long, thick cock is pointed toward his navel, giving me a perfect view of the plum-shaped tip.

I let out a little sigh, imagining him rubbing it against my slit.

“Oh, Lucy. You’re a bad, bad girl.” He wraps a fist around his dick, causing the veins of his muscular forearm to stand out. “I want you to focus on yourself,” he says, stroking his length. “Do you have your fingers in your pussy?”

I push my fingers deeper. “Maybe,” I rasp.

“Do you feel full?”

I move my fingers, mesmerized by the up-down motion of his hand as he pumps his cock. “Play with your clit. Do you have a toy? I want to see it in you, where I would be if I was there.”

I slide another finger into myself, inhaling deeply.

Liam starts to stroke a little faster, and I clench around my fingers. His hand comes over his head, palm cupping it.

“I like that,” I murmur.

“Focus on your clit. Light and then harder. Do you have a bullet?”

“Yes.”

“Can you use it?”

“I’ll come fast.” My face flushes on the whisper.

“I’ll come when you do. Then you can go to sleep. I want to see your face when you get there.”

I shut my eyes, not sure if I can do it. “I’ve never had phone sex.”

“You’ve been missing out. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful with the video.”

“Promise?” I ask as he works his cock.

“Yeah.” The word is breathless, reinforcing how worked up he is. Letting me know I’m not in this alone.

So…I do it. I lean over to my nightstand and pull the drawer open, revealing my little silver bullet vibrator.

I position it over my clit and look into the phone. I find Liam’s eyelids heavy. “Show me, Lucy.”

So I aim the iPhone’s camera at my lower body, turn the bullet on, and am rewarded by a strangled groan.

“Fucking hell…”

The camera moves from his cock to his face. He looks drunk and dazed. “You’re beautiful,” he rasps. I get a sweet, lopsided smile before the camera view returns to his cock. I can see it’s just a little longer, thicker, darker. His hand squeezes as he pumps it, strong fingers around his gorgeous shaft. I can see his balls just barely from the angle. They look full and taut, bouncing as he strokes.

I imagine how it felt to have all that inside me. God. The sight of him working himself makes me writhe under the bullet. Liam groans again, urging me onward. I can’t help a tiny moan of my own. I push my fingers deeper, rock the bullet over my clit.

“Ahhh.”

“Oh Christ…”

I see his abs jerk, watch his hand stall. As his chest expands, he makes a low, rough sound—and then it happens: creamy cum spills through his fingers.

The sight of that, combined with his ragged breathing, sends me over my own ledge. I squeeze my eyes shut, panting as pleasure consumes me. I hear a low murmur and draw my legs up around my hand.

“Oh God.” I laugh.

He moves the phone to his face, blinks up at the camera. “Lucy Rhodes. You’re stunning.”

I move the phone to my own face, a second late. I give him a shy smile. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You were hotter.” He smiles softly.

“Go to sleep, Prince Liam.” I blow a kiss at the camera and hang up while my heart is still pounding.