The meeting with Luke had not gone as I expected when I agreed to speak with him. It made up for the quick exit he made at the mention of his father at the fancy restaurant. At least at the very end of it, I would have my story and, hopefully, the promotion to go along with it. He was right; we were both benefiting from this arrangement, even though getting this interview hadn’t been at all the way I imagined.

Now, all I had to do was travel to a Middle Eastern country and make it appear as if I was in a relationship with the crown prince.

It all seemed simple enough, but the moment he dropped me off at my hotel, a flurry of nervous jitters shot up my arms and down my legs. Could I do this? Could I fool a king? Luke seemed more worried about his mother, though. Should I be more worried?

I took a calming breath.

This was my job, and my promotion was all about getting this interview. I couldn’t let my nerves get the best of me. I was used to doing whatever it took to get my story, but I wasn’t used to lying to people about being in a relationship. Luke seemed to think it would work, but we barely knew each other. And I was going to a place where women like me were unfamiliar. If there was ever a fish out of the water, Sophia Holmes from Texas was that fish.

I worked through my doubts on the way up to my room. I needed a boost from Matt, but I wanted to get in touch with Mr. Fraser first. If he didn’t want me going anywhere, I’d have to tell Luke right away. But I already knew the answer before he picked up.

“Mr. Fraser,” I said into the phone.

“Sophia,” he said. We were back on a first name basis. He probably thought his pep talk had worked and I had the story for him.

I hoped he wouldn’t be too disappointed in having to wait a little bit longer.

“I need to tell you something,” I said.

“Yes?” He dragged the word out with skepticism dripping from the syllable.

“I had a meeting with Luke Walters tonight,” I said.

“You did.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes, and he made me an interesting proposition.” On the way to the hotel, I decided to be transparent with my boss. Lying would only get me into trouble when I was found out. “He needs to get his parents off his back about dating, so he wants me to pretend to be his girlfriend for some banquet this weekend at his home.”

There was a long pause on the other end. I thought the call had dropped when Mr. Fraser finally spoke.

“You’re going to meet the rest of the royal family?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “It was the only way he’d give me an interview. If you’re on board with this, I’ll be traveling to his palace this weekend, so the story won’t be complete until at least next week.”

“That’s fine,” Mr. Fraser said. “Actually, it’s more than fine. No other news outlet has broken the story yet. And with Luke in your pocket like this, no one will beat us to the punch.”

I wasn’t sure who was in whose pocket. I wanted to spend more time with Luke for less than professional reasons, even though I’d never admit it to anyone but myself. “So, you’re okay with it?”

“More than okay,” he said. “I’m thrilled that you’ve been able to get this close to the prince. You don’t know what this story will do for us. For you, especially.”

My breathing hitched. Was he confirming that this piece would get me my promotion? I knew I had a chance, but this was more than I expected. Now, I was even more motivated to do the job the best that I could.

“I can’t believe our luck,” he said. “But you better not screw this up.”

“I won’t.”

“No Western woman has ever been in front of the royal family,” he said.

“Seriously?” A sinking weight pressed against my stomach. As much as I was grateful for the opportunity of a lifetime, being the first was a huge responsibility. It was a good thing Luke was going to be with me the whole time.

“Treat this like any other assignment,” Mr. Fraser said. “Do your research on the family and their customs. Ask questions. If Mr. Walters is so interested in making a good impression, then he will probably be more than willing to help. Use him as you would a regular source. He’s your best asset for what you’re about to do.”

I nodded, but I knew he couldn’t see me.

“Make this work,” he said. “And keep your eyes peeled. There may be another story to uncover about this family.”

“I will,” I said. The prospect was enticing. Two stories for the price of one. I could smell a bigger paycheck.

“Best of luck, Sophia. Your career with us is riding on this.”

He hung up.

No pressure then.

I paced around the room several times before swiping my finger over my phone screen. I needed to unload some of the tension in my body.

I dialed Matt, wanting more of a friendly conversation where I could work through my anxiety about this assignment. Luke’s proposition had upped it a notch, and I needed encouragement instead of pressure.

I had almost a week to prepare, but I imagined failing miserably, letting down Luke, Mr. Fraser, and worst of all, myself.

There was my pessimism again. If only my optimistic friend would answer his damn phone.

The call went to voicemail, and the food from dinner churned in my stomach. I needed to relax. A bath would do.

As I started to undress, my phone rang.

I grabbed it and swiped at the screen, briefly seeing Matt’s smiling face before the call connected.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “I was in the middle of another call.”

“No big deal,” I said.

“It sounds like a big deal. What’s up, Soph?”

I raked my hand through my hair, pulling it away from my heated face. “Oh, not much. I just had a prince ask me to be his fake girlfriend to impress his parents, the king and queen. You know, just a regular day.”

“Wait, back up,” Matt said. “Tell me everything.”

I quickly explained the situation to him. While I thought it would calm me down to talk about it, I felt more nervous than ever.

“Let me get this straight,” Matt said. “He’s going to give you the interview after paying for an exotic trip to meet his parents in a palace?”

“Basically,” I said, rolling my shoulders. I wished I had enough money for a massage before going. I certainly needed it.

“Sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime,” he said.

“Mr. Fraser said a Western woman has never been in front of the royal family before.”

“Well, I reckon it’s about time!” he said with the most idiotic cowboy accent.

“Not that kind of western,” I said.

“I know,” he said. “I’m trying to lighten you up a bit. I can hear your teeth grinding from here.”

“I’m not grinding my teeth,” I said.

“Listen, Mr. Walters obviously thinks you’re the woman for the job. You need to trust people when they compliment you.”

“I do,” I said, only half-lying. “This is so important, though. I can’t screw it up.”

“Do you think Luke is going to pull the same thing he did at the restaurant? Bring you there and then not give the interview?”

“No,” I said. “He needs this to get his parents off his back. Besides, if he reneges then I can always expose to his parents that I’m his fake girlfriend. Which I doubt he’d ever do. From the way he described it, his mother is always throwing women at him.”

“How horrible,” Matt said. “She can’t be worse than my own mother, though.”

“Don’t speak ill of the dead. You know that’s not right.”

“Or they’ll come back to haunt you?” he teased.

I couldn’t help but laugh. He had a way of making me feel better. He always had.

“So, what does this prince look like?” he asked.

“Not like a prince at all,” I said. “At least, not how I imagined. He looks like every other suited guy coming out of a multi-billion dollar office, like the ones downtown.”

“Like me?” Matt asked.

“Pretty much.”

“Then you will get along swimmingly,” he said with a smile in his voice.

“He’s different at the same time,” I said, pulling up my memory of him. “He’s dark-skinned, almost like he’s been tanning every day for his whole life. A golden color, though, not a gross orange. His hair is so black and thick, and he doesn’t style it with a ton of gel. It’s enough to give him the ‘I roll out of bed like this’ look. He’s in pretty good shape, at least from what I’ve seen. The way his suits are tailored to him, they fit like a glove. He always looks pristine, which is kind of annoying, but nice to look at. He’s so stubborn, he almost reminds me of myself.”

I took a breath, and there was silence on the other line.

“Matt?”

“I wasn’t sure if you were finished,” Matt said.

“What are you talking about? I thought you wanted to know.”

“For someone who is supposed to be impartial to the subject of her story, you’ve spent an awful amount of time thinking about him.”

“No I haven’t,” I said.

“Please,” Matt said. “‘His hair is so black and thick.’ Should I go on?”

“I didn’t say that,” I said.

“You like him, don’t you?” he asked in a teasing tone.

“I don’t!” I said, affronted. “You asked what he looked like.”

“Middle Eastern man, dark skin, black hair would have sufficed.”

I chewed on my lip. “You’re not helping me feel any better about this.”

“I’m sorry, Soph. But I’m pretty sure you have it bad for this guy. At least that will help convince his family.”

“I’m hanging up now,” I said and did just that, hearing the echo of Matt’s laughter on the other end before it abruptly cut off.

I dropped my phone on the bed and stared at it. I really needed a bath.

The bathroom had a spa-style tub, and I jacked up the heat and the jets. After soaking for a few minutes, my mind wandered to the conversation with Matt.

If he was right about my attraction to Luke, would that help or hurt my chances of making a good impression? I had to spend time with him this week to prepare for the trip. How was I going to talk to him like a normal person when I had flutters in my stomach whenever I thought of him?