He wrapped his arms around me. “Anytime, honey.”
When he pulled away, I could see the question in his eyes, so I sighed. “Between us?”
“Always.”
“Yes, it’s Troy.”
He squeaked. My dad. A prince—by marriage but still a prince—squeaked. “I’m so happy for you, honey. I could always tell there was something special between you, but I wasn’t sure if it was just a really good friendship.”
“I think I liked him from the day we met. He was so nice to me. But then it kinda grew from there.”
He smiled. “I guess now I know why you wanted to move here.”
My face felt a little flushed.
Caught.
He ruffled my hair. “Talk to him. Troy is a good man, and I’m not going to lie. He’s already part of the family, which makes managing your relationship so much easier.”
“Thanks,” I deadpanned. “Glad to be of assistance.”
“Just to be clear, Alexi. You can date or marry whoever you love, okay?”
I sighed. “I just want the one person.”
“Then talk to him.”
When my dad left the room, I grabbed my phone and sent him a message.
ALEXI
Can we meet tomorrow? We need to talk. No more secrets.
When his reply didn’t come, I tried to pretend he’d gone to bed early and wouldn’t see the message until the morning.
13
TROY
I tossedand turned all night, trying to understand how everything with Alexi had gone from pretty much perfect to on the verge of imploding, if it hadn’t already.
I’d murder my brother for his ill-conceived timing, but I knew his heart was in the right place. He’d looked at Alexi and noticed he was no longer the boy he’d met but the man who’d decided to move to a different country and was happy. Settled. Thriving.
Alexi wanted to talk. That was a huge positive. But he also wanted no secrets.
For me, that meant telling him about Elite and everything that went with it. I could tell him I hadn’t exactly done what my brother had asked. That our meetings had been by chance, my feelings were very real, and they had nothing to do with our family worrying about him.
But how could I tell that truth and still keep another secret? I knew he’d keep it from my family if I’d asked him to, but did I want to?
I was getting tired of secrets. Of being the secret millionaire who’d hacked into my parents’ accounts to ensure they werefinancially secure. Of hiding my feelings for the one man who had gotten closest to my heart before he’d even tried.
Being in a relationship with Alexi meant I’d be in the public eye. Under a magnifying glass, it wouldn’t take long for the press to put the pieces together.
What college student has an apartment in one of the most desirable areas of a college city? Especially one from a family whose sole income came from running a small-town general store.
They’d run my name through the public records and find it registered with Elite. Marco would also be outed. Our business would crumble, and this time, it wouldn’t be because of a disgruntled employee.
No.Iwould be the one to blame.
