The Royal Marriage Arrangement

THE ROYAL HOUSEOF SAVOY

A modern royal family in search of old-fashioned love…

The Vittorio family have ruled the Italian principality of Castelmare for generations. But as illness claims the aged King Rudolfo he must pass the throne on to his eldest son Lucca…

THE ROYAL MARRIAGEARRANGEMENT

When Crown Prince Lucca marries, his wife will wear his emblem—the famous Ligurian Diamond. But so far no woman has been deserving enough to wear the prized gem.

To Alexandra Grigory diamonds will always symbolise tragedy and loss, but as Lucca’s chosen royal bride she must adorn herself in his riches.

As their marriage arrangement is sealed by the precious jewel, only true love can secure the throne and unite the prince and his bride…

Don’t miss Crown Princess Regina’s story—coming next month:

ITALIAN GROOM, PRINCESS BRIDE

Alex had never given much thought to a problem like his until this minute. She was glad she wasn’t in his royal shoes; she knew she could never marry for the sake of duty and be tied to someone she didn’t love with her whole heart and soul.

Suddenly restless, Lucca got up from the chair. “I need to choose a wife who understands the situation for exactly what it is. No lies. No self-deception or pretense.”

“You mean someone who has no expectation of love? Is there such a woman?”

“Among my parents’ shortlist? No.” He came to sit on the corner of the desk so his legs brushed hers. “But an extraordinary thing happened to me today. I met someone who would be the perfect consort to come to my rescue in this emergency situation. At the same time I could help her in ways no one else can.”

As the portent of his words sank in, Alex’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“You can’t possibly mean what you’re saying.”

He rose to his intimidating height. “I never say what I don’t mean,” came the words of steel.

She shook her head. “So you’ll pay my debts if I agree to marry you? Then you’ll become King and two strangers will live unhappily ever after in a loveless marriage. This conversation is utterly absurd! Don’t you know that old movie script has been done and redone ad nauseam?”

One dark brow quirked. “But not to the tune of twelve million dollars. That will be my wedding present to you. In return, you’ll play the loving wife in front of other people—be it my family or the public.”

“I will not!”

Rebecca Winters, whose family of four children has now swelled to include three beautiful grandchildren, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the land of the Rocky Mountains. With canyons and high Alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favourite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her Mills & Boon^>® Romance novels, because writing is her passion, along with her family and church. Rebecca loves to hear from her readers. If you wish to e-mail her, please visit her website at: www.cleanromances.com

BY

REBECCA WINTERS

CHAPTER ONE

“HOW much is still owing to satisfy the creditors, Mr. Watkins?”

The aging attorney raised his shaggy gray eyebrows. “Twelve million dollars.”

Alex’s heart plunged to her feet. That much? She felt the worst about Manny Horowitz. Her mother’s agent was a good man who’d done everything to further her mother’s career all these years. He was still owed close to two million dollars. How could her mother not have paid him?

“I’ve auctioned everything except my mother’s diamonds. They’ve got to cover it!”

Jewelry was the only thing remaining for Alex to sell from her mother’s Beverly Hills estate. If she couldn’t meet the sum, then the tabloids would hear of it and trash her mother’s blighted reputation even more than they’d already done by exploiting her drug-related death. Some whispered that after her last divorce from Sheik Mustafah Tahar, Kathryn Carlisle had committed suicide, but nothing had been proved conclusively. Alex didn’t know what to believe.

“I’m sorry it’s come to this, Alexandra. A child shouldn’t have to be burdened this way.”

“Thank you, Mr. Watkins, but I haven’t been a child for a long time.” In fact, she’d been through so much already as the unwanted offspring of the world’s most beautiful woman that Alex felt ancient, but she supposed twenty-five still sounded young to him.

Since her mother’s death on Christmas morning five months ago, Mr. Watkins had bent over backward to help her find ways to pay off her mother’s debts. Furthermore he’d never once said a bad thing about her narcissistic parent who’d been married and divorced six times. As Kathryn’s attorney from the beginning of her career, he’d had more right than anyone to castigate the willful, infamous Hollywood phenomenon of the film world who’d disregarded his advice and had run through money like she did alcohol.

At only forty-five years of age Kathryn Carlisle had come to a shockingly ugly end with nothing to show for it but a history of disastrous marriages, explosive divorces, unpaid bills despite her millions and a criminally neglected child from her first failed union. “Where would you suggest I go to get the best price for her jewelry?”