Forbidden Royal

Chapter 1 With a sense of bemusement, Royal Prince Lucio Aussa of Avce read the slip of paper his older brother Antonio handed him in his private office and then rubbed his eyes and read it again just to make sure. "Amy Fields?" How on earth had the IT department matched him with Evie’s little sister? This had to be a joke. Everyone in the family knew that when he’d been a teen, his mother had forbidden him from dating Evie Fields after she caught them in his bed. Now, with less than a year on the clock to find himself a wife, he'd agreed to let his brother have the Royal IT department scour the web for his perfect match, but Amy Fields couldn’t be it. Impossible. His brother gave him the rest of the file along with her picture. He must have carried it in from his office down the hall. "I spoke to Mother the second I saw her name going to the top of the charts." As a teenager, Amy’s older sister Evie had been Lucio’s entire world. She'd come into the library one morning as he’d studied History, demanding that he go out with her. In that brief time, she'd shown him, at fifteen, all about s*x. He remembered the ache in his chest when his mother forced him to choose between his family and his girlfriend and, of course, he’d sided with his family. Evie's tears when he’d broken up with her had haunted him at the time, though truthfully, he'd forgotten exactly what she looked like. Now her name was more the shield he wielded when his mother interfered with his life. Amy's sweet face was clear in his memory. Pretty Evie had dark hair, right? While Amy’s was lighter, almost wheat-colored. Her big brown eyes, cautious behind brown-framed glasses and the shy smile when he spoke to her came back with clarity. He shook his head. "I thought I'd die losing Evie when we moved to Avce." Drama and angst as only a teen boy can feel. His brother patted him on the back. "You were fifteen and she was your first. You've dated thousands since then." Thousands sounded like too big of a number, but he wasn't counting. Beautiful women fascinated him, though he had little in common with any of them. He studied the light blondish-brown hair and clear brown-eyed beauty in the picture. Nice curves beneath the cashmere sweater and designer jeans. He recognized the Ferris wheel in Hyde Park in the background of the photo, which meant Amy must still live in London. No. He put the photo down. "Evie's little sister cannot be the perfect bride." Antonio pointed to the folder Lucio held. "Read the report. Her parents and ours are already in agreement, if that matters to you." His hair bristled on his arms. "Not especially. Our mother once pushed Sophia toward you for marriage, and look how that turned out." Sophia Venko was now in jail waiting for her trial after trying to overthrow the Aussa family. "Sophia’s parents want us to send her back to England as they are still deposed royals." Antonio’s lips curled. "That's not going to happen." Lucio paced around his desk. So why had his mother, who had told him in no uncertain terms that Evie was not good enough, agreed to set Lucio up with her sister? Was it the time clock? But he had a year… Maybe his memory was flawed. The buzz in his ear told him there was more and now he was curious. "Antonio..." Antonio crossed his arms and leaned closer to explain. "Amy's parents want a chemical plant in Avce and feel that if they are family then Mom and Dad will give them the go ahead. Mom wants you to stay and be part of our family, which means you need a wife. From every account Amy outshines her sister." Antonio sat on the desk corner. "She majored in political science, works as an analyst, lives on her own in a nice part of London—and best of all, she’s not dating anyone." Amy sounded great on a resume. There was no denying her beauty, but she was still Amy Fields. Tomboy, studious, glasses too big for her face. Her sweet smile stayed in perfect focus from years ago. "What happened to Evie?" "Forget about her." Antonio dropped his arms and stood up, posture straight. "Evie is engaged to be married to a Scottish lord and family friend." "Engaged?" At fifteen, she'd seemed like she had the secrets to life—wild, fun-loving and carefree. It was almost funny that she’d been tied down after all. While Evie had been daring, Amy had spent time in the library, surrounded by book stacks. "Many of us never wanted to get married," Antonio shrugged, "and then we did. People change." In college, and the years since, he'd had a penchant for finding beautiful, unsuitable, girls he'd never bring home as payback for his mother interfering so long ago. Now, according to Avce custom, he needed a wife or else he’d be banished. The idea of Amy appealed. Hopefully she wasn't whiny and still liked to read for enjoyment. Antonio pointed to the manila envelope again. "I suggest you read this, meet with our parents, and hers. They are visiting and would love the contract for the cement plant signed, as well as a pre-nup. Then go meet Amy. She's not your usual type but that's probably a good thing." He looked at the glossy photo. She’d ditched her glasses, and smiled with confidence. "I remember she was all skin and bones." "She's grown up." Antonio patted the arm of Lucio’s black leather office chair. "The IT department found me Kristin and I'm forever grateful. What if all those years ago you should have met Amy instead of Evie? This could be the Universe’s way of correcting that mistake." Her sister had been his first and that might present a problem. "You're becoming philosophical now that you're happily married." Lucio scoffed and steeled his spine. "Would you have married any of my ex-girlfriends if the computer told you she was the one for you?" "I was desperate, so I don't know what I'd have done." Antonio's face went red, but he took a breath and continued, "I had a month left before I was thrown out of the family and I finally listened to the IT department. You have a year and you know about the law—I didn’t. Why don't you at least meet her face-to-face and then decide if she is or isn't the one? You still have some time." Lucio dropped the folder to the desktop. "Fair enough. But first, I should clear the air with Evie—I’ll go in person to talk with her again." What would she be like fifteen years later? "Good luck." Antonio walked toward the door. Lucio opened the file to the first page, his gaze drawn to Amy’s smile. "Right now I've only agreed to meet her, nothing more, Antonio." "I understand." His older brother lifted one hand in a wave. "See you." Lucio sunk into his chair and flipped through the files to the back where there were more pictures. As he stared at Amy’s face, he looked for familiar nuances. He remembered in flashes that she’d been so quiet as she’d watched him. How she’d avert her attention when Evie joined him. Could he marry a timid mouse? The thought left him cold. If he didn't marry, he'd lose his family. The law was the law. And the truth was, his brothers were happy on a toss of a dime. Lucio didn’t expect love, though whoever he married, he'd demand loyalty from as well as give. Logically, cheating or keeping someone else in the background was too much work and he'd never harm the family name. He went back to the beginning and read the brief description for the fifth time. At least on file, Amy Fields was the perfect candidate. He picked up the phone to ready the private jet. If he married Amy, then her sister couldn't be an issue.