The Crown Jewels by Honey Palomino Read Free Book Online

sure what I meant myself.
    “Do you mean because the world thinks I’m a playboy, a shallow prick that’s always gallivanting around with some new bimbo, that I wouldn’t know anything about true love?” he asked, his voice teasing.
    “You said it, not me,” I replied sarcastically.
    “Is that what you think?” he asked quietly.
    “Who cares what I think?”
    “Why are you so upset about our parent’s engagement?” he asked.
    “Why aren’t you ?” I retorted.
    “Because my mothers been very unhappy for a long time,” he replied, his voice growing even quieter. “And it’s nice to see a smile on her face.”
    The seed of guilt in my heart sprouted at his words. I knew I should feel the same way, I had even made a vow to myself to do just that, but I was having a very hard time embracing that happiness with Will standing in front of me, reminding me of all the reasons why this was so very wrong.
    “Aren’t you happy for your father?” he asked.
    “Of course I am!” I shot back, irritation growing right along with the guilt. “That’s not the problem!”
    “Then what’s the problem, Jewels?”
    I ignored the fact that he was calling me Jewels again.
    “You, Will! You’re the fucking problem!”
    “Oh, hjärtat!” he said, a grin beginning to spread across his face. I gasped.
    “Don’t!” I warned, pointing my index finger at him. Hearing him call me hjärtat , which was Swedish for sweetheart, was like a bullet to the heart. That’s practically the only thing he’d called me when we were dating.
    Of course, he ignored my protest completely and continued.
    “Hjärtat, the past is the past. Can’t we move on? Everything is different now, after all,” he said, moving closer to me. His eyes pierced mine, holding my gaze, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t find the strength to look away. “We’re not in college anymore. We’re in a different country. We’ve grown up. I’m different,” he said, as he reached up and pushed a strand of hair out of my eye, “you’re different. You’re a completely different woman, Jewels.”
    “That’s right, I am,” I replied, tearing my gaze from his and walking away from him.
    He laughed slightly, and the sound of him being amused at my discomfort only served to irritate me further.
    “Don’t be so upset, Jewels. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, we might as well learn to get along,” he said, closing the distance between us again.
    I didn’t reply. Once again, I could feel the heat rolling from his towering frame and my body was responding to it, despite the chaos in my head. My heart was in my throat, and I had no idea what to say, what to do. I wanted to run. I wanted to find my bags, call a cab, go to the airport and fly far, far away from this real life nightmare. But I couldn’t break my father’s heart like that.
    I was stuck here. In a palace with the fucking Prince of Sweden. I thought of my best friend Sally back home. She’d never believe what was happening. She knew all about Will, and had even predicted I would run into him while I was here. But she never could have predicted this.
    “Jewels, look at me,” he said. He was standing right next to me, but I was trying to avoid those damned hypnotic eyes, and he wasn’t about to let me get away with it. I looked over at him again, only because I didn’t want him to know how much he affected me. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.
    “What?” I demanded, trying to draw on the only emotion I felt comfortable with. Anger.
    “I’m sorry I left that morning,” he said.
    “You didn’t just leave, Will, you left the fucking country! After everything we had been through. And you just left me. All alone. At the worst possible time! How could you do that to me?”
    “I made sure you were taken care of,” he replied.
    “I’m not talking about the money,” I replied, my anger rising. “Just forget it.”
    “Jewels, I did what was best for you. I was