Princess Perfect: Rich and Royal, #3

By Jen Katemi

A desperate princess determined to escape the shadow of her family. A thief who never expected to steal her royal heart.

My brothers may have found their happy-ever-after, but there's no such thing for me. How can there be, when no one can see past the perfect princess to the real woman within? That's why I hired Marco to steal the necklace in the first place—to show my family who I really am. But they still don't see.

Marco sees me. He's tall, dark and far more dangerous than is good for any woman to wrap her eager arms and body around. Especially a princess always expected to do the right thing. But then, I'm not perfect. Never was. Never will be. And hooking up with a guy on the wrong side of the law might just help me prove that.

PRINCESS PERFECT is the third and final book in Jen Katemi's RICH & ROYAL series about the billionaire royals of Leonioro. Discover a world of danger, drama and sizzling romance in this contemporary series by a USA Today bestselling author.

These steamy books featuring billionaire royals and their rocky road to love are connected yet designed as stand-alone stories, and the series can be read in any order.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Flourish Books
• Release date: Oct 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781386668206

Book preview

PRINCESS PERFECT

Book 3 in the

Rich and Royal Series

by

USA Today Bestselling Author

Jen Katemi

Princess Perfect © Copyright 2020 Jen Katemi

All rights reserved

Published by Flourish Books

Edited by Rainy Kaye

Cover design by Charmaine Ross Designs

This book is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places and events portrayed in this work are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form whatsoever in any country whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Tempt – Chapter One

About the Author

Chapter One

Isabella

I broke off the entanglement with Ronaldo almost five months ago, or at least, I tried to. It never felt right with him, not even from that first secret tryst where a comforting hug after Father’s funeral somehow turned into a kiss. At the time, grieving Father’s passing, it seemed natural to fall into the arms of a man almost three times my age. A man who should never have reached out to bed his friend’s twenty-four-year-old daughter. A man who refuses to leave me alone now, no matter how many times I tell him I don’t want to see him again.

I only slept with him the once, and yet, the consequences of that action continue to plague me.

My phone vibrates again, as if cued in to my thought processes. I swipe to decline the call and flop back onto the luxurious silken pillows adorning my bed. How the heck am I going to turn this situation around? I’ve blocked the asshole’s number three times already, but he just switches to a different phone each time. I need to be strong and face the issue head on. If he was wrong to bed me, then I was equally wrong to allow it to happen.

I won’t make that mistake again.

Given that I secretly slept with him—rutting in the dirt in the palace garden, no less—Ronaldo is probably the only person who knows how flawed I am. If and when the others discover how far from perfect I really am, they’ll be dismayed. Well, my eldest brother Kasper will be, for sure. My other sibling, Davide, will probably just look at me in that silent way he has, and convey his brotherly disappointment without a word ever being spoken.

God forbid if my mother should ever find out. The Dowager Queen would be utterly horrified at my behavior, and probably try and find a way to blame poor Dav for my shortcomings.

Poor Dav, indeed. I’m so grateful he now has Cat in his life. The prince’s former bodyguard is the perfect partner for my complex, damaged brother. She doesn’t take any crap from anyone, least of all him. She even stands up to my mother’s bullying and for that fact alone, I wish I was even a little bit like Cat. If I were, then perhaps Ronaldo would not keep bugging me the way he has since the day I told him no.

My phone pings again, this time with a text message.

Right. Enough. What would Cat do in this situation? She would be straight to the point with him. With no trying to be nice or mincing words, so there would be no mistaking her message or the consequences if he continued to ignore it.

I compose a return text and hit send before I can think twice. It’s over. I told you that months ago, and many times since. I mean it. I do not wish to be with you in any kind of relationship. Ever. We are done. DO NOT CONTACT ME AGAIN.

The answer pings back so fast I almost drop my phone. We’re not done. Not by a long shot. I have photos. Meet me after the ball tonight in our usual spot. Or else.

Or else? Photos? My heart thumps so violently that my chest hurts. I don’t remember him taking pictures when we were together. And we don’t even have a usual spot. I was with him once, in a hidden little pocket of the palace garden. Could he really have photos of our act? Does that mean someone else had to have been there that day, and saw what we did? Or that he planned in advance and set up a concealed camera? Heat rushes up from my neck into my cheeks and sickness fills my gut.

God, I hope he’s bluffing.

Regardless of the threat contained in his message, I decide I’m not going to meet him. Cat wouldn’t. So, neither will I.

I am not a child, despite the immature decisions I’ve made to date. Maybe it’s time to stop being afraid of the perfect princess label. Stop being afraid of what might happen if people find out the truth. Time to start being real. The problem is, I have no idea how to do that.

I’m not sure when I started to notice this change within myself. This urge to push back, to start saying no to what others want and decide a few things for myself. Maybe it was getting to know Eleni, King Kasper’s bride and our country’s new queen. She’s had the life from hell. What she went through as a child is unbelievably horrific, and yet she’s here in Leonioro, learning to be whole again, loving Kas and being loved in return in a way that gives everyone in our country hope for a better future.

One day, I’d love someone to love me the way Kas loves Eleni. Or even the way Dav seems to have fallen for Cat. He looks at her as if he’s dying of hunger and she’s the last meal he’ll ever be offered. It’s real, and raw, and honest.

I would adore a love like that. Only thing is, there isn’t a single person in this world who ever looks and sees the real me.

Ronaldo might be aware of my flawed nature but, in many ways, I’ve been his china doll, too, just like I am for everyone else—placed high up on a shelf away from danger so I remain untouched and unbroken. Ready to be brought down and shown off at the right time, and then tucked away again in all my perfection, away from the dangers of real life.

The saddest aspect of this whole situation is that I pretty much put myself on that shelf. For the past twenty years—since the age of four—I’ve been content to remain in my sheltered little cocoon where it’s safe and clean and boringly...perfect.

Meeting Eleni and Cat initiated something deep inside me. Witnessing their examples of strength and independence woke a need within me that I didn’t even know I had. Sleeping with Ronaldo may have been the catalyst that lit the fuse, but since then the need has grown. Now, I’m just about ready to combust.

That’s why I finally put out the word via one of my security team, discreetly, of course, for someone who can help with a confidential and not-quite-legal plan. My paternal grandmother gave me the opportunity, in the shape of the famed Leonioro necklace. All I needed was the courage to grasp that opportunity and run with it.

Or, more accurately, run away with it.

My stomach clenches with a strange mix of excitement and fear, drowning out the nausea caused by Ronaldo’s threat.

I can’t believe that the plan I’ve put into play is actually going to happen tonight.

My phone vibrates with another call, and I release a groan before picking it up to answer. I don’t care, Ron—

Is this the Princess Isabella?

The voice that cuts across my own is not the one I expect. Not in any way, shape, or form. This voice is deep and smooth, all confidence with a hint of arrogance thrown in for good measure. My innards clench and release, reminding me how long it has actually been since Ronaldo and I were intimate.

Who are you, to have that effect with only a few words over the phone?

It is, I confirm. Who’s asking? And, how did you get this number? It’s private.

A short laugh is the response and it contains a wealth of derision. My cheeks heat and I’m glad this guy, whoever he is, can’t discern my discomfort. In my line of work, Your Highness, nothing is private for long.

Nothing? I cringe, thinking of Ronaldo’s supposed photos. Right. Well. Who are you?

"You don’t need to know that. You just need to understand that everything is set for this evening. Are you still game, or are