Fake Crown - Bellerive Royals - 1 [Sample]

1. Posey

This story is now available in Kindle Unlimited. The series is being self-published throughout 2022. Follow me to be kept up to date on details.

Series reading order: Fake Crown (this one), Scarred Crown, Heavy Crown, Fallen Crown. You can read them out of order, but for maximum enjoyment (and no spoilers), follow the series.

The professor at the front of the lecture hall closes her presentation and takes questions from the students around me. Since she is one of the foremost interior designers in the state, I should be paying attention. A career like hers is exactly what I want to have when I return to Bellerive. Instead, I've passed my phone to my newest friend, Monica, so she can add her details to my contacts. It's a long list. My sister, Julia, calls me a friend collector.

"I'll add you to the group chat," Monica says, and she tucks her dark hair behind her ear with her thumb and forefinger. "I've never met anyone from Bellerive island before. Is it as pretty in person as the photos make it seem?" She turns her computer screen toward me, and she returns my phone to my outstretched palm. On her screen is an aerial view of the island, stretching out across the ocean, and an answering ache stretches across my chest.

Home.

"Prettier," I say. "The best place in the world." I drop my phone into my bag, and I'm reminded again of how pale I've gotten. These Michigan winters are hell on my complexion. The sight of the photo has caused a trickle of homesickness to leak into my consciousness. Some days it amazes me I've made it almost four years in America.

"Jensen," Monica muses. "Are you related to Secretary Jensen? It says here she works for the king."

"The former is my mother, and the current secretary in training is my sister." I wink. "Yes, I know the Bellerive Brothers." That's the hashtag everyone uses for the three Bellerive royal heirs.

Each one is a thirst trap for a different reason. Brice, the youngest, is my favorite now, but Nick, the middle son, used to be. That was back when he and my sister were best friends. Their friendship ended years ago. Now, he's a man-whore. Julia calls the women who flock to him Crown Bunnies. They exist on campus too—people who want to get close to me to get noticed by them. I've learned to sus out those people quickly.

"I'd totally bang Brice," Monica says, and she shuts her computer and shoves it into the bag at her feet.

An acceptable response. Anyone who goes for Alex, the future king, is a gold-digger and cannot be trusted. While Alex is just as hot as his brothers, he's more aloof on social media. Much more guarded. Women who pinpoint him are after a title and position, not the man himself. I 'lose' the numbers of those women. Prince Alexander does not suffer fools, and I don't intend to be on his foolish list. At least not in regards to the friends I make.

"Brice is totally shaggable." To everyone else but me. I can appreciate them without wanting to have sex with them. Too much like brothers since we all grew up together. Each one annoys me in their own unique way.

When I was younger, Nick was the most appealing. His friendship with my sister was the stuff teenage fantasies are built on. Now, they rarely speak unless they absolutely have to. Once in a while, I catch him staring at Julia with naked longing. As though he wishes for something he can no longer have. The one time I tried to bring up their past friendship, Jules shut me down by saying Nick wasn't who he used to be. Apart from all the sex, he still seems like the same guy to me. What do I know?

Monica walks me out of the lecture hall. "Any plans for the long weekend?"

"Probably just sticking around here. All my family is out of Bellerive on various adventures. A couple of my friends from home were talking about coming but never booked their flights." November isn't an ideal time to visit. Not cold enough for snow to stick and not warm enough for other outdoor adventures.