Please Be Mine

Chapter Three

"Its worth it just to get a good look at the prince in the flesh."

"He hasn't always been wicked. He was in love once," Selena murmured, momentarily distracted from her own problems. "With that Italian supermodel. I remember reading about them. They were the golden couple. Then she died along with his brother in that avalanche eight years ago. Horribly sad. Apparently he and his brother were very close. He lost the two people he had loved the most in the world. A family torn apart. I'm not surprised that he's gone a bit wild. He must have been devastated. He probably needs someone to love him."

Taylor grinned. "So go up there and love him. And don't forget my favorite saying."

"What's that?"

"If you can't stand the heat..."

"Get out of the kitchen?" Selena completed the proverb but Taylor gave a saucy wink. "Remove a layer of clothing."

----

Nick strolled down the steps into the royal box, his handsome face expressionless as he stared
across the impressive stadium. Eighty-two thousand people were gradually pouring into the stands in the preparation for the breathlessly awaited match that was part of the prestigious World Cup Championship.

It was a bitterly cold February day, and his entourage was all muttering and complaining about the freezing weather.

Nick didn't notice.

He was used to being cold.

He'd been cold for eight long years.

Kevin, his Head of Security, leaned forward and offered him a phone. "Samantha for you, Your Highness."

Without turning, Nick gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head and Kevin hesitated before switching off the phone.

"Another female heart broken." The blonde shivering next to him gave a disbelieving laugh. "You're cold as ice, Nick. Rich and handsome, admittedly, but very inaccessible emotionally. Why are you ending it? She's crazy about you."

"That's why I am ending it." His voice hard, Nick watched the players warming up on the pitch, ignoring the woman gazing longingly at his profile.

"If you're ditching the most beautiful women in the world, what hope is there for the rest of us?"

No hope.

No hope for them. No hope for him. The whole thing was a game, Nick thought blankly. A game he was sick of playing.

Sports were one of the things that offered distraction. But, before the match started, he had to sit through the hospitality.

Two long hours of hopeful women and polite conversation.

Two long hours of feeling nothing.

His face appeared on the giant screened placed on either end of the playing field, and he watched himself with detached curiosity, surprised by how calm he looked. There was a loud female cheer from those gathered already in the stands, and Nick delivered the expected smile of acknowledgement, wondering idly if any of them would like to come and distract him for a few hours.

Anyone would do. He really didn't care.

As long as she didn't expect anything from him.

He glanced behind him towards the glass windows of the President's Suite where lunch would be served. An exceptionally pretty waitress was checking the table, her mouth moving as she recited her checklist to herself.

Nick studied her in silence, his eyes narrowing slightly as she paused in her work and lifted a hand to her mouth. He saw the rise and fall of her chest as she took a deep breath--watched as she tilted her head backwards and stare up at the ceiling. It was strange body language for someone about to serve lunch.

And then he realized that she was trying not to cry.