Maia woke up cocooned in Mateo's arms and a blush burned over her cheeks. They shouldn't have ended up in bed together last night.

But she was caught up in her emotions and his fucking mouth. She slid a hand over her lips as a tingle swelled in her gut. God, she'd never been kissed like that before and shit, she wanted more than just that feverish make out session.

At least Mateo had some self control before they fucked like she wanted to.

And why did she?

She was drunk, but not to the point that she didn't know what she was doing. She had no reason to keep up their act after they left the bar.

Maia sighed.

Last night Mateo made her feel like she was everything. Like no one else mattered to him and she didn't want it to end. Faye was right to caution her about doing this. One emotional night and she fell for his act, but why did being with him have to feel so natural and so good?

And why did she keep lying to herself about Mateo not being her type?

Mateo stirred, sliding a hand to her cheek. "Good morning," he murmured, pulling slightly away from her and her heart thumped at the tenderness swirling in his sleepy brown eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. A little embarrassed," she said, laughing softly. "I might've said some things last night and I'm sorry."

"For what?" he said, caressing her cheek.

"For one, I took your shirt off."

A smile tugged at his lips as he chuckled. "You did."

She bit her lip. "And I stepped over all the boundaries we agreed to."

"Mm-hm, but so did I and I'm sorry too."

"At least you had the good sense to stop us though."

"I didn't want you to regret anything." He rubbed a curl behind her ear. "Did you sleep off the way you felt?"

Heart heart clenched. Could she really admit her feelings sober? And did he feel the same way about her?

"It's okay if you did, but I...I think I need to be honest with you," he said, sliding his hand from her cheek as he sat up. "I have feelings for you and I know we agreed not to let that happen, but I've always liked you." He clenched his hands in his lap. "Last night made me realize I want more than your friendship and if I feel like this, then I don't think I should fake this relationship with you anymore."

Maia's heart was pounding at his admission. "Mateo," she said, sitting up and sliding her hand over his.

"You don't have to say anything. I know I'm way off base and what you were feeling last night had a lot to do with your ex." He pulled away from her and got out of bed as he dragged a hand through his tousled hair. "I should...I should go make breakfast," he said, picking up his shirt from the floor and swiftly making his way out of the room before she could find the words to stop him.

"Fuck," she groaned, leaning back against the headboard and sliding her hands over her face. All she had to do was have the courage to tell him no.

Sleep hadn't changed the way she felt. She still meant everything she said. He made her happy and she loved herself more when she was with him. Mateo was everything she didn't know she wanted and if she was honest with herself, she'd always liked him too, long before she ever asked him to be her muse.

She slid her hands from her face and threw the blankets off. If Mateo was brave enough to tell her how he felt, then she needed to be honest with him too. Her emotions had nothing to do with Sven, but everything to do with Mateo.

Maia swept out of the room and padded down the hall to the kitchen, but her steps slowed at the heated sound of Mateo speaking in Dutch as he paced back and forth in the living room.

"Why would you do that?" Mateo said, through gritted teeth. "You created this problem with Jorien and you had no right to put me in this situation." He seethed. "She doesn't know, but I'll have to tell her now," he said, looking over at Maia and her heart churned at the guilt swirling in his brown depths. "This is going to affect her life too." He sighed, hanging up the phone.

"Is everything okay?" Maia asked, nearing him. "Is it your family?"

"Yes," he said, tossing his phone on the couch before he dragged his hands through his hair. "Apparently Sven's been talking about you with his good friend, Gesina, my sister in law. He sent her a picture of us together, so now my family thinks we're a couple."

Maia frowned. "Okay, I don't see the problem. You said your parents would be fine if they ever found out we were together."

"Yeah, I did and they're fine with it, but the problem isn't my parents," he said, shaking his head. "It's the politics of Oost den Burg, my brother's status there and what me being with you will mean to the people."

"I'm not really following you. What does your relationship status have to do with the people of Oost den Burg?"

Mateo sighed, taking her hand. "The reason why I never showed up in a basic google search is because Mateo Casparij isn't my real name."

Maia's heart clenched. "Wh-what do you mean?" she said, pulling her hand away from him. "Who are you?"

"I didn't want to tell you like this," he said, squeezing her hand. "But I'm Prince Hendrik Mateo de Koning. I'm a member of the royal family of Oost den Berg and my father has recently decided I'd make a better successor than my brother. So he's using our...relationship as a ploy to appease the royal council and the people by announcing that you and I are engaged and I'm finally coming home with you to take my place as king."

"What the fuck?" Maia said, taking a step back from him as she slumped down on the couch.

"I'm so sorry," he said, kneeling down in front of her. "When we agreed to fake a relationship, I didn't think anything like this would happen."

Maia clenched her hands in her lap. "Were you ever going to tell me who you were?"

"No," he said, hanging his head. "I didn't think there'd ever be a reason to tell you or anyone here."

Maia's heart sank to the pit of her stomach as realization washed over her. "So, you didn't mean it when you said you wanted to stay in contact after you left. Did you mean anything you said to me?"

Mateo slid his hands over hers. "I meant everything I said to you, Maia. I wasn't lying when I told you we'd always be friends and I'd try my best to visit you."

"You just weren't going to tell me who you really were and you'd keep our friendship a secret, right?"

"Yes."

Maia smirked, pulling her hands away from his. "Because being seen with me would ruin whatever image you need to uphold as a prince?"

"No. God, no. Being seen with you is a benefit to my image as a prince. The only reason I was going to keep our friendship a secret was to protect your image from being seen with me."

"Why? You're a prince. If anything, being seen with you would catapult my brand."

"You would think that." Mateo sighed. "But I'm not like the princes you write about. I've got a terrible track record when it comes to relationships and how I used to condone myself in the public eye."

Maia raised an eyebrow. "If that's the case, then why does your father want you to be king and why would he lie about you being engaged to me?"

Mateo leaned back from her. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, but Mateo – or should I call you Hendrik or your Highness?"

"Mateo is fine."

"How can you think about food right now? I want some answers and I think you owe me that."

"I do and I promise to tell you everything. I just thought it'd be easier to do it while we ate," he said, standing. "And once I explain everything, don't feel like you have any obligation to carry on this charade with me."

Maia shook her head as she stood and took his hand. "I'm confused and I'm angry." She sighed. "But I'm still your friend and you helped me when I needed you, so it's only right that I return the favor."

"Okay, but you can still change your mind," he said, squeezing her hand. "I don't expect anything from you, especially after what I said earlier."

"Yeah," she said, slipping her hand from his. "I'll let you know what I want to do after you've explained who you really are and what being your fiancée means."

"Of course." He nodded. "That's only right," he said, moving around her to the kitchen.

Maia followed after him lost in her thoughts as she slid onto a stool at the island while he rummaged through the refrigerator. She didn't know what to think about any of this. She was prepared to tell him how she felt, but now she'd rather keep her feelings to herself until she knew who the hell she'd fallen for.

Sadly, Sven had done her a favor. She never would've known Mateo was hiding the truth about himself if Sven hadn't unknowingly reached out to Mateo's sister in law and opened this can of worms.

And that hurt her the most that Mateo couldn't tell her the truth even though he'd admitted his feelings. He was still going to keep her in the dark about who he was.

A/N: Maia was ready! She was going to tell Mateo how she felt! I honestly don't blame her for keeping it to herself at the moment because now she's feeling like he was never going to be fully honest with her even though he was honest about how he felt. Not only that, what does this mean that his father has announced that she and Mateo are engaged! What. The. Fuck! I mean, thanks Sven for stirring this shit up, but....what does this even mean for Maia and Mateo? Should she even agree to play off an engagement with him? Good lord, I have so many questions....