"You two have a lot of nerve showing up in here after I had to find out on Facebook that you're engaged!" Jodie huffed, sliding her hands to her hips behind the counter of Crested Cups. "And you're a goddamn prince!"

"Well, it was supposed to be a secret." Mateo chuckled. "But my father got a little ahead of himself. I'm sorry, Jodie."

"Yeah you better be," she smirked, but a smile curled over her lips as she eyed Faye standing beside Maia. "And who's this newcomer in town?"

Maia wrapped her arm around her sister and beamed. "This is my sister and my agent, Faye. She's going to be staying at my place for a while, so if you're not too mad at me, I wouldn't mind if you helped her get settled around here."

"Oh please, I'm not mad at you. Just surprised is all," Jodie said, waving her off before she held out her hand to Faye. "It's lovely to meet you. I'm Jodie Griffiths. I own this shop and my husband, Dan, is the Sheriff. We'd be more than happy to show you around or be a friend. Whatever you need."

Faye smiled, shaking her hand. "That's very kind of you and to be fair to Maia and Mateo, I was the one who told them to keep their relationship a secret for a while. I didn't want any unwanted press interfering with Maia's work, especially with Mateo's status."

"Well, that was probably for the best. Us locals like a good gossip and we wouldn't have been able to keep our mouths shut about them," Jodie said, winking at Mateo. "Should we call you, Your Highness now or Prince Hendrik? It's all very confusing, mister."

"No." He laughed. "You know me as Mateo and that's how I'd like to keep it."

"Good...good," Jodie said, turning away from them to start the coffee machine. "Now the other thing I want to know is how long you two have really been together? It was after that incident last year, wasn't it?"

Maia looked up at Mateo. "It wasn't too long after that."

"Mm-hm," he said, threading his fingers through hers. "I kept in touch with Maia, just to check in on her and things slowly started after that."

"I knew it." Jodie beamed, setting three cups of coffee on the counter. "You were far too chummy with each other when Maia came back this time," she said, leaning against the counter. "So, when's the wedding? And can I see the ring?"

"We don't have a date yet, but Mateo did well," Maia said, holding out her hand.

"You sure did!" Jodie gasped. "That's gorgeous, Mateo and it suits you so well, Maia."

"I'll make sure to let you know when they pick a date," Faye said, picking up one of the coffee cups on the counter. "I'm sure you'll be on the guest list."

"I better be!"

Maia laughed. "Of course you will be," she said and her heart sank a little at the sight of Jodie's giddying excitement for them, especially since a wedding was most likely never going to happen. She hated this part of what they were doing. It didn't feel great to lie about something as big as this, but at least it was only a half a lie.

She and Mateo were at least a real couple now, so it didn't feel completely horrible spinning out the tale of when they got together. It was good practice for Oost den Burg when the stakes would be much higher than this small town.

The days leading up to Maia and Mateo's departure were filled with showing Faye around the small town, introducing her to the locals and friends that would help her get accustomed to Crested Butte and of course spreading their tale of their engagement to cover their tracks before they left for Oost den Burg.

Not only was Faye quickly embracing the small town life, but Jodie and the locals were quick to embrace her as one of their own too. At least she'd know Faye was in good hands and good company to find herself after being dealt the blow of her husband leaving her.

Maia's phone dinged on her bedside table as she finished packing her clothes and a wave of dread washed over her. Sven hadn't messaged or called her since he left and she could only imagine he'd settled in now and was ready to start tormenting her. She swiped up her phone and the smile returned to her face as she eyed the notification on the screen.

Demetri >> I can't wait for you to see the new wardrobe I've crafted for you tomorrow!<<

Maia >> I can't either! Why don't you send me a little tease? 😁<<

Demetri >> Nope. You know I don't do that. <<

Maia >> 🙄 But this is a different situation!<<

Demitri >> I know and I can't believe you're engaged to Prince Hendrik. I'm proud of you. He's a perfect match for you and your smutty self, but tell me, is he your muse?<<

A blush burned over Maia's cheeks as she bit her lip and tapped her reply.

Maia >> He is...but, he doesn't know about my deviant stuff.<<

Demitri >> 😯 Maia... he's literally the one man you should be telling. He's not a prude like that piece of shit you were with.<<

Maia >> I know, but we haven't gotten to that convo yet...<<

Demitri >> The fuck do you mean? You're about to marry him and you haven't...Shit, I knew there was something fishy about all this. You better tell me everything when I see you.<<

Maia >> I'll tell you what you need to know. <<

Demitri >> Which is everything. If you haven't told him about your escapades, then I'm assuming he doesn't know you and I fuck on occasion either?<<

Maia >> No and we won't be doing that. <<

Demitri >> Why not? Hendrik might want to join in 😏<<

Maia >> Dem, I swear to God you better not blow up my spot. <<

Demitri >> You know I won't, but if you want this to work with him, then you need to be the REAL you. Not the woman you are to your fans or the woman you tried to be for Sven.<<

Maia sighed. Demetri never failed to hit her with the hard truths, not even the ones her sister threw at her stabbed her the way his did.

"You okay?" Mateo said, leaning against the doorframe. "Is Sven messaging you again?"

Maia shook her head. "No. It's just Demetri talking shit," she said, slipping her phone in her pocket. "He can be an ass sometimes."

"Mm, is he warning you about me?"

"No." She laughed. "He thinks you're the perfect match for me."

"Oh, does he?" Mateo grinned, closing the gap between them. "I like him already," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "So, what was that heavy sigh for then?"

"Nothing," she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I think everything's just hitting me."

"I know. I'm getting a little nervous about this too," he said, pressing his forehead against hers. "But I promise you'll be fine and if you're not, we'll leave. I don't care."

"We can't do that," she said, laughing softly. "I'm not worth you giving up your place as the future king."

"I don't want to be king and even if I did, being happy with you is worth more than that," he said, kissing her cheek. "Our engagement might be fake, but I'm ready for something real with you."

Maia's heart thumped as she gazed into his warm brown eyes and kissed him softly. "So am I," she whispered against his lips.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but it's time. Your car is here."

Maia tore her gaze from Mateo to her sister standing in the doorway. "Okay," she said, taking a deep breath to quell her nervousness rushing back to the surface.

Mateo slid his fingers to her chin, turning her face back to his. "Are you ready?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I will be by the time we get there."

"Alright," he said, caressing her cheek. "We can stay in Amsterdam for a few days if you want. We're not in a rush to get to Oost den Burg."

"That's true, you're not obligated to do any press interviews until next week, so you can take your time, but you are in a rush to catch your flight," Faye said, clapping her hands. "So, let's go, you two."

"Right," Mateo said, pulling away from Maia and frowned as he picked up her black and tan patterned bag from the bed. "Is this all you're taking?"

"Yeah, the rest of my stuff is in Amsterdam."

"Alright, I'll take our things out to the car then," Mateo said, crossing the room and giving Faye a hug. "Thank you for everything. I've got someone taking care of my house, but if you need anything over there, feel free to use it as you please."

"Thank you, Mateo. I'm sure I'll be fine. You just take care of my sister," Faye said, patting his back before he made his way to the door.

"I'll call you when I get there," Maia said, hugging Faye tight. "And I hope you come for the engagement party once we know when that is."

"You know I'll be there," Faye said, kissing her head. "Just try to enjoy this experience and start writing your story."

"I will, but you better enjoy yourself too. Have a little fun here, you deserve it, Faye."

"I'll try." Faye smiled. "I love you, Maia."

"I love you too," she said, hugging her again before Faye walked her to the door.

"Safe travels!" Faye called as Maia walked down the driveway to Mateo holding open the door of the sleek black SUV for her.

Maia waved as she slipped into the car and took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Mateo said, threading his fingers through hers.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I just never thought I'd be leaving the Butte with a prince," she said as the car rolled out of the driveway. "It all feels so surreal."

"If it makes you feel better, it feels surreal that I'm going home after so long," Mateo said, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her palm. "But I'm glad it's with you."

"Me too." Maia smiled, leaning into him and her mind drifted back to what Demetri said to her. Mateo was probably the one man she could truly be herself with and while she'd opened up to him about how she felt, there was still so much more of herself she needed to share if she wanted this to be real with him.

It wasn't like she wanted to hide herself from him, but she wanted to take her time with Mateo and like he said, she wasn't a casual fling and they didn't have to rush anything in their relationship. She could slowly let him see her for who she was and the side of herself she kept locked up tight and far away from the public eye.

Looking down at Mateo's thumb gently caressing the back of her hand and a comforting warmth spread over her. She wanted to fall in love with him and share the darkest parts of herself as if it were a natural thing to do, but she knew she wouldn't feel comfortable doing that until she saw his world and who he was as a prince.

She didn't want to fall into the same trap when she fell for Sven without seeing him for who he truly was.

A/N: Oop! What smutty secrets/past is Maia keeping under wraps? I mean I'm with her on not wanting to show all of herself until she sees Mateo in his world, but damn Maia, this man has been nothing but honest with you about himself so far...well okay, maybe we don't know the whole truth about him either...🤔 But we're about to find out because we're finally going to the Netherlands!