Page 70 of The Bad Boy Prince in Love

Hallie wasn’t going to say this, but since Miss Santer was acting so possessive of Luke, she wanted to test her theory.

“You came to the dance because you tracked his phone,” Hallie began, “but why didn’t you ever come to the ranch where he was staying?”

“I don’t have to answer that.”Santer suddenly put on an air of professional detachment.“But since you are so curious, I knew Luke wasn’t ready to see me.I was giving him time to get his act together.”

“I think it’s because you secretly like him.You wanted Luke to see you in a social environment like the dance, to see you as something other than an assistant.”

“I don’t know where these crazy ideas are coming from.Even if I liked him, I’m not stupid enough to think I could be with the prince of Sar—” She cut herself short before finishing the sentence.

“What?”Hallie asked, genuinely unsure whether she heard that correctly.

“Nothing.”It suddenly seemed like Miss Santer had blurted out something she hadn’t meant to reveal.

“Oh, you mean because he’s quite rich people call him the prince of Sarkadia?”Hallie asked.She wondered if Luke was even richer than she had imagined since he had such a lavish honorary title.

But suddenly she vaguely remembered some news headlines she had seen a few years ago.There really was a prince of Sarkadia.Being a fairly small country, Sarkadia didn’t get much coverage on the local or even regional news.

The mountainous country was perfect for skiing, but nothing much seemed to happen there...except when it concerned the royal prince.Prince Lucas, she suddenly remembered.

It all made sense now: his arrogance, his picture-perfect attire, what he said about playing polo.

Hallie gasped, unable to form a clear sentence.“Is he really...”

“I didn’t mean to say that,” Miss Santer said, her eyes scouring the floor.Then she looked up at Hallie, and it seemed she knew Hallie had figured it out.

“The prince...”Hallie murmured.

All those times he had tried to win her over, as if he couldn’t quite believe she could reject him.And that time he talked about introducing tater twisters to Sarkadia as if his every whim could create changes in the country’s culture.

“It’s in his and your best interest to keep this a secret,” Santer warned.

“Believe me,” Hallie said, “I know.”

Chapter 36: I Can’t Look

Hallie walked downthe hospital staircase, trying to clear her head.This had to be a practical joke.Santer would just love to set her up and make her look like a fool.This story about a royal prince was not remotely believable.