CHAPTER 1

The pain was too much sometimes. She felt like it was trying to suffocate her. That is why she left. Giving her parents the excuse that she wanted to study abroad, Alexis packed her bags and moved across the continent to put distance between her and the place that reminded her of the good times she had with him. When she met him, she'd been at the hospital, battling Leukemia, and he hadn't wasted any time or lied to her. He'd told her who he was and why he was there. Immediately she'd felt a connection. He had been her savior, telling her everything would be fine as long as he was there. He'd taken her fears away and given her hope. But now he was gone.

Two years later, she thought it would be easier to come back. Easier to breathe in and not feel so much pain. But she was wrong. It hadn't lessened. When she was in London, she had found it easier to forget. There were no memories there or places that reminded her of him. As each day passed, she'd learned to live again, to be happy, to smile and remember him fondly. That was why she'd come back. Because she thought that it would be easy, that she'd overcome the pain. But seeing a child pass by holding his grandfather's hand had transported Alexis back to when she was a child, going from one store to another to shop for her brother. Jim had let her pick anything she wanted, even if it wasn't necessarily for her brother. They'd brought home so much that her mother had forbidden them from buying anything more. Jim. His name alone brought tears to her eyes. It still hadn't registered that he was gone. She refused to believe he had left.

Sucking in air, she stopped, taking in her surroundings. She had booked a hotel room, wanting to be able to leave immediately if it was all too much—which was also why she hadn't told anyone she was back yet. And she wanted to keep it that way. A few days was all she needed. To be Alexis before she went back to being the Rutherford Princess. Jim had dubbed her that once while speaking to the press, and it had stuck. Only her parents called her Alexis now. Her younger brothers called her Lexi, something they'd done ever since they were young because they couldn't pronounce Alexis. And the rest called her RP. She hated it as much as she loved it. It was a love-hate relationship. But right then, hate was what she felt. She couldn't walk down the street without people staring at her or the paparazzi following her. She had to resort to wearing a disguise, like she was right now: a black wig to cover her blonde hair and a cap just in case someone had sharp eyes and recognized her.

Looking left and right, she wondered what she was going to do. She couldn't go back to that hotel room. It was suffocating, and she didn't want to go home just yet. So she kept walking with no destination in mind until she saw a motorcycle shop. She'd always wanted one, but her parents wouldn't let her buy one. But now she could. She was twenty-three with a trust fund that could last her two lifetimes, so she was definitely getting one. Walking hastily to the shop, she went in and looked around. Her brother, Jayden, had taught her how to ride one behind their parents' backs, after making her swear she wouldn't tell anyone he was the one who'd taught her. According to him, she got away with everything, but he paid a very heavy price if he was caught doing something wrong. To some extent, it was true, but she was never going to admit that to him.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" a middle-aged man asked as he approached her.

"Yes. Do you have anything feminine?"

"What's your budget?"

Alexis scoffed. "I don't have one. I just want something easy and girly. Don't think about the price." With eyes as wide as saucers, the salesman scrambled to show her different types of bikes, but only one caught Alexis's eye. Black, sleek, stylish. That's all she saw. "That one." She pointed at it, walking towards it. She sat on it, testing how it would feel under her, and for some weird reason, she had an urgent need to buy it. So she did. After an hour of signing papers and promising the manager she'd come back if he kept his mouth shut about who she was, she took the bike for a ride. It was shiny, and she felt it was only right to finish her look with a leather jacket. Instead of going back to the hotel to retrieve the one she had there, she just bought another one. Then she sped away. It was exhilarating.

The adrenaline rush she felt from being in charge of the powerful engine beneath her made her forget about everything else. She stepped on the gas, thankful that it was starting to get dark outside and traffic was dwindling. She was so immersed in her thoughts, she didn't see the other biker speeding to catch up with her until he passed her, honking. Looking up, Alexis took that as a challenge and increased her speed. They raced, each taking the lead before the other reclaimed it. She was having fun kicking the guy's ass until a police car appeared behind them. Cursing, they both stopped, the guy intentionally parking in front of her just to show off. The cop got out of the car and walked towards them with purpose.

"License and registration, please." Alexis blinked.

"Does my driver's license count?" she asked the policeman, who just looked at her. "Right." She took it out of her jacket, handing the small rectangular card and paper to him. He looked at the photo on it, then back to her.

"Take off your cap, please," he said, still looking from the papers in his hand to her. She'd forgotten she was wearing a wig to cover up her blonde hair. Pulling both the wig and cap off, she shook her head from side to side, letting her natural hair bounce. She heard a gasp from the guy she had been competing with, and turning her head, she blinked in shock.

"Ray?"

"Lexi? When did you get back?"

"You idiot," she groaned.

"Okay. Both of you, you're coming with me to the station."

"What!?" they both asked in disbelief.

"You heard me. I can't let you go knowing who you are."

"And who are we?" that came from Raymond.

"Rich kids who have no regard for their lives or the lives of those around them."

"But...I...I..."

"Get used to it, cousin," Raymond said chuckling. Alexis gritted her teeth, wanting to sock that idiot in the face. He hadn't changed one bit, except for getting bigger. And apparently being escorted to the police station was routine for him since he didn't mind. She would bet that his father had instructed the cops to pick him up whenever they caught him doing something reckless. Dammit, she wasn't ready to go back home.

"What about my bike?"

"Follow me, and if you even think about running off, I'll hunt you down and lock you up. I don't care who you are."

"Aargh, I hate you. This is all your fault," she growled, slamming her helmet back on. She should have known it was Raymond from the way he'd flown past her. Damn him. She knew from experience that there was no talking her way out of this one. They had been going too fast, and the cop was doing them a favor by not giving them a ticket.

"What’s up, man? What did you do this time?" the police officer behind the desk at reception asked Ray as they walked in.

"I met a pretty lady who led me down the wrong path. The things we do for love," he sighed, and Alexis had an overwhelming urge to knock his teeth out. She just wanted to forget everything for a while, but now she was about to get an earful. "Do you have coffee?"

The nerve of him. "What do you think this is? A fucking hotel?" Alexis asked, throwing him a glare.

"Wow. Even when mad, you're still so pretty. And why are you even mad? It's not like I forced you to follow me. You turned this into a competition, not me."

"I turned this into a competition? You jerk. You're the one who overtook me, blaring your horn like a mad man. You didn't have to show off."

"Always blaming someone else for your mistakes, Alexis. I thought the world out there would make you grow up, but you're still the spoiled brat I remember," he scoffed, leaning on the desk. The guy behind it watched them with amusement, sensing that this was how they fought and that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Spoiled brat? You're twenty-five and the police have to bring you in every time they catch you doing something reckless because they can't trust you enough to send you home. The only reason I'm here is because of you. I did nothing wrong."

"Except you were speeding."

"Right beside you, you moron!"

"I'm going to get myself a cup of coffee. Want one?"

Alexis stomped her feet. The only reason she wasn't beating the crap out of him was she didn't want to add assault to her list of offenses. They were in a police station full of men who had guns. Maybe she could steal one and blow Ray's brains out. That imbecile.

Deciding to ignore him, she sat on one of the waiting chairs by the door and held her face in her hands. They had definitely called Vince, who had probably called her parents, and she imagined that they were breaking all traffic rules to get there. They were going to be mad at her for not telling them she was back. One of these days, she was going to put Raymond Lachlan in his place. She peeked at him between her fingers.

He was talking to another cop, holding a mug of coffee. It looked like the guys here knew who he was and were fond of him, judging by how they laughed together. He'd filled out his t-shirt in the two years she had been gone. The black V-neck molded to his body, stretching across his chest. His hands looked like they wanted to rip the material because of how big they were. As if sensing her gaze, he turned, their eyes colliding. She should have looked away, but Alexis wasn't one to shy away. She stared back at him, not willing to look away first. Why the hell was he looking at her like that? As if...

His eyes shifted, looking behind her before she could decipher what his look had meant. Then he smirked, shrugging his shoulders, and Alexis turned to see who he was looking at. Vince. And he was furious, his eyes on his son. He hadn't seen her yet, so she looked back at Ray, who gestured to her with his eyebrows.

"Alexis?" Vince asked from above her. She would deal with that idiot later.

"Hey, Vince." She got up, walking into his outstretched arms, which went around her, squeezing the life out of her.

"When did you get back? How are you, princess?"

"She's a lawbreaker now. What do ya know?" Ray said, his voice sounding much closer. When had he walked over?

"Quiet. What did you make her do, Raymond?"

"It's not always my fault, you know. It's not like she's perfect."

"Alexis would never break the law unless you coerced her. She's an upstanding citizen, unlike some people I know," Vince said, his arm now around her shoulders. Alexis stuck her tongue out at Ray, who just shook his head disapprovingly. "Are you okay? Why didn't you tell me you were back?"

"I haven't told anyone."

"Did you just get here? Where's your luggage?"

"It's..."

"Princess! You're back," Nick said, walking in with JR hot on his heels. He pulled her from Vince and hugged her for a second before JR pushed him aside to get to her. "Hey, I wasn't done yet!"

"You have two daughters, Nick. Leave mine alone," he said, pushing her hair out of her face. "Hey."

"Hey, Dad." She tightened her arms around him, and he did the same, resting his chin on top of her head. She hadn't realized how much she missed him until he hugged her.

And just like that, they'd forgotten Ray was there with them. Alexis had that effect on people. Everyone loved and adored her. She stole the spotlight wherever she went. That's why she was known as America's Princess. Ray stood aside, looking on as his father and his friends doted on her, fighting for her attention. The second they saw her, they all forgot they were in a police station and why they were there in the first place. He remembered how he used to envy her when they were kids. Everyone had worshiped her, and he couldn't see why since she was like every other kid out there. Nothing about her was special. Well, until he'd seen her walk down the stairs on her fifteenth birthday. Then he had understood why everyone wanted to be her friend or even just talk to her for a minute. She was so beautiful he had forgotten how to breathe. She still was. Only she wasn't a child anymore. She'd grown up to be a stunning woman.

Ray had almost fallen off his bike when she took off the black wig and cap she'd had on. Yes, he'd goaded her into racing with him, but she could have ignored him if she'd wanted to. He hadn't known it was her. All he'd seen was a nice ass he'd wanted to become better acquainted with. If he'd known it was her, he would have stopped to race her officially and would have asked for a prize if he'd won. Which he would have because the kind of prize he'd have asked for would have been worth a night in jail for breaking all speed limits. Running his gaze from her head to her toes, he wondered if she'd finally seen him. The way she'd looked at him before his father walked in had made everything around him come to a halt. Had the Rutherford Princess finally seen him?

"I know that look," Nick said from beside him, startling him.

"What look?" Ray said, sipping the already cold coffee he was still holding. It tasted like shit, and that made it even better. He liked to remind himself that even though he was a Lachlan, he hadn't always been. Once upon a time, he'd been a normal person, living in a one-bedroom house with his mother.

"The one that says you're smitten."

He scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about. Nick. Go fuss over the Princess."

"Let me give you some advice, my boy..."

"I didn't ask for any," he cut him off, but Nick just continued to ignore him.

"As someone who's watched Alexis grow up, I'd say she's way out of your league. Even if you were the King of England, she'd still be out your league. That's how special she is. But as a hopeless romantic, I'm telling you to make a move before someone else snatches her up. You might never be good enough for her, but you can still try."

Turning to face him, Ray glared at him. "Gee, thanks for your useless advice. I'm leaving," he said the last part loud enough for his father and JR to hear him.

"Where are you going?"

"Home, Dad. I promise not to break any laws, but no guarantees," he retorted, feeling annoyed. Who the hell did Nick think he was, telling him he wasn't good enough for Alexis? Moreover, why was he mad about it? He didn't care what anyone thought. If he wanted Alexis...

He stopped beside his bike. He did want her, dammit. He'd wanted her for years, but he'd never had the courage to tell her. So he'd settled for watching her from a distance. When she left, he thought it was his chance to move on, to find someone who could make him forget her, but he'd come up empty. No one could replace her. There was only one Princess: Alexandra Barret Rutherford.

"What did you say to him?" Vince asked Nick, who just shrugged.

"I gave him some advice."

"What kind of advice?"

"The kind uncles give their nephews. Is that a problem?" Vince shook his head. He knew his son. He also knew what was bothering him, and he was going to have a talk with him soon. He wanted his boy to be happy, and if he kept acting the way he did, he was never going to be. Not everyone was lucky enough to find love.