The Princess and the Player. Kat Cantrell

      

       “I’m the one at a disadvantage, if you were hoping I was Will.

      “I’m James. The other Rowling. Will is my brother.”

      “Brother? Oh,” Bella drawled as it hit her. “You and Will are twins.”

      “Guilty.” His eyes twinkled, sucking her under his spell for a moment.

      “Then I’m doubly sorry.” With no small amount of regret, she reeled back her less-than-innocent interest. “It’s fine, really.”

      It was not fine. It was so the opposite of fine, she couldn’t even wrap her head around how not fine it was. Because she’d just realized this sensually intriguing man she’d accidentally tripped over was the brother of the man her father wanted her to marry.

      If that didn’t complicate her life a million times over, she didn’t know what would.

      Her hand was still gripped tightly in his and he didn’t seem in any hurry to let her go. But he should. She pulled free and crossed her arms, wishing for a cover-up. Why did that glint in James’s eye cause her to feel so exposed all at once?

      * * *

      The Princess and the Player is part of the series Dynasties: The Montoros—One royal family must choose between love and destiny!

      The Princess and the Player

      Kat Cantrell

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      KAT CANTRELL read her first Mills & Boon® novel in third grade and has been scribbling in notebooks since she learned to spell. What else would she write but romance? She majored in literature, officially with the intent to teach, but somehow ended up buried in middle management in corporate America, until she became a stay-at-home mum and full-time writer.

      Kat, her husband and their two boys live in north Texas. When she’s not writing about characters on the journey to happily-ever-after, she can be found at a soccer game, watching the TV show Friends or listening to ’80s music.

      Kat was the 2011 Mills & Boon So You Think You Can Write winner and a 2012 RWA Golden Heart Award finalist for best unpublished series contemporary manuscript.

      Contents

       Cover

       Introduction

       Title Page

       About the Author

One

Two

Three

       Four

       Five

       Six

       Seven

       Eight

       Nine

       Ten

       Eleven

       Twelve

       Epilogue

       Extract

       Copyright

       One

      Auwck. Auwck.

      Bella Montoro’s eyelids flew open at the raucous and unwelcome alarm clock. One of the pair of feral blue-and-gold macaws who lived in the tree outside the window of her Coral Gables mansion had chosen today, of all days, to wake her early.

      Miami was full of wild macaws and normally, she loved them. Today, not so much.

      Groaning, she smooshed a pillow over her head but the pressure didn’t ease her champagne headache and the barrier didn’t muffle the happy squawks of her feathered friend. Fine. It was time to drag herself out of bed anyway.

      She sat up. A glance through the bay window confirmed which bird it was.

      “Good morning, Buttercup,” she muttered sarcastically, but with the window closed, the macaw couldn’t hear her.

      She didn’t dare open the window for fear she’d frighten her away. Both Buttercup and her mate, Wesley, were as wild as the day was long, and Bella enjoyed it when they deigned to hang out with her. She watched them groom themselves for as long as she dared since she wouldn’t get to see them for a while once she left Miami for the small country of Alma—today’s destination.

      Bella had always known she was descended from royalty, but a dictator had been ruling her ancestor’s country for ages. She’d never expected the political climate to shift. Or for the Montoros to reclaim the throne. But it had happened and though her father was first in line to become king, his divorce rendered him ineligible for the crown due to Alma’s strict laws. Then her oldest brother, Rafe, had abdicated his place so he could focus on the new baby he and his fiancée, Emily, were expecting.

      Her other brother, Gabriel, had stepped up, adopting his new role with an ease Bella admired. And while she liked the tiny island country of Alma well enough to go back for her brother’s coronation as the new king, the promise of bigger and better parties didn’t fully make up for having to leave behind the things she loved in Miami.

      She was also leaving behind her great-aunt Isabella, who might draw her last breath any day now. Rafe would check in on her of course, and Bella could call. But still. It wasn’t the same as having daily access to the woman who always had a kind word and gentle piece of advice, no matter what the occasion. Bella had been named for her father’s aunt, and they shared a kinship that transcended age.

      Her father owed her for agreeing to this move to Alma. Big time.

      Bella watched Buttercup groom her feathers for a moment, and then turned away from the beautiful view of the grounds. She might not see this house again either, and she’d taken for granted how much she loved living here. Now that the day of her departure had arrived, everything had gotten real, really fast. She’d been an American her whole life and while she’d always enjoyed the privileges of being a Montoro, becoming a member of Alma’s royal family carried heavy responsibilities with few tangible rewards.

      Not that anyone had asked her opinion.

      With far too much racket for Bella’s taste, her maid, Celia, bustled into the bedroom and frowned