Enticing Liam
Enticing Liam
A Big Sky Royal Novel
Kristen Proby
Ampersand Publishing, Inc.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Glossary
Prologue
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
Epilogue
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Also by Kristen Proby:
About the Author
Enticing Liam
A Big Sky Royal Novel
By
Kristen Proby
ENTICING LIAM
A Big Sky Royal Novel
Kristen Proby
Copyright © 2020 by Kristen Proby
All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect are appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Cover Design: By Hang Le
Cover photo: Perrywinkle Photography
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Published by Ampersand Publishing, Inc.
Dedication
For Montana – my home, not only by birth but also where my soul is on fire.
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“I'm in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love.” – John Steinbeck
Glossary
Who’s who in Cunningham Falls…
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Please know this may contain spoilers for anyone new to the series. The books each couple stars in is noted next to their description.
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The King Family:
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Jeff and Nancy King – Retired owners of the Lazy K Ranch. Parents of Josh and Zack King.
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Josh King – Partner of Lazy K Ranch. Married to Cara Donovan. {Loving Cara}
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Zack King – Partner of Lazy K Ranch. Married to Jillian Sullivan (Jillian is the sister of Ty Sullivan). Parents to Seth, Miles and Sarah. {Falling for Jillian}
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Doug and Susan King – Doug is Jeff’s brother. They live mostly in Arizona, but come to Montana in the summer. Parents of Noah and Grayson.
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Noah King – Owner of Wild Wings Bird Sanctuary. Married to Fallon McCarthy, a yoga instructor and owner of Asana Yoga Studio. {Soaring With Fallon}
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Grayson King – Ski Instructor on Whitetail Ski Resort. Married to Autumn O’Dea, a Pop music sensation. {Hold On, A Crossover Novella by Samantha Young}
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The Sullivan Family:
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Ty Sullivan – Attorney. Brother of Jillian. Married to Lauren Cunningham, a bestselling author, whose great grandfather first settled Cunningham Falls. Parents to Layla. {Seducing Lauren}
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The Hull Family:
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Brad Hull – Chief of Police. Married to Hannah Malone, an OB/GYN. {Charming Hannah}
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Jenna Hull – Owner of Snow Wolf Lodge. Married to actor and superstar, Christian Wolfe. {Kissing Jenna}
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Max Hull – Self-made billionaire. Married to Willa Monroe (Sister to Jesse Anderson), owner of Dress It Up. Parents to Alex Monroe. {Waiting for Willa}
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The Henderson Family:
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Brooke Henderson – Owner of Brooke’s Blooms. Married to Brody Chabot, architect. {Tempting Brooke, a 1001 Dark Nights Novella}
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Maisey Henderson – Owner of Cake Nation. Married to Tucker McCloud, pro football player. {Nothing Without You, A Crossover Novella by Monica Murphy}
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The Royal Family:
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Prince Sebastian Wakefield – The Duke of Somerset. Married to Nina Wolfe (sister to Christian). {Enchanting Sebastian}
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Prince Frederick Wakefield – Brother to Sebastian. Married to Catherine. No book belongs to this couple, as they are already married when introduced.
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Prince Callum – Brother to Sebastian.
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Princess Eleanor Wakefield – Sister to Sebastian. Married to Liam Cunningham. {Enticing Liam}
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Jacob Baxter – Sebastian’s best friend. Owner of Whitetail Mountain, along with several local businesses, including the restaurant Ciao. Married to Grace Douglas.
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Liam Cunningham – Head of Montana security, and personal bodyguard to Sebastian. Cousin to Lauren Cunningham. Married to Ellie Wakefield. {Enticing Liam}
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Nick Ferguson – Personal bodyguard to Nina Wolfe.
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Miscellaneous and important characters:
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Jesse Anderson - Former Navy deep-sea diver. Married to Tara Hunter. {Worth Fighting For, A Crossover Collection Novella by Laura Kaye}
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Joslyn Meyers – Pop star. Married to Kynan McGrath. {Wicked Force, A Crossover Collection Novella by Sawyer Bennett}
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Dr. Drake Merritt – Surgeon. Married to Abigail Darwin. Both characters are best friends of Hannah Malone. {Crazy Imperfect Love, A Crossover Collection Novella by K. L. Grayson}
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Penelope (Penny) – Former teacher. Married to Trevor Wood, Drummer for the rock band, Adrenaline. {All Stars Fall, A Crossover Collection Novella by Rachel Van Dyken}
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Aspen Calhoun – New owner of Drips & Sips.
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Sam Waters – Firefighter.
Prologue
~Liam~
“Just landed,” Phillip, who happens to be Princess Eleanor’s personal security, says into my ear. I glance at the time.
Two in the goddamn morning.
“See you in ten.” I hang up the phone and reach for my jeans. Usually, I would wear something more formal while on duty as the head of security for the royal family’s Montana estate. But at two in the morning, the princess will have to deal with jeans and a T-shirt.
At least they’re clean.
Six hours ago, I received a call from Phillip, giving me the heads-up that they were leaving London and headed here. But he requested I not tell Prince Sebastian, the man who pays my salary—and the eldest of the royal siblings.
Well, fuck that.
The prince is my boss, and in the past year that I’ve been employed here, we’ve established mutual trust and admiration.
His baby sister’s random trip across the pond isn’t a secret I plan to keep.
I jog from my apartment in the guesthouse of the lake-front property in Cunningham Falls, Montana, to the main residence. I key in the security code for the door and let myself in. I find Sebastian sitting in the kitchen, quietly reading something on his iPad.
“Good morning,” I murmur and nod my head in a bow when he loo
ks up at me. “Your Royal Highness.”
“At this hour, you can call me Sebastian.”
I feel my lips twitch. “Any idea why she decided to come all this way in the middle of the night?”
He shakes his head. “With Ellie, she could have just been in the mood for dinner at Ciao tomorrow.”
I’ve met the princess a few times. She’s a likeable woman. Beautiful. Smart.
Okay, so she’s more than beautiful. She’s stunning.
She’s also a pain in my ass and almost died on my watch last summer, so I’d rather she not show up here at all. Especially when her trip is shrouded in secrets and drama.
Then again, maybe this is just Eleanor’s life.
“The car will be here any minute,” I inform Sebastian.
“You didn’t have to come to the house.”
“It’s my job.”
I receive a text, alerting me to the car pulling into the drive, and then walk to the entryway. Before anyone can knock, I open the door and look down into bright blue eyes.
“Hello, Princess.”
Her mouth opens and closes, but she pulls herself together, lifts her chin into the air, and nods.
“Hello, Liam.”
“Your brother is in the kitchen.”
I step back to allow Eleanor and Phillip to enter the house, close the door behind them, and walk back to the kitchen in time to hear Eleanor say, “It was supposed to be a surprise.”
She glares over at me, but I stand my ground and cross my arms over my chest.
“Keeping secrets from His Highness isn’t what I’m paid to do.”
“It wasn’t a harmful secret,” she mutters. “Well, surprise anyway.”
“Hello, darling.” Sebastian offers his sister a hug. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
“Oh, you don’t want to know, and I don’t want to talk about it,” she replies before sinking into a chair next to her brother. “Let’s just say I needed a holiday. Far away from London.”
“How long will you be staying?” Sebastian asks before I can.
“As long as possible. Maybe a couple of months.”
I swallow the expletive before it crosses my lips.
A couple of months.
I trade a look with Phillip. “Will you be staying with her?”
“She’s my charge,” he says with a nod. “I go where she goes.”
“You have a family in London,” Eleanor reminds him. “You certainly don’t have to stay. With Liam and Nick and the rest of Liam’s team, I’ll be safe.”
“We’ll discuss it,” I say to Phillip. “If you don’t need us any more tonight, we’ll go back to headquarters.”
“Go, get some rest,” Sebastian says. “And thank you.”
“Thank you,” Eleanor echoes as Phillip and I walk out of the main house and down to HQ where the security team lives while on duty.
Nick—Sebastian’s wife Nina’s personal security—and I live here full time. The other team members live in town and work in shifts.
“You can take the second bedroom on the right upstairs,” I inform Phillip.
“Thanks, but I’ll be up now. Jet lag.”
I nod. I rarely sleep myself. And now that Eleanor is on the property, I’ll sleep even less. She has that effect on me. “Our first meeting will be at 0700.”
Chapter 1
~Ellie~
“Hello, Mummy.” I grin at the face of my mother, who’s holding the phone just a little too close for FaceTime. It seems whether you’re royalty or not, the older generation struggles with technology.
I’m lying on the bed in the guest room with the phone propped on the pillows and my chin resting in my hands.
“I have your father with me,” she says and turns the phone so I can see the king. “Say hello to Ellie, dear.”
“Can you let Father hold the phone? He has longer arms, and I can see you both that way.”
“I have it,” Father says. Suddenly, both of my parents are in the frame.
“That’s better. Hello to both of you.”
“How are things in Montana?” Mum asks.
“Oh, it’s beautiful here. Summer is lovely.”
“Now that the pleasantries are out of the way,” Father says, his brows lowering in a frown. “Why in the world did you sneak out of here without a word to anyone?”
“I had my security with me,” I say in my defense. “I wasn’t completely irresponsible.”
“That didn’t answer my question,” he replies, and both of them wait silently for me to answer.
It won’t do any good to lie. They’ll find out eventually.
“Beau proposed to me,” I admit, nausea at the very thought of it taking up residence in my belly. “Last week, the evening I left London.”
“Oh, darling, that’s wonderful,” Mum says, but I shake my head.
“It’s not wonderful. I don’t love Beauregard. I don’t even like him. He’s pompous and rude. There’s not a kind bone in that man’s body.”
“Well, then a simple no would have sufficed,” Father says. “There was no need to flee the continent.”
“Yes. There was.” I swallow hard. “I know you love me very much, but I’m so tired of you trying to find me a suitable match. The men you try to set me up with are awful. They may have the right pedigree, but that doesn’t make them good people.”
“Britain is full of eligible men,” Mum says. “You’ll find one that suits.”
“And sooner rather than later,” Father says.
“I’m not an old maid.”
“And you won’t turn into one either,” Father says. “I’ll give you thirty days in Montana, but you’ll come back in time for the state dinner next month. There will be plenty of eligible men there, and you have responsibilities.”
Always with the responsibilities.
Everyone thinks that being a member of the royal household means dripping in jewelry and wearing pretty clothes and having the world served on a silver platter.
That is true, but it’s much more than that.
“Yes, sir.”
“Enjoy your time with Sebastian and Nina,” Mum says. “And please send them our love.”
“I will.” I offer them a cheerful smile. “And I’ll be home in time for the dinner.”
“Goodbye, daughter,” Father says.
“Goodbye.”
I hang up the phone and let out a deep sigh, then toss my cell on the bed and roll onto my back, staring at the ceiling. My parents don’t understand. They met when my mother was in her early twenties and have been inseparable since.
It’s rather difficult to find the man you’re supposed to spend the next seventy years with when you’re under this kind of pressure.
Fortunately, I don’t have to think about that right now. I have thirty days to relax. And thankfully, Sebastian and Nina haven’t tried to pry into why I came here so abruptly. They’ve given me space to sleep, read, and daydream.
This lake house is perfect for all of those things. At more than ten-thousand square feet, there is plenty of room to be alone. But I know that if and when I want their company, I’m always welcome to join them.
I walk into the closet and choose a sundress for the day, slip my feet into Hermes slides, and walk down to the main living area where we usually congregate. Nina’s spreading something on a bagel. Nick is outside on the deck, close enough to see Nina but out of earshot.
Sebastian and the other security members are nowhere to be seen.
“Where is everyone?” I ask as I reach for a banana and sit at the island. I love how open the kitchen is to the rest of the living space, and how from anywhere in the room, a person can look out the floor-to-ceiling windows to the lake beyond.
“They’re in a meeting,” Nina says with a smile. “Would you like a bagel and cream cheese?”
“I’ll share it with you,” I offer, and Nina happily slides half of her breakfast over to me. “Thank you. What kind of meeting?”
&nb
sp; “Well, since you’ve been here for a week and we don’t know how long you’re staying, the security team is trying to decide if Phillip should stay or go, and what to do if he goes.”
“Where are they?” I set the bagel down and stand from the chair.
“In the guest house,” she replies and frowns. “Tell Nick if you’re planning to go down there.”
“It’s twenty yards away.”
She narrows her eyes. “Ellie, you’re my sister-in-law, and I love you, but you know what happened when we rebelled against the rules.”
“I almost died,” I murmur. “Fine, I’ll tell him.”
I walk to the glass door and crack it open. “Nick? I’m going to head down to the guest house.”