The Royal Dream

He calls me princess, but it turns out he's a real prince.

I’m heiress to a family business with strict expectations. Dating the son of our head gardener is not one of them. Instead, Mathias and I settle for a secret friendship.
Our dating problems should be solved when Mathias discovers he’s the prince of a small country. In a twist of fate, I’m the commoner not good enough for him. Mathias now has family expectations which exclude me.

Will either of us be able to defy our families or will we always be star-crossed lovers destined never to be together?

The Royal Dream is a standalone sweet romance in the Dream Prep Academy series. It’s perfect for fans of royal romances, hidden identities, sweet gestures, and swoony moments.

I never imagined my senior prom would involve me sitting in a pile of dirt and crying. But here I am, dressed in a ballgown, and on my rear in a pile of compost. The thought of why I’m hiding causes fresh tears to stream out my eyes. I sniff my nose with an unbecoming snorting sound. My etiquette instructor will deny she ever knew me if she saw this horrid display.

“Grace?”

Startled, I look around the dim work room. I didn’t think anyone was around and there’s no place to hide because this was supposed to be my hiding place.

“Grace? Are you okay?”

The baritone voice calls out and I sniff as a new wave of tears fills my eyes and cascades down my cheeks. At least it’s not my mother. She wouldn’t dare come into the workroom.

A switch flicks and light floods the room. In a very unladylike move, I wipe my nose with the back of my satin glove covered hand. The gloves are now stained and dirty, but they’re the least of my problems.

“Hey, princess.” Matty spots me in the corner and walks my way. His worn, brown work boots blur as my eyes fill with tears again at the gentle use of his nickname for me. “I thought I saw you come in here. Aren’t you supposed to be at your senior prom?”

“I. Can’t. Go.” My words come out punctuated between suppressed sobs.

Matty squats down to the floor and takes a seat next to me. He leans against the wheelbarrow full of compost. The sweet earthy smell fills the air like a rain-soaked garden on a spring day. Tears drop to my pink gown like rain. Matty crosses one leg over the other and grabs a handful of tulle from the full skirt of my strapless dress. He shakes the fabric in his hand.

“Do you want to tell me why you’re not at your prom?” he asks in a gentle voice.

“It’s so stupid.” I sadly shake my head. “I’m so stupid.”

“You’re so far from stupid,” Matty tells me. “Did something happen with Teddy? I saw him leave.”

I snort. “Teddy!” My usual stoic and icy veneer melts around Matty. And every piece of etiquette I’ve ever learned is thrown out, quite like my prom night and me.

“What happened?” Matty’s hand slowly moves to cover mine. His long, golden-brown fingers wrap over mine, and he doesn’t flinch at touching the damp material of the glove. His fingernails have remnants of dirt under them, probably from the very same compost we sit on.

“Teddy ditched me on the night of my senior prom.” I wipe my nose with the glove of my other hand and sniff again. I’m not the best at expressing emotion with others, but I have no trouble with Matty. “And the ironic thing is we’ve been waiting for the right time to ditch each other, but you already know that.”

“I know,” Matty says in a soft voice. He rubs a finger gently over my hand in a soothing motion.

“And here’s another stupid thing you don’t know,” I continue and take a deep breath. My chest loosens as I talk to Matty. “I wanted to go to prom with Cody. And he asked me, but only because he thought Sidney wanted him to ask me. I couldn’t go with him when they like each other.”,

“Cody?” Matty’s lips twist. “You never told me about another guy.”

“Cody Thompson,” I say. “He goes to Dream Prep Academy.”

“Cody Thompson?” Matty’s jaw drops in recognition as I nod. “The model guy with the hair?”

“It was a silly crush, like every other girl out there. And I stupidly thought I had a chance of going to prom with him.” I pinch my lips together to avoid letting out another whimper. I’m glad Matty is the one to see me like this. He’s the only one to see me at my worst, not even my friends from Dream Prep Academy get a glimpse of the warm heart shielded within an ice princess.

“You have a crush on Cody Thompson?” Matty’s hand loosens on mine and his voice takes on a concerning tone.

“Had a crush,” I emphasize. “I learned nothing ever comes of a crush. It was so stupid. I’m embarrassed for having a crush on him and for having Teddy dump me on prom night. These things aren’t supposed to happen to me.”

“You’re not the only one. It’s okay to be embarrassed and to be dumped.” Matty’s hand grips mine a little tighter. “What happened with Teddy?”

I shrug and release a large breath. There are some things I can’t tell Matty, to protect him and my family. “He didn’t want to go with me.”

“He’s an idiot,” Matty says with a shake of his head. “But what’s this about him ditching you now? I thought your parents basically have you two betrothed and he was scared to break it off before college.”

“I can’t blame Teddy,” I say. “I wanted to be the one to ditch him sooner, but it didn’t work for me. And my mother can’t find out about this.”

“The thought of your mother is enough to make anyone cry,” Matty says and releases my hand. “You’re smart to hide in the workroom. I’ve never seen her come in here.”

“She won’t be happy.” I grimace at the thought and then turn a small smile to Matty. “But I’m glad you’re here.”
Like a vine twisting around a trellis, Matty’s been engrained in my life since we were young. He’s only a year older and knows me well. He sees the formal Grace and the real Grace, which I can’t bring out often. Matty is the one I run to with the hidden recesses of my life. It’s not surprising I ran to the one place he spends a lot of time in.

“You’re missing your senior prom,” Matty says in a soft voice.

“Yes.” I tip my head back and look at the wood beams of the ceiling.

Dream Prep Academy senior proms are known for being something out of a dream, like a fairy tale come true. The theme for this year is “A Royal Prom” and I’m royally missing it. I never made it out of my driveway. Teddy picked me up, told me he was ditching, and I got out of the car at the end of our long driveway.

“Do you still want to go to prom?” Matty nudges his shoulder into my bare one.

“I can’t go now. Look at me.” I lift some of my massive skirt with my hands. “My gloves are stained, my dress is dirty, and I don’t have a date. I’ll be the only one of my friends there alone.”

“I can take you.” Matty’s voice is soft.

“That’s sweet.” I smooth my skirt with my hands. “But they’d never let you in.”