Zia is a princess who works as a chambermaid in a hotel. As a disgraced princess by virtue of her heritage as the daughter of a hated dictator, she never expected to become a real royal. Orazio is the wealthy King, who agreed to take the throne when he didn’t really want it but their two countries are on the brink of a reunification and Zia (real name Annunziata and no, she doesn’t like it either) is the princess he doesn’t want to marry although popular opinion would put them together. Zia tells him straight off that she doesn’t want to marry him. She settles into Princess school on his yacht to learn how to be a princess so as not to frighten off the locals. They fight their attraction.

Orazio tries to play it cool because he’s scared of frightening her off and Zia doesn’t trust anyone, not even him. But the passion sucks them in, changes attitudes, burns them up. Zia wants to be loved, Orazio doesn’t even want to recognise that love exists. The scene is set for misunderstanding but there is no pregnancy, blackmail or convenient marriage in this story….for those of you who care.

UPDATE (Oct 2025): Aristide and Tabby’s story will be called the “King’s Promised Princess“.

Excerpts From the Book

‘My brooch has gone’

And then there was a whole fracas with Zia steadily proclaiming her blamelessness, various other guests appearing to ask what was going on and then finally the manager arrived looking world weary and put upon.

‘My brooch has gone. The girl’s trolley should be searched,’ the guest insisted, treating Zia to a suspicious appraisal.

The manager told her to bring her trolley in and Zia retrieved it with resentment mounting high inside her small frame. On request, she unloaded the trolley, stacking soiled towels into an untidy heap and when she reached the final one as she shook it out, something bright and glittering fell out and clinked on the polished floor. It was a big brooch. Astonished, Zia froze while the manager stooped to pick it up and show it to the guest, who swiftly identified it and pinned it to her jacket.

‘I’ve never heard you enthusing this way about a woman.’

‘So, what’s she like?’ Fiero asked immediately when he phoned his friend to bring him up to date.

‘Different. Beautiful, opinionated, stubborn, clever, surprisingly well-educated. Knows everything there is to know about Mandovia including the news about the new National Park scheduled for the autumn,’ Orazio shared.

‘You sound like a guy with a crush-‘

‘I’ve never heard you enthusing this way about a woman.’

Something clenched in Orazio’s chest

‘Do you have a swimsuit on underneath?’ Allie asked her helpfully.

‘Yes. I have an entire collection of them now,’ Zia remarked with quiet pride.

Something clenched in Orazio’s chest at the renewed awareness that she had gone without for so long. Ignored and forgotten about by both governments but fished back out of obscurity to play the role they now needed her to fulfil in the reunification.  He wondered what she would choose to do, where she would go when her six months in Mandovia was up. Would she stay on? Pursue her studies in her birth country or return to London?