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“Oh yeah, there is definitely something going on there,” I whispered to Veronica.
Sabrina leaned back with a satisfied sigh after a sip of her drink. “Sounds like you all had a wonderful day. Ours wasn’t bad at all, I must say. We were just being lazy around at the hotel, soaking up the spa treatments.” She glanced over at me. “August, you and Veronica are playing nice today. I like the change.”
Veronica smirked. “I’m taking it easy on him, at least for now.”
“I learned while we were on the safari that in black rhino courtship, the female is in charge of the dance,” Simon said. “She whistles and follows the male until he realizes it’s time for romance. Then they head butt for hours.”
“Yup—sounds like Veronica,” I said with a chuckle, then took a sip of my spiced drink.
“I’m a little confused about your backstory, though, and I’m not sure how much of what I read online is true,” Sabrina said, studying us both. “August, you have two brothers, right?”
I nodded. “Yes, Prince Oliver and Prince Theodore. I also have a sister, Princess Adriana.”
She nodded. “Now, let’s see if I’ve got this straight … You used to go out with Veronica, but then she got engaged to your brother instead. But now your brother is engaged to the wedding planner?”
“That about sums it up,” I replied with a rueful grin. “Sounds like a soap opera plot, doesn’t it?”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Veronica said, her voice steady. “I never loved his brother. It was an arranged marriage.”
Simon nodded in understanding. “But you two used to be in love …”
“I still love her,” I confessed, the words slipping out before I could gauge the reaction they might provoke.
All eyes at the table shifted to Veronica. I didn’t expect her to reciprocate her feelings openly, but I was eager to see how she’d respond.
She paused, visibly caught off guard.
After a moment, she said, “August, can we talk? Just the two of us, please?”
“Sure, as long as it’s not another jousting match,” I quipped, trying to lighten the mood despite the tension I’d just unleashed.
We excused ourselves and walked over to a quieter part of the grassy area under the soft glow of the full moon.
Veronica faced me, hands on her hips. “August, you can’t just declare your love in front of everyone like that. It puts me on the spot. Love isn’t something you switch on and off at will.”
“I didn’t say it as part of a scheme—my feelings for you never turned off,” I admitted. “That’s just the truth. Do you remember what I said back at the safari camp?”
Veronica sighed. “You said a lot of things. It’s hard to keep track.”
“I told you that instead of trying to rekindle the past, we should ignite something new. Something brighter and more genuine than before. I wasn’t expecting a declaration from you tonight, but I can’t suppress my feelings any longer. They haven’t changed.”
She looked at me, her expression softening. “And what about that confession you mentioned earlier? What did you want to tell me?”
I wasn’t sure it was the best time, but maybe it would be best to just put it all out there, now that we were in private. But before I could reveal my long-held secret to Veronica, Caleb’s urgent shout sliced through the air, redirecting our night.
“August! Stop that kid!” he said.
Turning sharply, I glimpsed a young boy, maybe nine or ten years old, dashing through the crowd with Veronica’s purse clutched in his hand. My heart hammered in my chest as I took off after him, dodging between tables. The boy was quick, his compact frame slipping easily between groups of tourists and locals enjoying the food. I pushed past a vendor, flipping a crepe-like pizza, calling out an apology as I knocked a bottle of sauce to the ground. The vibrant chatter of the market became a blur of sound as my breaths grew heavy and desperate.
The boy darted into the street, and I followed suit, dodging cars and motorbikes that honked angrily at the sudden disruption. The glow of the street lamps flashed overhead as we raced through Zanzibar’s historic Stone Town.
The chase led us to an empty lot scattered with debris and overgrown with weeds. The boy didn’t hesitate at the sight of a barbed wire fence ahead. He slipped through a narrow gap with the agility of a cat. I paused, assessing the sharp barbs that promised pain.
I climbed the fence, feeling the barbs slice through the fabric of my shirt and even part of my skin. I suppressed a curse, focusing only on the figure now sprinting towards the pier. My torn clothes would be the least of my worries, but Veronica’s purse—and possibly crucial contents like her diplomatic papers—were on the line. My sides ached, and I was out of breath, but I couldn’t stop now.
I found the boy at the end of the pier, nervously looking around, aware that I had trapped him with nowhere to go.
I approached him slowly, then bent over, hands on my knees as I still tried to catch my breath “Do you speak English?”
