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“What are your plans for the holiday?” Lily asked. “Aren’t you going home?”
“That would be like admitting defeat.”
“So you’re spending Christmas alone?”
“I won’t be alone.” Henrik adjusted his shirt and cemented his gaze to hers. The sunset’s fire reflected in his eyes. “I’ve got you.”
Lily didn’t know what to say. She supposed she had agreed to bring him meals and arrange dates for him, but for some reason, she hadn’t included Christmas in that. His timing was terrible.
“Henrik, I’m going home. To Vermont.”
“Oh.” His face fell so quickly she couldn’t help the regret she felt.
She thought fast. There was a way she could keep up her end of the deal with this prince. She’d be attending the Christmas ball with Ethan, and there was nothing to say that Henrik couldn’t find a bride there as easily as he could here in Florida.
“Would you like to come?” she asked.
Henrik’s smile was a sight made for young girls’ dreams, girls who fantasized about princes being real and whisking them off their feet. Her heart gave a surrendering thump.
“Would this entail meeting your family?” he asked.
“My brother, yes. We’d be staying at Ethan’s.”
“How long will we be gone?”
“A few days. Three at most.” Mr. Elir had offered her more, but she’d decided to keep her schedule tight. Henrik didn’t respond. The only sound between them was the soft rush of waves on the sand. Just when she was ready to rescind the offer and call herself out as a fool for suggesting it, Henrik inclined his head.
“I’d be honored to join you,” he said.
8
Lily reached up to adjust the AC spewing from its small duct over her head. She wasn’t sure why she felt so warm. Flying had never bothered her before, but she would be sitting knee-knocking close to Prince Henrik von Frosk for the next two and a half hours. That was more time than she’d ever spent in his company at once, and they didn’t have the distraction of Lily’s responsibilities with Mr. Elir or an upcoming date with someone else.
She’d stewed over this entire, brainless idea since she’d made the offer a few days ago. She’d forgotten to cover up Petrie’s cage last night, and so the parakeet chirruped at his mirror around three this morning. She’d gotten up to lay a blanket over his cage, and naturally, the other animals in her apartment heard her movement. Soon, Frou Frou was rubbing at her ankles, and Dr. Grumbles was demanding attention, and so Lily turned on a quiet show to give them the impression she was awake and attempted to drift back off again.
But thoughts of traveling with not just a man, but a prince, had refused to give way and let her go back to sleep again.
Henrik had tried talking her into upgrading to first class, but eventually, they agreed helping him keep that low-profile he was after would be better served sitting in coach. He stood now in the aisle, arms lifted to the overhead compartment to stuff his designer luggage within. Again, she noticed how muscular his arms were and ripped her gaze away before she could be caught staring. She couldn’t figure out how this was okay. He was a prince. Shouldn’t he have an entourage of bodyguards or something traveling with them? He hadn’t had them in the resort either. And as for Louise, he’d said she would get used to the idea, but something told Lily that his nursemaid didn’t like him traveling without her.
Henrik waited for a woman to pass with her child and their suitcases. He offered to help them lift their luggage into the compartment, and then he ducked his head and took the seat beside her.
“Nervous?” he asked.
Her head whipped up. “Me? Why do you ask?”
With a smile, he placed a hand on her bouncing knee, pressing just enough to still it. Flushed, Lily smoothed a hand over her cheek. Caught.
“Maybe a little,” she admitted.
“Why is that?”
More people streamed down the aisle and took their seats, and the flight attendants went through, closing the overhead compartments to make sure the luggage within was secure.
Lily didn’t want to admit the way Henrik made her jittery, as though a bouncy ball were pinging around the inside of her from her torso to her legs. She decided to go with the other part of things that made her skittish.
“Did you know Westville is where I grew up?”
“I didn’t,” he said, securing his seatbelt at the little light’s request over their heads. Lily did the same, and soon the flight attendant stood at the head of the aisle, waving her arms in conjunction with the safety announcement.
