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“Actually, my friend Snow and I grew up together in Vermont. She got a job offer at the Elir resort from her aunt who worked there, and Snow suggested I could get a job there too. I worked as a maid, changing bedsheets and cleaning up when guests came and went. Then one day word was spread that Mr. Elir was looking for a new executive assistant. I’d had experience with scheduling and business dealings for my dad and—”
“You got the job,” Henrik finished.
The flight attendants came around with their drink carts. Lily and Henrik both requested their drinks—water for Lily, soda for Henrik—and Lily crinkled open her package of cookies.
“I tried telling my parents I’d gotten such an amazing opportunity at this job, and that I broke up with the guy.”
“Evil ex.”
“Exactly.” Lily popped a bit of the cookie into her mouth and chewed for a minute. Henrik opened his peanuts and took a small bite as well. “But my parents are very prideful and set in their ways. I know it would kill my dad to admit he was wrong.”
“Even if it meant repairing the breach between you?” Henrik asked.
Lily nodded and took another bite. “They wouldn’t answer my calls. They haven’t spoken to either Ethan or me in years.”
“How sad for them.” Henrik ate another peanut. “Think of the wonderful things they’re missing out on, Lily. You are a lovely person, and I’m looking forward to meeting your brother.”
“Thanks,” she said, touched.
Henrik stretched his long legs, which appeared longer in the small space between their seats. A small bit of turbulence shook the plane, but it ended as quickly as it came. “I don’t always see eye to eye with my father either.”
“The thirty-day thing?” Lily said.
He inclined his head. “My parents threatened me with disinheritance as well. I, unlike you, may have earned it though. I haven’t always paid as much attention to important matters of my heritage as I should have.”
Lily wasn’t sure what to say. She’d read plenty of gossip about this man in magazines, but she wasn’t sure how much of it was true.
“Why did he agree to let you have thirty days, then?” she asked. “Why are they still giving you leeway?”
“My mother insisted she raised me better than I had been behaving,” he said, dumping the last of his peanuts into his hand and tipping them into his mouth. “And I suppose she’s right. I have had a lot of time to soul search on this trip. I have been flighty and foolish, Lily. I shouldn’t have been so careless about what persona I gave to the public. But I haven’t had the right perspective until now, I suppose.”
“It’s never too late to give yourself a new image,” she said. “It’s not like your images have been inappropriate.”
“For a prince, they have.”
She nibbled her lip. They weren’t compromising by any means. “I just mean, this is an opportunity for you to set the record straight. The man you’ve shown me these last few days hasn’t been the one I associated with those articles.”
“You read about me?” He sounded far too excited about this. He leaned his arm on the armrest in between them, brushing his shoulder and his cologne against her.
Her mouth twisted. “I may have. That’s beside the point.” She basked in the way his proximity warmed her. “What I’m saying is, the media has portrayed you as a playboy who only wants to see how many girls he can kiss before he turns twenty-five. But you’re a thoughtful, caring person. You haven’t pushed your way to be with women while I’ve been around you, other than the first time we met. I think you were just trying to stick to that persona, but that’s not who you are.”
Henrik’s eyes turned pensive and serious. Lily swallowed and went on. “You helped me with that money, with something I never could have done myself. You’ve been kind to me, you make sure I feel special. You spent the time while we boarded to help others with their luggage. You were disappointed that you couldn’t find a connection with someone the way you wanted to. I think you want that deep connection with someone, Henrik. This is your chance to show your parents, to show the world, who you really are.”
“Thank you, Lily,” he said. No snark. No snappy remark. An invisible cord strung between them, hooking somewhere inside of her, latching onto him. “That is very kind of you to say.”
“Well, it’s all true.”
“When are you going to tell me what the money was about?” he added, lowering his voice.
Lily kicked herself for bringing it up. She finished the last of her cookies and stared out the window, trying to sort through her thoughts.
“It’s okay,” he said, drinking his entire cup of soda in one swallow. “Another time. Tell me about your brother.”
The two of them talked through the rest of the flight. Their conversation came as easily as it always had so that by the time Lily felt the wheels shift for their landing and peeked out at the growing, snowy buildings below, it seemed as though only minutes had passed.
Soon enough, they landed and exited the plane. Ethan was waiting near the baggage claim that had started rotating and spewing out suitcases. He looked the same as always, though he had been balding the last time she’d seen him and now he’d shaven his head completely.
“There’s Ethan,” Lily told Henrik, dragging her suitcase behind her and picking up her pace. Ethan beamed and lifted a hand in greeting.
