Page 27 of The Prince Who Loved Me

She tucked her leg beneath her. “How was your night?”

“Lonely without you.” It was a honest reply, but she rolled her eyes.

It wasn’t often Sebastien was at a loss on what to do. So he waited, seeing if Brandi was going to get a book or hang out with him for a little bit longer. He’d take any crumb he could get.

Pathetic didn’t begin to describe him.

Sebastien inhaled the scent of lavender in her hair.Brandi did love him, he knew. Like a brother.

He wanted that to change.

There was a moment of silence between them while his heart overrode his brain and he spoke again. “I want to tell you something.”

“Ooh, must be important.” She lifted her head to look at him. “Your accent is coming out.”

Not important, not really. It was only his life.

A beep emanated from her pocket, but she ignored it, her unique eyes focused on him.

“Was that you?” he asked.

“Yeah, but it can wait.”

“No, go ahead. I’m not going anywhere.”

She hesitated, then removed her phone. “Ooh, a notification clover for Your Blind Date. Someone thinks I’m interesting and wants to meet. Giving Nick a run for his money.” She tapped on her phone. “It’s nice to know someone’s curious about me based on my interests, not the size of my boobs. You know?” She held out her display.

All Sebastien saw was a picture of a mouth with fangs. “I don’t get it.”

She tapped some more. “He’s into vampire LARPing.”

He tried to make his voice interested when all he wanted to do was hide her phone. “And what else does this man have to recommend himself to you?”

“Long walks on the beach and staring at sunsets.”

That had to be a joke. “Seriously?”

“No.” She tapped her phone.

“Don’t you already have a date?”

“I can date more than one person. It’s not like I’m going to commit myself to someone I met only once.” She swiped a couple more times then put her phone away. “Okay. We’re set up for tomorrow. Now, what did you want to tell me.”

The moment was lost, ruined by a man who wasn’t even there. “I was going to see if you wanted to have dinner tomorrow, but someone jacked my spot.”

“Tell me you’re taking me to the top of the Space Needle and I’ll cancel.”

Disappointment. Rejection. Pain. Emotions he had very little experience in. “No, I was too slow.”

“Next time.”

And the day after that, and the day after that, for the rest of his life.

She snuggled into the sofa and tucked her legs under her, then sat up straight. “Weird.”

“What?”

She got up from the sofa and moved behind him to one of the bookshelves. “Wasn’t Wendy just organizing the books? She has some out of order.”