Page 58 of The Prince Who Loved Me

He twined their fingers together, unwilling to let her go. Now that they’d conquered this hurdle, he wanted to continuously touch her to assure himself he wasn’t having one of his thousands of dreams about her.

“So what do we do now?” she whispered.

Images of them entwined between the sheets popped into his mind, but that wasn’t what she was asking. And it was too fresh, too soon. He wanted to savor this new time with her. “I would whisk you away to my castle and treat you like a princess if you’d let me. But you’re probably late for work.”

She stifled a laugh. “I am. Why am I not surprised you know that?”

The sound of her laughter made him smile. “We go on a date.” Where he could show her the stars.

“That sounds nice and normal. A date.” She leaned into him before a brief hesitation, then committed with a quick but heady kiss on his lips. “I’ll see you tonight.”

He watched her walk away, a small fire warming him. Usually their parting consisted of a quick hug or a peck on the cheek. Now he could still breathe in her lingering sweet scent.

He settled next to the bench in the orchard again and picked up his pencils. This time he let his subconscious guide his hands. He didn’t think, didn’t ponder. Just drew. A thicker line there, a scalloped edge here. He could interpret it later. Now it was only the feelings of his heart.

It was his favorite piece of work.

He unfolded himself from the ground and made his way to Fountenoy Hall to make the arrangements for their date. Normally he’d call Massimo or Loïc to set it up for him, but this time, he’d do it himself. And it was going to be perfect.

***

Brandi stood in front of her mirror, putting on the finishing swipes and pats and blots of her makeup, ignoring the cadence of her heart pulsing through her. Getting ready for this date was weird. Definitely weird. Weird, but right.

Sebastien was so very, very right.

Wendy knocked on her door, and Brandi reached over to open it, grateful for the distraction to squelch the niggling self-doubt taking up space. She had told her cousin and Jordan about her mom’s actions earlier, and had expected the check in with her cousin.

“Wow, look at you,” her cousin said. “Fourth date clothes?”

“Too much?” Brandi avoided answering and studied the black jump suit in the mirror. The material outlined the contours of her curves and revealed the swell of her breasts. It wasn’t like Sebastien hadn’t seen her in clothes like this before. Or a bathing suit.

“You look gorgeous, as always. I think it’s about time we met this guy.” Wendy sat on the edge of her bed, still wearing her Fountenoy Hall outfit of khakis and polo shirt. “Just wanted to know if you needed anything from me.”

Her cousin’s way of interfering. “I’ll know more once I get to talk to my mom.”

“Because surely she had a good reason?” Wendy’s knee moved up and down as she rapidly tapped her foot.

“Even if you don’t see it, everyone has something going on,” Brandi responded.

Wendy opened her mouth, but closed it again and leaned back on her arms. “Did you know Sebastien has a date tonight, too? He already left, though. Where are you going?”

“I’m meeting him there.” She wasn’t lying. They were meeting at Belle’s. “And I did know about Sebastien. How did he look?”

“Like a prince.” Wendy idly brushed her fingers through her hair. “I wonder if we’ll see his picture online tonight.”

Crumbs, Brandi hoped not.

“Do you need a fake emergency call?” Wendy asked.

“You know, it’s ridiculous that we have to do that.” Brandi put down her makeup brush. “Just to spare the guy’s feelings. Whatever. It’s not like guys don’t know what’s going on when we get a call anyway.”

“That’s true.” Wendy took out her phone and checked the time. “I have to get downstairs. Bring this guy around sometime, okay? You have fun tonight.”

Brandi felt like she just succeeded stealing second base. She checked her reflection one more time, then selected a warm coat from her closet as instructed, and practically skipped down the servants staircase and out the kitchen door.

The drive to Belle’s took only a few minutes, and soon she was turning off the main road and onto the hidden drive. A flare of excitement took up residence in her body, fighting with the nerves that had been plaguing her all evening.

Faint headlights shone on the path to Belle’s, almost invisible in the light of the late afternoon, announcing Sebastien’s car before she could see it. She pulled alongside the polished, black vehicle. He was leaning against the hood.