Page 30 of Tempted By the Princess

“Great, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“You’re not going back to your place?” my mother asked.

I looked at Carrie and she gave me a slight nod, understanding my unspoken question. “No, not yet.”

My voice was husky with emotion. I had one more day left and I planned to spend it with Carrie. I wasn’t sure if this was the end or just a pause for us, but I couldn’t just waltz out that door with my parents, not without having a conversation with her about the future.

I only hoped she wanted a future.

Carrie

If I’d had any doubts about how different my life was from Genny’s this conversation with her parents was a timely reminder. As they discussed meeting at their private plane to head to the island country that they literally owned so that her sister could become queen – it was all surreal. It was very different from anything in my reality.

I could tell her parents were intensely curious about who I was and why Genny was here with me, but they were too polite to ask any questions. I wondered if they’d be grilling her once they were alone. I was betting yes.

Genny’s parents finally left, their bodyguards at their side as they slid into a black Town Car parked on the street. We watched out the front window, standing there long after they disappeared from view.

When Genny finally turned to me, I could see the turbulent emotions crossing her face. She was leaving. Heading back to her home country and while I knew she’d likely come home eventually, it sounded like she’d be gone for a while.

I wasn’t sure where that left us, but I suspected it wasn’t anywhere good. Then again, we both knew going in that this thing between us was temporary.

“Let’s finish our breakfast,” I said.

I’d put the plates in the oven to keep the food warm while her parents were here. We headed into the kitchen, eating in a somber silence until I couldn’t take it anymore.

“So your sister’s about to be queen,” I ventured. “That’s cool.”

She popped up out of her chair. “Oh shit, let me text her.”

She rushed out of the room, returning a few minutes later. She took a bite of waffle while her phone powered up, wincing as it connected with the cell tower and started beeping with message after message.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, turning down the volume before scanning her messages.

She typed something out, a message to her sister presumably, then returned to her breakfast, ignoring the phone for the time being.

“It was fun having you here,” I said lamely, like she was an old college pal who’d come in for the weekend. “You’re the best stowaway fugitive I’ve ever harbored.”

She smirked but didn’t respond. I could see her gathering up her courage and decided to head it off before she cut me loose.

“I know what you’re going to say. It was fun, but we come from different worlds. You have responsibilities in your country, and you’re going to be gone for a while so it’s best for us to just say goodbye and part as friends.”

Her eyes widened like I’d slapped her. “That wasn’t what I was going to say at all.”

“What were you going to say?” I asked curiously.

She put her fork down and took a deep breath, her words coming out fast.

“I was going to say that I’ve had a lot of fun with you and I… uh, I really like you and I’d like to see you again. When I get back I mean. I think we have something… well, I think we have something special here and I’m not ready to just give up on it. I want us to give this a shot. I want us to date when I get back.”

My heart thumped painfully in my chest. She was saying what I wanted to hear, but I knew better than to believe it. I could see it all before us – a month or two of calls and texts that gradually taper off. She was young and beautiful, and no doubt would have suitors all over her when she went home. Suitable suitors. I hadn’t needed to see her mother dripping in diamonds and her father in a designer suit to understand how unsuitable we were for each other. I wasn’t the woman she could take to some fancy ball. I hadn’t worn a dress since my college graduation.

Genny might have been able to fit into my world, much easier than I would have predicted in fact. But I would never fit in Princess Genevieve’s world. The best thing for us to do was to put an end to things now before either of us got hurt.

Hurt any more, that is, because her going away was going to hobble me. There was no way it wouldn’t.

“Genny,” I said gently. “This hasn’t been real. We were thrown together and while we obviously have a strong attraction between us, that’s all it is. I know it feels like more than that, but once we aren’t living together what we are feeling right now will fade.”

I wasn’t sure which one of us I was trying to convince.