Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
We sat down, side by side. He opened the bottle of wine while I uncovered what he’d brought with him—cheeses, ham, jam, bread. Everything looked so good, my stomach began to rumble.
“I guess I was hungry, after all.” My cheeks warmed as I ate a slice of cheese.
“I’m always hungry.” He winked at me as he poured the wine.
“Thanks.”
“Cheers.” He raised his glass to mine. “To the unexpected.”
I clinked my glass to his and took a sip before setting it down. “What’s unexpected?”
“You.”
“And what about me is unexpected?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Absolutely everything, Princess.” He placed a hand over mine. “Unexpected, yet welcome.”
“Not so unexpected if you specifically asked for me to be your date at the gala.”
“Well, I’d like to think we were sort of friends before this summer.” He met my eyes. “But I’m not sure that friends share this much chemistry or have such an attraction to each other.”
“If they did, I imagine they’d become more than friends.”
“If they’re lucky.”
“Are you?”
“Lucky?” he asked. I nodded. He chuckled. “Right now, I feel like the luckiest man alive.”
“I feel pretty lucky, as well.”
He grinned at me and looked out at the ocean. “Do you like the freedom that being here brings?”
“I do.” I looked over at him. “Not as much as you do, I’m sure.”
“I’m not used to being in the spotlight.”
“I can’t say what it would be like to be away from it for too long. Even when the cameras aren’t flashing and the paparazzi aren’t chasing, we’re always putting on an act for someone.”
“Even during Sunday dinners?”
“Especially during Sunday dinners.” I laughed, shrugging. “I guess it depends on who’s there.”
“When I’m there, you’re always the perfect little host. Quiet and attentive. Who would have known that underneath it all, you’re such a naughty princess?”
I bit my lip as he came closer, brushing his nose against mine. “I’m only naughty when you’re around.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“I probably shouldn’t like hearing that as much as I do,” he murmured against me, nipping my lower lip and pulling it into his mouth. My body was on fire. I set my glass down and moved closer, wrapping my arms around him, wishing I could wrap myself around him completely. He moved his chair and welcomed me onto his lap, his fingers deftly pushing up the summer dress I wore. He found my center quickly.
“We should go inside,” I whisper-panted against his mouth, though my hips rocked, clearly not agreeing.
“Should we?”
“Yes.” I gasped as his fingers entered me.
“Should I stop?”
“God, no.” My head dropped back.
I didn’t want him to stop. Ever.
Ben and I had been inseparable. So much so, that Joslyn had been in town for two days and I hadn’t even seen her. So, when I walked into my room and saw her, I shrieked.
“Did you forget I was here?” She raised an eyebrow as she looked up at me.
“Honestly? Yes.” I took a deep breath as I lowered my hand from my pounding heart.
“Well, I haven’t wanted to bother you. I figured if you needed me, you’d call.” She smiled. “You look…happy.”
She was sitting in the comfortable leather recliner in the corner of my bedroom, and had been reading a newspaper like an old man. It was people like Joss who kept the newspaper industry going, so I never made fun of her for it, but she really did look funny with her reading glasses and paper.
“I am happy.” I sighed, opening my arms and letting myself fall smack into the middle of the plush, king-size bed.
“Do tell.” The paper crinkled, and the footrest of the leather chair clicked back into place.
“I don’t even know where to start.” I turned on my side so I could look at her.
“Well, you haven’t been back to the villa in two days now. Start there.”
“It’s been like a never-ending date.” I smiled widely.
“Are you going to share?”
“Well, I mean, you want details? I can’t give you all the details.”
“With the way you’re blushing, I want them, but I won’t ask because I don’t want you to hide from me for the next few days. I was getting bored here all alone.”
“I really like him.”
“Pilar.” There was a warning note in her tone.
“I know. I know.”
“We said fun. You’d have fun while you’re here. Sometimes, you don’t get to take the fun home.”
“I know.” I shut my eyes to that reality.
She wasn’t wrong. As wanted as Ben had made me feel, I knew this was temporary. It had to be. Now that I’d taken on more responsibilities with the Crown, anyone I dated would be put in the limelight, and from what I knew about Ben, that was the last thing he wanted.
“Imagine how it’ll be at your mother’s Sunday dinners if you don’t fully accept that it’s temporary,” she said.
“Yeah, you’re right.” I opened my eyes again. “But I also want to remind you that you were wrong about Elias and Adeline.”