“What happened to being a gentleman?” she had the nerve to ask.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
“Back on topic,” she said to deflect. “You’ve already got a whole profile on me, and I’m only talking about me. What moves you?”
I pretended to think, looking up to the ceiling for a bit before returning my gaze to her. “Damsels in distress or pretty women in general.” I winked.
“Oh, God.” She groaned. “And you are insulted when I call you a playboy.”
“Yes, because I am more than that.”
“So, you admit it.”
Ugh. This woman. “I have had a life. Is there a crime in that?”
“Nope.” Her tone did not give me much confidence, though. “Well, if you have more depth, then what moves you, Your Highness?”
I rested back against the backboard, placing my glass on the counter. “My family. The people of Ersovia. Good books, poetry.”
“I can’t tease you when you sound sincere,” she said. “So, I’ve told you my reasons. Now, tell me why I shouldn’t go through with marrying you.”
“You do realize my whole goal in coming here was to give you a reason to marry me.”
“Yes, but you promised to be honest, remember?” she shot back.
This time, it was me who glared at her. But she just kept the same expression on her face. “I don’t have any.”
“Liar!”
I laughed and shook my head. “Fine, you’ll be in the press a lot.”
“I’m sort of use to that already. Come on. You can do better than that. Let me have it.” She waved her hands at me.
She had no idea how different her press and royal press were. They were two different beasts.
“Come on, next reason?” She waved me on.
“You’ll need to learn Ersovian.”
She paused, thinking about it and nodded. “That’s not too bad, either. Is your language really hard? Say something for me.”
“You are very bossy. You know that?” I said in Ersovian.
A look of suspicion came over her face. And you would think she understood what I meant. “What did you say?”
“That you look pretty,” I lied.
“Yeah, that was a lie, but I’ll let it go.” She was spot on. “Anyway, learning a third language isn’t that bad.”
“A third?” That was not in her profile.
“My dad made my sister and me learn Mandarin. He said it was the language of the future.” She shrugged. “Why do you look so impressed. I bet you know like six or something.”
“Seven actually,” I said proudly. “But not Mandarin.”
“Of course, you do...What are other cons?”
I sighed, scratching the back of my head. “I do not know. Running a bunch of charities? Learning the ten thousand and one palace rules. Not being able to state your opinions in public. Moving?”
“Ugh! That’s almost my life now.” She groaned, shifting.
Noticing she was about to fall over, I grabbed her glass and the bottle from her hands, and she curled up into a ball beside me.
“You should say something like I’d have an evil mother-in-law—”
“That would be my mother, and she’s one of the most kindhearted women I have ever met.”
“Well, you are her son, so of course, that’s how you see her. But it’s good you feel that way,” she muttered, fluffing the pillow under her head. “Would I have to give up my music?”
I thought about it. “No, I do not think so. Since you can sing from anywhere, it’s fine, so long as the proceeds go to a charity. My brother’s wife is a famous painter. She did not have to stop that.”
She frowned. “You really aren’t helping me right now, Gale.”
“No, but I believe I am helping myself.” I smiled down at her.
“This is an arranged marriage. We can’t just say yes like this. There have to be some negatives we aren’t thinking about,” she muttered, clearly struggling to keep her eyes open. Then out of nowhere. “Oh, right, I bet you have a lot of exes that would try to destroy me or something.”
Damn.
“You do!” She pointed at me, grinning like she’d won the lottery.
“They would not try to destroy you. They would be jealous, of course, but still.” My past was a little more recent, but it was still the past. “I bet you have men that would want to kill me, too.”
She shook her head and shrugged. “All my exes are married now.”
“Just because they are married does not mean they do not still want you.” Some of mine were married when I met them. But I was not going to admit that, or she really would just get up and walk away.
She snickered. “You have no idea how good I am at burning bridges.”
“Then tell me.”
“Oh, also”—she was very good at changing the subject—“we don’t even know if we will like each other. What if we can’t stand each other?”
“We are doing fine, now, aren’t we?”
“Today doesn’t count.”
“Why?”
“Because...just because,” she grumbled with her eyes closed.
“That’s very clear.”
“Shut up.”
I snickered.
“You’re laughing at me, but I’m serious. You came all the way here, but what if you hate me? More importantly, what if I hate you?”
More importantly. “How about you and I get to know each other more while I’m here.” That was originally my goal, but something had shifted in the last twenty-four hours.
“Get to know each other?” She grimaced against the pillow. “That sounds like dating.”
“Yes, I believe that is what the commoners call it.”
“Dating sucks. It’s too stressful. You’re always trying so hard to make the best first impression or say the right thing.”
“You are very difficult. You know that, right? You will not agree just to get married, but you also dislike dating.”
She smiled, partially asleep. “I know. My mom is always annoyed with me about it. Are you giving up on me already, Your Highness?”
“For the sake of my country and pride, I refuse.”
“Don’t say you weren’t warned,” she whispered, relaxing into the bed. “I’ve come full circle. Thank you. I’m not getting married.”
“Does that mean yes to the dating then?”
“I’m sorry for waking you,” she said instead, gently nestling into the pillow.
“It’s fine, but I doubt you will remember in the morning.”
“I will. I have a high toleran...” And she was sleep. Her chest rose and fell slowly, her curls falling over her face.
When I noticed her dress rising as she shifted on top of the sheets, I got off of the bed, taking the glasses with me. I glanced over my shoulder at her as she moved into the center, shaking my head.
“What am I going to do with you, Cinderella?”
Chapter 10
I’m dying.
I had to be dying.