“No,” Skye protested. “He’s...”
“But,” Hannah said firmly, “Leo sounds like a good one. I mean if nothing else, he’s trying to stay on the down low. He’s not out there being a social media whore, right?”
Bart stared at Hannah, then turned to Skye. “What’s going on here? Yesterday you were furious with him.”
“I know. I was. Maybe I still am.” She stood and started pacing again, her emotions all in a muddle. “I had a good time tonight. And he—”
“He hurt you. Like deeply.”
“He apologized.” She looked between her friends. “And it was a real apology. Shouldn’t that count for something?”
“Of course,” Hannah said.
“Why are you not helping me on this?” Bart demanded.
Hannah shrugged, and Bart leaned his head back and groaned.
Skye dropped back onto the couch again, then faced him. “So you’re saying … I should still be angry with … you because of that time you washed all my … sweaters on hot?”
“I didn’t realize—”
“Or that time you took me to that kara … oke bar and you were so … drunk that you insisted I sing? And the crowd …started jeering me?” She shuddered. That had been one of the more mortifying moments in her life.
“Yeah, but I was really drunk, and—”
“You’re one of my best … friends, Bart. I forgave you. Of course I forgave you.”
Bart leaned back with a sigh. “But he’s not one of your best friends, is he? He’s a man you could fall in love with. And that’s going to make everything different.”
Skye swallowed, wanting to argue, but there wasn’t anything to say.
She met Hannah’s eyes, and saw the resignation there, too.
They all three knew the bottom line—Leo could hurt her again.
The only question now was if she was willing to take the risk.
Skye spent Saturday afternoon burning off energy by cleaning the apartment while listening to an audiobook on the history of Avelle-am-see. She lasted three hours before she couldn’t stand it anymore and switched over to an Eighties mix on Spotify.
She was jamming to You Shook Me All Night Long with a rag and a spray bottle of Clorox cleaner, when she twirled out of the bathroom and ran straight into Leo. She gasped, yanking the headphones out of her ears. “How did you get in here?”
“Your fiancé let me in.”
It took her a second to process the fiancé part. “Oh. Right. What time is it? I’m so sorry I’m not even ready. I was just cleaning. I must’ve lost track of time.”
“Don’t worry. It’s only four.”
“I thought we were going out at seven.”
“We are. I was supposed to go over to Professor Malkin’s house for a quick drink this afternoon, but his little girl is sick. I thought I would take a chance and come by here since my afternoon opened up.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry.” Except she wasn’t. She wasn’t sorry at all.
“It’s probably just a cold, but he didn’t want to risk me catching it. Honestly, neither did I.” His mouth twisted and he managed a small shudder.
“What?”
“Trust me when I say that being a royal with a cold is a miserable experience.”
“Over-tending?”
“The entire palace staff walks on eggshells and tries to make me feel better. It’s exhausting.”
She laughed, enjoying the moment until he turned that sexy smile toward her. Then the happiness shifted, and a wave of shyness crashed over her. She put the rag and cleaner on the coffee table, then had nothing to do with her hands. She shoved them in the pocket of her ratty shorts, then realized that she was only wearing flannel sleep shorts and a threadbare white tank top that was practically see-through.
“Um, well, it’s good to see you.” She thought about crossing her arms over her chest, but decided that would make the predicament more obvious.
“I thought we could get a little bit more work in.”
“Sure. Just let me get dressed. We can head on over … to my office and start planning how you can advocate for amending the … constitution. I was listening to the history of Avelle-am-see while I was cleaning, and I think—”
“I didn’t realize that our history was quite so bouncy. You managed quite an interesting number with your hips.”
She cleared her throat, certain her cheeks were burning. “You saw that?”
He just grinned.
“I, um, switched over to a rock playlist.”
“Don’t tell me you got bored listening to my country’s history. I’m shocked.”
She laughed outright. “In my defense, before I switched over to AC/DC, I learned a lot. Your country … prided itself on equal rights for women early on. The constitution is … an anomaly, and I think the citizens will … support you. We just need to—”
“All that’s fascinating. But you need to tell me later.”
“Later?”
“Right now we’re going to the zoo. Then The Fix.”
“The zoo?”
She expected him to tell her that he was joking. But soon enough they were in his rented Porsche and heading toward the Austin Zoo, a non-profit rescue zoo for a variety of species. It was one of Skye’s favorite places, but it didn’t meet some people’s expectations. “You know that Austin’s zoo is … small, right? If you’re looking to … visit a traditional zoo, we need to go all the way to San … Antonio or up to Waco.”
“Trust me,” Leo said. “Smaller is better for our purposes.”
“Our purposes?”
But he didn’t answer. He just cranked up the radio to an ’80s rock station, then grinned at her. “I thought we’d keep with your theme for the day.”
She laughed, and they jammed the rest of the way there, singing along with Def Leppard, Van Halen, and Queen. She lost herself in the music and the laughter, and didn’t even worry about how she sounded or what he had in mind.
It wasn’t until they were on the premises that he explained his plan, which was how she ended up standing in front of the genet habitat while the adorable, cat-like creatures relaxed on the tree-branches and makeshift hammocks. Slowly and deliberately, she read the information plaque to a blond-haired six-year-old who listened intently before telling his mother he wanted to take one home.
After the genets, they moved on to bobcats—good swimmers with “bobbed” tails, and thus the name—which she introduced to a nine-year-old who kept asking questions that she couldn’t answer.
The three-year-old by the coatimundi habitat wasn’t at all interested in the animals, but she read him the information card nevertheless. And on and on they went through the zoo, with Skye reading the various information plaques to the children who gathered nearby.
By the time she’d spoken to the fifth or sixth kid, she’d stopped being self-conscious. It was clear that the kids didn’t notice her slurred and hesitant speech. As for the parents, if they noticed, they didn’t mention it, probably relieved to have some of the educational tasks taken off their shoulders.