“Are you ready for your date?” he asked, disapproval dripping from his voice.
“I am. Are you ready for your party?”
“I am.” He took a large gulp, draining the glass of alcohol. His dark, mysterious eyes never left mine. “Do you drink, Miss Adeline?”
“Occasionally.”
“Come in. Share a drink with me.”
“I can’t.”
“Because of your uncle?” His head tilted slightly as he looked at me. “I heard he doesn’t want any of his female employees talking to me.”
“I’m not his employee,” I said, though my uncle had warned me to stay away from the prince. “I have a date and I don’t want to be late.”
“You’re nervous,” he said. “Do I make you nervous?”
“A little.” There was no point in lying to him.
“That’s interesting.” He let go of the door and took a step toward me. “I’m sure your date can wait a few minutes.”
I stared at his chest, at the button that was undone and the golden skin that peeked from underneath. I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face directly. Not when he was standing dangerously close to me. Not when the scent of his cologne made it nearly impossible not to feel as though he was completely taking control of my body.
“Come on, Adeline,” he said, his voice low, sexy. “One drink.”
The way he said my name made me instantly transport back to our night together and the way he chanted my name as he came. It took everything in me to clear that thought away and shake my head no.
“I can’t.”
“Are you afraid you’ll enjoy my company?”
“No.” I met his gaze. “I know I wouldn’t.”
He chuckled darkly. “You know, not once since I’ve been here have you curtsied to me.”
“Am I supposed to curtsy to you?”
“Am I not your future king?”
“You’re not king yet.” I matched his cold stare. “Besides, I live in London. Your Crown doesn’t extend that far.”
“It extends this far though.”
“Well, then, it’s a good thing I’m just a passerby.”
His eyes narrowed and after a few seconds of a staring contest I wasn’t prepared to engage in, I turned and walked away, heart beating frantically. As I reached the last step, I glanced over my shoulder to see that he was still standing in the same spot I’d left him, staring after me. “Have fun at your party.”
“You seem preoccupied,” Pierre said across from me.
We were at a pub in town having fish and chips and beer and so far, everything was going well. It was all easy conversation and not much flirting at all, which oddly, I appreciated.
“I was just thinking about what an asshole the prince is.”
Pierre coughed, patting his chest as he set his beer down. “He’s going through a lot.”
“Right.” I rolled my eyes, lifting my own beer to my lips. “He doesn’t even leave his villa. It’s not like he’s working.”
“He’s a good man.”
“Well.” I set my beer down. “It’s all the same to me. I still don’t like him.”
“A lot of people have issues with the royal family. Your father is always criticizing them publicly.”
“My father works with them. He only criticizes certain aspects of what they’re doing that he doesn’t agree with.”
“Do you agree with him on the matter?”
“I don’t have to. I no longer live here. I bow to the Queen of England.”
“That’s a cop-out.”
“What, bowing to another queen?”
“Not giving your opinion because you feel like it doesn’t apply to you. It’s a cop-out.”
“Do you think the king should have as much power as he does?”
“Yes.”
“Yes? No hesitation?” I felt my lip turn up. “You say that because you work for them.”
“For centuries they had all the power. Now they have a little less power and it’s still running smoothly. Why change something that’s not broken?”
“You don’t think the economy is broken in its current state?” I asked. “There are doctors and lawyers getting paid wages way below the average. And that’s only a few who have suffered in the recent years since the king’s health has been on the decline. This is what started the French Revolution. They were lucky the Crown was saved all of those years ago. I don’t think they’ll get lucky again. He should’ve stepped down years ago, or let the cabinet have more power. Let the people have more power.”
“You have a lot of opinions for someone who doesn’t even care to address her prince with courtesy.” The voice was Prince Elias’s and it came from behind me.
I thought I’d already been sitting up straight, but I was wrong. At the sound of his voice, my back arched and my shoulders pushed back as my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. How long had he been standing behind me? How long had Pierre let me speak without telling me to stop? From the look on his face, he seemed like he had tried to warn me but I wouldn’t quit speaking. It was a flaw of mine. When I was passionate about something, I couldn’t stop talking about it. Slowly, I glanced over my shoulder to find Prince Elias standing in the center of the pub. Everyone around us seemed to have completely stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Some women were still curtsying. Some men still bowing. Everyone’s mouth was agape. And then there was me, whose face was aflame and wanted to die of mortification.
“You weren’t supposed to hear any of that,” I whispered.
I thought he’d glare some more, but his eyes lit, as if he was thoroughly enjoying my discomfort. He closed the distance between us and stood right beside me, setting a hand on the table, right next to my arm. We were sitting at one of the tall tables by the bar, with high barstools that, had he been a tad shorter, maybe would have given me an advantage, but even still I had to crane my neck to look at him. Not that I had any intention of looking him in the eyes right now. I mulled over what I’d been saying and was filled with horror. My father would kill me. If this got back to him, he’d kill me.
“This is your date?” He glanced at Pierre. “I thought you said you were going out with a friend.”
“I . . . am, sir.”
“So, it’s not a date,” Prince Elias stated, still looking at Pierre, who looked at me.
“It’s a date if she says it is, sir.” Pierre turned a deep shade of red as he looked over at me. “I’d like for it to be a date.”
“It is a date.” I met Prince Elias’s gaze. He was much too close to me. Way closer than Pierre. And the way he looked at me made my blood roar in my ears. “What happened to your party? Couldn’t find someone to pour drinks for you?”
“I have a full staff. Of course I found someone.” His jaw twitched. “But I got bored.”
“Bored?” I blinked. “So you left your own party?”
“I needed fresh air and someone told me Pierre was here, so I thought I’d come hang out for a bit with my old friend and meet his local friend.” His gaze slid to Pierre. “I hadn’t realized this was a date, otherwise, I would not have imposed.”