“I’ll tell you on our date,” he said. “We can sit on my balcony, have dinner, and enjoy the view of the ocean.”
“Okay,” I said after a moment. “One date.”
“Seven thirty?”
“That works for me.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I’ll see you later, Adeline.”
Chapter 12
I wasn’t sure how to dress on a date with a prince and lucky for me and the situation, I didn’t have the closet of the Princess of Austria or personal shoppers at my disposal, so I opted for a black maxi dress and sandals with a gold leaf over each foot. There was a knock on my door at seven twenty-five, when I was just finishing my eyeliner. I set everything down, looked at myself once more to make sure I was presentable and once I decided I was, I made my way to the door. Surely, he hadn’t sent Pierre to pick me up, right? That thought made me slow down as I walked over to open it. What if he had sent him? Would things be awkward?
It was one date.
One date with Elias and like he pointed out, my night with Pierre wasn’t exactly a date. Because the prince hadn’t let it become one. I shook the thought away and opened the door, blinking when I saw the prince standing before me looking handsome as ever, in jeans, a simple black T-shirt, and black loafers.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
“Thank you.” My breath caught.
He’d never called me that before, or said a compliment to me that felt like a compliment. Not since that night. I tried not to think about it. That was five years ago and this was now. This was one date. One date. I needed to make it clear to myself that nothing that happened tonight would happen again. The man was about to become engaged to someone and I’d never see him again.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“I think so.” I smiled, grabbing my keys and walking out behind him. I shut my door, locked it, and turned to him. “I’m surprised you didn’t send someone to pick me up.”
“That wouldn’t be a date.” His gaze slid to mine. “I’m trying to make a good first impression here.”
“You made a good first impression.” I bit my lip and looked away.
“Did I?” I could hear the smile in his voice, and even though I had no intention of confirming it, I really wanted to know if he remembered our night together or if he was talking about when I went over there with Etienne. When we reached his villa, he walked to the back and let me go ahead of him up the stairs. “Tell me about this scandal you’re involved in.”
“You looked me up.” My face flamed.
“Of course I did.”
When we reached the top floor balcony, I froze, taking it all in. There were little lights hanging from the back door to the columns of the balcony and a table with white linen and pink roses in the center. There were two place settings in front of two chairs sitting side by side that faced the ocean. Nearby, there was an ice bucket with champagne and a butler wearing white gloves, with a white napkin draped over his arm.
“Wow,” I said.
“Come on.” He chuckled beside me, grabbing my hand in his and walking me toward the table. He let go of my hand to pull a chair out for me, and I thanked him as I took a seat. He sat beside me.
“Do you get this creative for all of your dates?”
“Not once.”
I smiled, looking at him. “I almost believe you.”
“You should believe me. I’m not much of a liar.” He tilted his head. “Well, most of the time, I’m not much of a liar.”
“Good to know.” I laughed. The butler came over and served us champagne in flutes and poured waters before disappearing into the house.
“Cheers to a good first date.” Elias lifted a flute as I lifted mine and we clinked and drank.
“It’s one date,” I said, setting the flute down.
“You already cheered to it being a first date.” He set his down as well. “Which means, there may be more.”
“You do realize I’m planning your engagement gala, right?”
“It’s just a gala like every other gala my mother has been putting on since I was born. They’re all the same.”
“Meaning there is always a herd of women who attend in hopes to catch your attention and be married off to you?”
“Exactly.”
“Sounds . . . fun?”
“Not fun.” He smiled. “I’d bet good money half of them would hate being married to me, but can’t say otherwise.”
“I’d bet otherwise.”
“Even knowing I’m an asshole?” He raised his glass and an eyebrow.
“Even knowing that.” I raised my own, with a shrug. “You’re a prince. Everyone dreams of being a princess.”
“Even you?”
“I used to.” I took a gulp of the champagne. “Not so much anymore.”
“Because of me?”
“Nah.” I laughed lightly. “I think I just outgrew the fantasy.”
“Hm.”
“What about the Princess of Austria?” I asked suddenly.
“What about her?”
“You’ve never been on a date with her?”
“For appearances. Yes.”
“For appearances?” My lips pursed. “How many dates have you been on that weren’t for appearances?”
“One.”
“One?” I repeated, my jaw dropping.
“It’s why I like to come here in the summers. It’s an escape from the appearances and the constant reminder that everything I do is for The Crown.”
“So your one date that wasn’t for pretenses was here?” Something akin to jealousy sprouted inside of me.
“That’s right.” His lips merely moved, but his eyes were laughing.
“Interesting.” I took another sip of champagne and tore my gaze from his to look back at the ocean.
“Addie.”
I met his gaze again.
“This is the date.”
“The one date?”
He nodded.
“Oh.” My heart skipped, though I still wasn’t sure why it was important to me.
“Tell me about the scandal.”
“There’s not much to tell if you already looked it up and saw for yourself.” I looked at the ocean again. It was dark, so it wasn’t like I could actually see it, but I was thankful for its waves trying to drown out my shame. “Did you watch the video?”
“Why the fuck would I do that?”
That made me look at him quickly. “Curiosity. Everyone else does.”
“I don’t want to see you having sex with another man.” His jaw was clenched as he spoke. “I’m going to make it go away.”
“You can’t.” I smiled sadly. “Thank you for the offer though.”
“I think you’re underestimating my power.”
“I think you’re overestimating it and forgetting what year we’re in.”
“If you say so.” He picked up his champagne again and got comfortable in his seat, leaning back a bit as he draped an arm over the side and stretching his legs out. He looked like a model without even trying.