the machine before me. “I should be. I’ve had nineteen years worth of practice.”
He chuckles. “I just meant that you were good with kids. That surprises me for some reason.”
I pick up a ball, rolling it up the incline. “I don’t know why. I love children. I plan to have at least four when I get older.”
The ball sinks into the gutter, causing me to pout. “Damn it.”
He’s looking at me. I can feel his eyes on my figure. I frown, trying to concentrate.
“What?” I ask.
Erik shrugs a shoulder. “Nothing. It’s just… I didn’t realize you were so…” He pauses. “Complicated, I guess.”
I roll another ball, which also goes straight into the gutter. “Damn it!”
I whirl to him, frowning. “Everyone is much more complicated than they seem, Erik. Even the most seemingly boring person has multiple facets to their personality.”
He reaches out and grabs my arm, giving me a squeeze. “Okay, okay. I’ll make a mental note.”
For a second, the breath leaves my lungs. Our gazes connect. The warmth of his fingers against my skin makes me shiver.
I swear, I see some forbidden emotion lurking there in his eyes.
Desire, maybe. Or is it just lust?
I lick my lower lip, my mouth opening.
And then he gives himself a shake, dropping my arm and stepping back. When he smiles at me again, it seems faded and plasticine.
“Throw another ball,” he says, jerking his head toward my machine. “See if you can beat me again.”
Then he looks down at his own machine, concentrating on his first ball. When he rolls the ball again, he hits the top right hole. The Skee-Ball machine goes nuts, ringing and announcing that he is a winner.
He grins and pulls a long strand of tickets from the machine. “Come on. Help me choose what prize to take home.”
“Here.” I giggle, handing him all the tickets from my machine. As he leads me over to the prize counter, I scrunch my face up. There is a whole wall of prizes, everything from stuffed animals and remote-controlled helicopters to smaller prizes in bins behind a glass counter.
Cellophane wrapped candies. Tiny, brightly colored cars. Shiny silver stars. Fake mustaches in different colors. Bouncy balls that look like little planets.
Erik looks at the tickets in his hand thoughtfully. “I don’t think we have enough tickets for any of the stuffed animals. It looks like we are stuck picking a couple of these trinkets.”
Looking at the goods behind the counter, I grin. “Well, you need that one.”
I point to a pair of Groucho Marx-style glasses that have a fake nose and moustache attached. Erik rolls his eyes, handing his tickets to the disinterested teenaged boy. The guy doesn’t even count them. He just grabs the glasses and hands them over silently.
“Hmm,” Erik says, bending down to see a second shelf of plastic jewelry. “Oh! Can I get that one too?”
The boy looks bored as he fishes the piece of plastic out.
“No, no. The ring. It’s for her,” Erik corrects.
The attendant pulls it from the case and slaps it on top of the counter. It’s gaudy, looking like a solid pink piece of bubblegum made into a ring with a multifaceted surface.
“Oh yes,” Erik says, picking it up. “That’s the one.”
I laugh as he slides the ring on my finger, just like a wedding ring. “Oh darling, it is so thoughtful. You must have put so much thought into picking this out.”
“Hold on.” He picks up the glasses, fitting the fake nose and frames on his face. “There! Now we are perfect for each other in every conceivable way.” He sticks out his elbow. “Come on, Ms. Potato Head. Let’s go back to the Barbie Dream Mansion and race our Hot Wheels against each other.”
I can’t hold back a grin. “You know, you kind of look like Ken.”
He shakes his head, leading me to the exit. And I look up at him adoringly, wishing that we could always be the people we were tonight.
13
Erik
Annika crosses her arms as we walk up to St. Mark’s preparatory school. It’s the sister school to the boarding school all of the younger Løve siblings were sent to and it is right in the middle of downtown Copenhagen.
Annika raises her head and schools her expression. I glance at her stylish wide legged black trousers and white top with an oversized pale blue flower on the shoulder. With her hair pulled back into a crisp bun and her understated makeup, she looks every bit the princess she is supposed to