I reached for the frame, which dared to show just a bit of dust because the photo itself was hidden back behind the larger photos, overshadowed by the larger, looming official family photos. (Fitting, I thought.) I used my sleeve to buff it to a shine, taking my time to get anything off the glass of that precious picture, which made me smile despite myself.
I don’t know how long I stood there staring at that photo, but I guess it was long enough.
“Hello,” I heard this deep voice say behind me.
I turned right into the gaze of Augustine Seamus Whitley Quinn Agassi, the Prince of Alasdair and Duke of Iver, last heir to the throne of Aldayne. He was also a mega rock star, but like Monica had warned, his regal air was undeniable.
If I thought those green eyes were piercing in photos, they were damn near lethal in person. I felt immediately exposed, like I was standing naked in front of him. His long hair curled around his sharp features, and that beard was trimmed high and tight around his sensual full lips.
I was so taken off guard I took a step back, losing my footing and stumbling right into the bookshelf that held so many golden and silver frames. Like dominoes falling in slow motion, they all went down in a clatter, one even toppling right to the floor.
“I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed, mortified. I tried to retrieve the fallen soldier, but I was so discombobulated that my hands shook like crazy and I dropped it twice more. Just as he reached around me to take it from my hands, I backed up again, this time into what was likely a Ming vase. I managed to capture it, but barely.
I was flushed and embarrassed as I faced him. I realized I had that tiny silver frame with the candid photo clutched to my chest. With shaking hands, I tried to replace it without destroying anything else. “I’m… I’m so sorry,” I mumbled, unable to look him right in the eye.
“No damage done,” he said in that warm, hypnotic voice that poured over my senses like honey. Then, like out of a dream, I saw him reach out a hand to me. “I’m Auggie,” he said, quite unnecessarily.
I stared at his hand for a long, uncomprehending moment, fixated on the opal-like ring he wore on his finger, with the familiar crest I’d seen throughout the castle. That ring meant the rules were different, right? Shit, should I bow? I remembered that I wasn’t supposed to touch him, but he was reaching out to me. What were the rules in this scenario? Where the fuck was Audra?
Just as I reached out my hand, my stomach rebelled from all the stress. I barely even got a hint of warning before hot vomit filled my mouth. I clapped that same hand to my face, my eyes wide as I stared at him. “Bathroom?” I tried to mumble without vomit dribbling out of my mouth.
“What?” he asked, confused.
Oh God, I thought to myself. My two choices here are vomit or swallow, then vomit again. I glanced around wildly, considering that Ming vase for just a millisecond before I decided I just had to make a run for it and hope I find a bathroom.
I couldn’t even say excuse me.
About eight doors later I hit the jackpot. Within a second, I was sprawled in on the floor, my face in a much more elegant commode than the one in my apartment. I was surprised that my stomach didn’t turn completely inside out as I vomited what was left on my tummy, some ginger candy, a few glasses of water… then nothing but yellow burning bile.
My whole body shook I was so weak. And embarrassed. Make that mortified. Holy hell, what a way to make a first impression.
When someone finally knocked at the door, I was terrified it would be Auggie. Instead, I heard Audra’s muffled but commanding voice. “Ms. McPhee?” she called out, and I realized in my fuzzy brain that she hadn’t called me Peaches. It seemed like a bad omen. “Are you all right?”
I shook my head. I was so not all right. I doubted I’d ever be all right again. My one big break and I had blown it. All for some all-you-can-eat sushi.
Just say no, kids.
Just. Say. No.
“Yes,” I answered her question, using what was left of my energy to lie. “I’ll be right out,”