The Prince's Devious Proposal - Holly Rayner Page 0,12

that he didn’t have to bow to anyone from a tiny little country like mine.”

“You’re kidding! What did you do?”

“Oh, nothing,” Petr said. “I was only nine at the time. I was just in shock that someone was talking back to their mother like that. I didn’t even realize I’d been insulted until a few years later.”

Naomi laughed. The experiences Petr was describing didn’t sound exactly like her own childhood, but they definitely ran parallel. She felt as if they could have easily stepped into one another’s lives when they were young without feeling too out of place.

Apparently, he was thinking along the same lines. “We have more in common than I would have expected,” he said.

“We do,” she agreed.

“Does this happen to you often, with your fans?” he asked. “Are they usually people who are like you in some way?”

“To be honest, I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never gotten to know a fan this well. I usually met them in passing, after the shows. Nine times out of ten, I never learned their names, and when I did it was only so I could personalize an autograph. You’re really the only one I’ve ever gotten to know on a personal level.”

As they enjoyed their meal, Naomi marveled at the fact that she could feel as though she had so much in common with someone who was quite literally royalty. He should have felt worlds away from her own life experience. But the truth was, she could relate to him. He was surprisingly down-to-earth.

“I love chocolate,” he confessed as he ordered them a pair of lava cakes for dessert. It was such a regular thing to say—how could she help but see him as just a regular guy?

He’s not just a regular guy. He’s a prince. And a charming, witty, and unpredictable one at that.

But if you wanted to look at it from a certain angle, Naomi reasoned, she wasn’t just regular either. She was a pop sensation. All right, maybe she had left that part of her life behind her, but it was still a facet of who she was.

Maybe that’s all this prince business is—just a facet.

Whatever the case, she found she was unable to keep herself from being charmed by him. They ate their desserts and got up to leave, Petr paying the check without allowing Naomi to look at it.

“We’ll have to do this again sometime,” he said as he drove her home.

Naomi had half expected him to ask if she would like to come back to his place. She had been turning that question around in her head, deciding whether or not she ought to say yes. The fact that he was taking her straight home without asking was a surprise, but she found she was touched by it. He’s in no hurry. He wants to get to know me slowly.

It had been a while since she’d been with a guy who had treated her that way.

“Definitely,” she agreed. “Next time, I’ll call you.”

He glanced at her. “I hope you do,” he said. “I’m really enjoying getting to know you, Naomi.” He reached over and took her hand.

“You can count on it,” she said, her heart rate escalating as he held her hand. “I probably won’t even be able to wait three days.”

“You counted the days?”

She couldn’t keep a grin off her face. “I was excited.”

He pulled up outside her house and got out of the car to walk her to her door. “I’ll see you soon,” he said.

“See you soon,” she agreed, but made no move to go inside.

He took her hand and pulled her close, cupping the back of her head, and kissed her, deeply and tenderly.

The ground seemed to fall away beneath her.

Then he stepped back and smiled. “Have a good night,” he said, and retreated to his car, leaving her gasping.

Chapter 5

Naomi usually spent her Sunday mornings curled up with a mug of hot coffee and a good book, and she had been looking forward to doing that the day after her second date with Petr. She wanted to take the time to think about the evening they’d spent together and all the things they had learned about one another.

Could he really be a prince?

On one hand, it seemed surreal. How could actual royalty just come waltzing into her life? How could a literal prince have been such a fan of her music that he had felt the desire to reach out to her? Naomi had never experienced anything like