The Prince's Devious Proposal - Holly Rayner Page 0,6
She would allow herself to have fun tonight. It would be good to be reminded of what it had been like to be a successful musician. After the difficulties she had faced over the last few months, she thought she deserved a break like that. But she wasn’t going to let herself make more of this than what it was.
Honestly, he’s probably just a music nerd who was obsessed with “Starlight Boy.” She had met a few people like that in her time. She’d always found them very sweet. It was incredibly flattering to think that her song had spoken to someone so deeply.
But people like that tended not to be all that interested in Naomi herself. She had learned, in fact, that it was best if she kept quiet around them. They didn’t want to know what she thought about the song, what it meant to her. They wanted it to be about what it meant to them. And that was fine with Naomi. Whatever made them happy was good enough for her.
She would let this Petr do the talking. At the end of the evening, he would be able to say that he had met one of his favorite singers, and she would be reminded that there were people who thought of her that way.
She reached the Crystal Lounge and went inside.
As soon as she entered, a man at the bar rose to his feet and walked over to meet her.
“Thank you for coming, Naomi,” he said and gave her a winning smile. “I’m Petr.”
Chapter 3
Naomi did her best to keep the shock from registering on her face, but she wasn’t sure how successful she was. Petr Agridis was not at all what she had expected.
He was gorgeous.
She had been anticipating a nerdy guy, and in her mind she had conjured up an image of a short, wiry man with glasses, possibly with an unfortunate haircut. Petr didn’t fit that description at all.
He was tall—definitely over six feet—with thick brown hair that immediately made her want to reach out and touch it and bright green eyes that seemed to bring energy to the room. When he smiled, he revealed perfectly even white teeth.
He held out a hand, and her heart pounded in her chest as she shook it. Without a doubt, he was the most handsome man she’d ever met. She felt her skin heat up at the strength of his hand and the scent of his cologne.
What the hell am I doing? She shook herself. She wasn’t here on a date. This was a meeting with a fan!
It had been a long time since she had done this. It made sense that she was having trouble stepping back into the old habits. But she could do it.
She smiled up at Petr, hoping he didn’t notice that she was blushing. “It’s very nice to meet you, Petr,” she said.
“Shall we get a table?” he asked. “I’ve been at the bar while I waited for you, but it would be much nicer to talk to you somewhere a little bit quieter.”
Naomi hesitated, then nodded. “That would be good,” she said.
“Do you want to find us a place to sit?” Petr suggested. “I’ll get us some drinks. What can I get for you?”
“A cosmopolitan?”
“Done.” He winked at her and headed back to the bar.
She watched him go, his body moving confidently as if he owned the place.
Well, wasn’t that confusing. Fans had always tended to be a bit tongue-tied upon meeting her. Naomi had never judged them for it, of course—meeting a stranger could be awkward even when it wasn’t someone who had written a song you felt personally connected to.
But Petr wasn’t acting like a fan. Not that she expected him to fawn over her or anything, of course, but she had to admit that she was surprised by how cool and collected he seemed.
He returned to the table she had chosen with her drink in hand and a martini for himself. He handed hers to her. “I ordered a bottle of champagne as well,” he said. “I thought we ought to share a toast on this auspicious occasion.”
“Oh,” Naomi said, feeling rather flustered. “Well, that would be nice.”
He fished in his pocket, then pulled out a copy of her CD and a pen. “I was hoping you might do me the honor of autographing this,” he said. “It would mean the world to me to have a signed copy.”
Naomi picked up the CD. It felt like forever since