bad, am I?” Prince Dante’s eyebrow arches. “I hope you won’t need air every time you talk to me.”
I blush. I didn’t realize I’m a blusher, but apparently the Prince brings out the worst in me.
“You’re not bad at all.”
The Prince’s eyes linger on mine. His tongue slides out to lick his lips, and my heart stutters. Raking his fingers through his hair, Prince Dante lets out a sigh.
Does he know how incredibly handsome he is? Every movement he makes is strong, purposeful, magnetic. Every look he gives me sends lava coursing through my veins. Every time I catch a whiff of his cologne, my heart skips a beat.
It doesn’t even look like he’s trying, but pretty soon I’m going to need a ‘Wet Floor’ sign whenever I’m around him.
The Prince clears his throat. “I hope you don’t mind, I spoke to Luca. Looks like I’ll be spending more time than anticipated here in Farcliff. There are…things…that worry us, and it’s best for me to stay here.”
“Beckett?” I ask as my heart sinks. Any reminder of the father of my child sends dread creeping into my heart.
Prince Dante’s shoulders fall. He nods. “You know about that?”
“I only know that he tried to hurt Luca—Prince Luca, I mean—but not much else.”
Prince Dante grins. “You can call him Luca. I do. You can call me Dante, too. If I’m living under your roof, I think it’s only fair we be comfortable with each other.”
My blush deepens. The thought of being comfortable with Prince Dante has crossed my mind more than once in the past hour.
Where did I put that ‘Wet Floor’ sign, again? Might as well get it ready.
“How long will you stay?” My voice squeaks, and I clear my throat to cover the noise.
“As long as I need to.”
There’s only a foot of space between us, and I desperately want to erase it. My fingers itch to feel the curve of his shoulders. To sink into the hard brawn of his muscle. To feel the heat of his skin under mine.
Swallowing the thoughts down, I force a smile. “I should go to bed. Please let me know if you need anything.”
The Prince nods, and I sidestep my way around his broad body, feeling his gaze on my back as I make my way up the stairs.
Turns out, I was right when I thought I wouldn’t sleep tonight, but I’m not reliving any mortifying incidents from the past ten years. I’m just replaying the sight of Prince Dante standing in my kitchen in nothing but a towel. When I close my eyes, I imagine how it would have felt to catch that adventurous drop of water with my tongue.
That thought alone keeps me awake most of the night.
When I get up, Luca and Ivy are already at the bakery. I retrieve my phone from the shelf in the living room, sighing when I see thirty-two missed calls from my publicist. As I stare at the screen, the phone flashes and her name appears. I press the green ‘answer’ button.
“Hi, Felicity.”
“She’s alive!” my publicist exclaims sarcastically.
“Sorry I missed your calls. There’s been a lot going on.”
“I know, Margot. And one of the more important things that’s going on is your interview with the Farcliff Observer. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
My chest squeezes, and I force myself to take a full breath. “No, I haven’t forgotten.”
Even the thought of stepping in front of a camera makes my pulse quicken. My fingers and toes suddenly feel ice-cold, and I sink down into a chair.
“The car will be there to pick you up at one o’clock. Hair and makeup will be arriving at your place at eleven, and they’ll accompany you to the interview. I’ll meet you there.”
Felicity says a few more things that I barely hear, and then hangs up without waiting for an answer. I can feel her annoyance with me through the phone, and I wince when the phone disconnects.
“Everything okay?” I turn to see Dante at the edge of the living room. His dark hair is tousled, his eyes still a bit sleepy. He’s wearing a plain white t-shirt and dark jeans. He doesn’t look like a prince at all, but then again, I don’t know why I expected princes to be formal all the time.
I release a breath and nod. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I have an interview today that I’ve been dreading.”