Alex held his hand out, revealing a small black box.
“What is that?” I looked up at him. Jewelry? Why would he give me jewelry?
“I saw this the other day and thought of you.” He held the box out a little farther and I picked it up off his hand gently. “When Cathy offered to lend you a necklace, I decided to get it for you. I know Cathy’s style wouldn’t really fit your personality. Unfortunately, it took a little longer than I had planned and wasn’t in time for the shoot.”
I opened the lid slowly, not sure what to expect. I shouldn’t have worried. Inside was a simple gold chain with a bird charm trapped among the links. I pulled it free, careful to not tangle the chain. I looked at it and realized that the charm wasn’t meant to hang at the bottom, but sit along the side of your neck so that it looked like it was in flight.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Would you like to wear it?”
“Yes, please.” I handed him the necklace and turned so that he could put it on me. He took his time, his warm fingers sending goose bumps racing over my skin. When he was done, I peeked in the mirror on the wall. It was dainty and wouldn’t draw a lot of attention, and I absolutely loved it.
“It looks good on you.”
“Thank you.” I met his eyes in the mirror.
“You’re welcome.” He tilted his head to the side, watching my reflection. “Now, go change into the jeans that had you salivating.”
“Yes!” I hurried for the door and hesitated. “Should I meet you out front?”
“Perfect.”
I smiled at him as I made my way through the door. Once inside, I quickly snagged one of the passing maids to help with the zipper and then threw on my favorite pair of jeans. Closing my eyes, I sighed in happiness. It was like slipping into my favorite pj’s after a long day. I dug through my clothes and found my favorite sweater. My warm pea coat, scarf, and boots completed the outfit—I was ready to be me.
I stopped at the mirror briefly and checked my hair before running my fingers over the necklace. Smiling, I wrapped the scarf around my neck, turned the lights off, and headed for the front of the palace.
Alex was talking with a blond woman wearing a cocktail dress, her hand laying on his arm. She laughed at something he said and stepped a little closer to him. I looked down for a minute and tried to rein in my jealousy. I had told him I wanted to be friends and I had no right to envy the way she was touching him.
She said something in Lilarian and he chuckled while shaking his head. I couldn’t understand anything they were saying, but thankfully I didn’t hear the word stuffed.
I cleared my throat when I got closer, not wanting it to seem like I was creeping up on them. The woman turned to look at me, her expression open and friendly. I tried to not focus on the fact that her hand was still on his arm.
“You must be Samantha!”
I held out my hand to shake hers and smiled. “That’s me.”
“Samantha, this is Adriane, the Lady Minsington—Daniel’s sister.” I hoped my face didn’t falter as I realized this was one of Alex’s past flames. No wonder she was so comfortable with him.
“Nice to meet you.”
“You, too. Alex was just telling me that you were going out to do a little shopping.” She looked over at him. “I offered to let you take my car. I figured it might keep some of the reporters off your tail.”
“Thank you, that’s very generous.”
“You’ve been hounded this week and need a break.” She shook her head. “It’s hard enough for us who are used to it. I can’t imagine what it would feel like being thrown into all this.”
“It’s definitely been an experience.” I buttoned up my coat. “But I’d hate to take your car and leave you stranded.”
“I’m in town for a charity event, so will be staying at the palace. It won’t be a problem at all.” Adriane checked her dainty watch. “In fact, I’m supposed to be meeting with the president of the organization shortly.”
“Would you like to try to duck out?” Alex looked at me, assessing my response to her offer.
“Will you hum the Mission Impossible theme song?” I smirked.
“You two have fun. I’ll chat with you again, Samantha.” Adriane’s eyes slid between me and