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“For privacy. Clearly. That’s what they’re for.”
I pause for a beat before I decide to give him the benefit of the doubt. I press the button and the divider lifts into place.
“So? What do you want to say to me that my bodyguard and driver can’t hear?”
Despite the fact we’re now alone, with no one listening in, he leans closer to me, and just as I did the last time he got this close, I can’t help but breathe in his scent. It’s a mixture of spice and musk with a distinctive note of Alexander.
“It's just that—and please tell me if I'm on the wrong track with this—I wondered whether you’re feeling the same way you did that time we met in the hallway cupboard?” he asks. “If I may be so bold as to inquire.”
Is he really raising that whole incident again, even though we’ve already agreed to put it behind us?
“Because if it is,” he continues in a soft voice. “I want to be here for you.”
I swallow, totally wrongfooted.
He wants to be here for me?
He seems so genuine, and part of me wants to believe him. Really, really wants to. I can use all the friends I can get in this new life I find myself in. Friends who know how this whole royal gig goes. Friends who’ve been there.
But this is Alexander we’re talking about. Alexander, the guy who delighted in my peacock disaster. The guy who told me he thinks I’m cashing in on my new-found fame as Malveaux’s backup princess.
The guy who quite clearly thinks I’m ridiculous.
But he’s also the guy who’s been unexpectedly nice to me, telling me about The Games and his family, trying to relate to me and make me feel at home.
Dang it! Prince Alexander wasn’t supposed to be thoughtful or kind. He was supposed to be a privileged, self-interested, self-satisfied, total jerk of a human being who spent all his time wooing women and living the high life with no interest in real human connection with anyone ever.
He’s supposed to be the kind of man I’d never in a million years want to even strike up a friendship with, let alone have real, actual feelings for.
But this is a new version of him. One I did not see coming.
One that touches my heart.
“I have first-hand experience of what it's like to step out into that mob. You’re new at this. The least I can do is help you navigate it all. I'm an old hand, you see. Long in the tooth and all that.”
I nod, not quite sure how to respond.
“Tell me if I'm wrong, Texas,” he continues in his soft, intimate voice that is somehow managing to help calm me. “You never told me why you were hiding in the cupboard, but I think I can work it out. You were overwhelmed, weren’t you?”
I bite down on my lip.
Thoughtful, kind, and observant? Who is this guy?
He places a hand over mine. “It’s a lot. But it’s all going to be okay. You’ll see.”
I look up into his eyes and I find only kindness and concern. The part of me that wants to believe he’s here to genuinely help grows and grows until it fills my heart, pushing out my feelings of inadequacy and fear.
Instead, I feel calm. Ready.
Who knew Alexander could do that for me?
The rusty hinges of the gate encircling my heart creak open a fraction.
“Okay,” I say, nodding my head like one of those bobblehead dolls, eager to get this over with now that I have Alexander here to encourage me.
“Okay,” he echoes.
We smile at one another, and any remnant of my nerves vanish.
