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Isabelle paled but kept her smile firmly in place. “Me, too.”
After one last hug—overkill, in Gordon’s opinion—the annoying prince finally walked away. Isabelle’s smile faded away, and she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes with a sigh. She looked exhausted. Sad. Alone.
And he wanted to help her, damn it. He didn’t know what the hell was going on between the two of them, but she obviously wasn’t happy about it. He understood that feeling, and the frustrations that went with it, all too well.
“Are you okay?” he asked, stepping closer.
She startled, her eyes flying open. Straightening her spine, she plastered a fake smile on her face. “Yes, I’m lovely. Thank you for asking.”
“Drop the princess act,” he snapped. “I know you’re not wonderful.”
“Then don’t ask me questions if you already know the answers.” She brushed past him. “I want to go home now. Please.”
He stared at her for a beat, but then pushed off the wall. She was clearly upset, but she wouldn’t talk to him unless she wanted to. And he had a feeling she wouldn’t do it in public at all. She probably had a rule about how princesses didn’t spill their hearts out in public, or some shit like that.
Last night, she’d talked in her sleep, mumbling all these “rules” she had. It had been adorable and yet disturbing. He’d sat there, watching her talk to herself, and then he’d gone down to the couch once she’d quieted.
Sleep was hard to come by nowadays, and when he did sleep? He had nightmares every single fucking time. Horrible nightmares that he woke himself up from by screaming. She didn’t need to know that about
him. No one did. No one except Georgie.
Aw, shit. His dog had the same name as her prince.
Was that why she’d laughed this morning? Because she’d known?
“Your town car is this way,” he said, his voice tight.
“I want to take your car.” She turned to him, her green eyes pleading. “I don’t want to be with other people.”
“But you’ll be with me?”
She hesitated, then said, “Yes. Is your car here?”
“Yeah.” He placed a hand at the small of her back. “This way.”
As they walked through the abandoned parking lot to his car, she didn’t say a word. She was oddly quiet. He didn’t know what to make of that. Of her. And even worse? He wanted her. Still. Again. More. She, however, seemed to be perfectly content to leave things where they were. One night of sex, and then all business.
The frustration he felt about this whole mess was new.
He’d never wanted more before, and he didn’t know what it meant. Or what, if anything, he should do about it.
When they got to his car, he opened her door for her. She glanced at him before she slid into his seat. As he seated himself behind the wheel, her phone rang.
She glanced down at it, sighed, and held it to her ear. “Hello?” A pause. “Yes, mother. You’re up late, aren’t you? It’s past twelve over—” Silence. “It went well.” Another pause. “Yes, he’s very handsome and nice. Quite the gentleman, too. Just as you said.”
Gordon stiffened. Handsome. Nice. Yep. Definitely a date.
“I don’t know yet. We’re going out again Friday.” She fell silent and rubbed her forehead. “I know. Yes, I know.” Another moment of silence. “I know. I’m well aware what is expected of me. It’s been drilled into my head since the day I was born.” She nodded. “I will. But I’m going to go to bed now… It’s late over here.”
After she said good-bye, she hung up and dropped her phone into her hand. Gordon kept his eyes on the road and cleared his throat. “So.”
She looked over at him. “What?”
“Nothing.” He stuck the keys into the ignition. “You seem tense, is all. So I spoke to break the weird silence.”
“That’s because I am tense.”
He locked the doors. “I know a good cure for tension.”
