“Then why … ?” she asked but stopped.
She was going to ask why were they going to his bedroom?
But when she looked around, she saw they were already there.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
NICO
Tell me a story,” he said.
Of all the things Nico had been imagining …
This.
Was not one of them.
“My grandmother always told me a story when I wasn’t feeling well.”
She frowned. “You were feeling well enough to eat half a box of chocolates.”
“Probably why I’m not feeling good now.” He grinned. “But even if I was feeling okay, she would tell me a story before I went to sleep. And if she wasn’t around to do it, my mother or one of my aunts would.”
Nico chuckled. “It sounds like you grew up in a Fellini film.”
He grinned. “Like inEight and a Half.”
Exactly, thought Nico.A beautiful boy with a harem of women fawning over him.
“And did they call you emir?” she asked, her tone sardonic.
His eyes flashed as he shook his head. “The little prince.”
That explains a lot.
“I can’t think of a story,” she said, trying to pull her hand away.
He placed his other hand over hers, holding on with both hands. “Make one up. I know you can. I heard you do it with my nieces.”
Her brow furrowed.
How is it possible to look pleading and arrogant at the same time?
Sighing, she gazed out the window opposite them. The trees were black set against a deep and dark purple sky. Her eyes drifted out beyond the walls of the garden below, beyond the racetrack, even beyond the cities of Monza, Milan, and Lake Como, flying north until she reached the Italian Alps. It was there her story would take place.
Still gazing out the window, she began.
“Once upon a time …”
She paused, glancing down at his hands clasped over hers.
He let go, jumped onto the bed, and shut his eyes.
Charles is never going to believe this. I’m seeing it with my own eyes, and I don’t believe it.
“Once upon a time, at the foot of Mount Bianco, there was a kingdom, very remote and hidden deep within a circle of jagged stone and sharp cliffs. It was quiet there, and the people were left to themselves. Because the journey there was both difficult and dangerous, there were never any visitors.
“There in the kingdom, life was peaceful, and the people were happy. They were ruled by a benevolent king and queen, who had only one son—the little prince. The little prince was beloved by all who saw him. He was kind and generous.”
