It was a pale lavender short kind of slip. And sheer. A fact she’d clearly forgotten when she’d jumped out of bed earlier that morning and stood beside Charles, gazing down at him as he lay on the floor of her hotel room.
“I didn’t pack it.”
“I did,” he said rummaging through her things. He’d grabbed it and threw it in her suitcase, stuffing it under the other items when she wasn’t looking. He pulled it out. “Here it is,” he said, smiling.
Her eyes opened wide as she stared at it. Glaring at him, she snatched it and threw it back in her suitcase. “I don’t need that.”
He went behind her back, grabbed it, and shoved it in the backpack when she wasn’t looking.
Once they had everything, he shut the trunk and slung the pack on his back, and they set off.
“There’s no road you can drive on that takes you to the town?” she asked, hurrying after him.
“Just a walking path. It’s really small, not even a village, really. More of a hamlet.”
“So, when your parents want to leave, they have to walk this far to get to their car?”
He hesitated. “More or less.”
Most of the time, they walked a clear trail. But sometimes it disappeared, and she stumbled over a root or rock. But that was her own fault. Instead of watching where she was going, she was staring at Rocco’s ass and wondering if he had those dimples above it.
He stopped, glancing over his shoulder. “Tired?”
“No,” she huffed.
“Why don’t you finish the fairy tale you were telling me? It’ll help pass the time.”
Okay, she thought, gritting her teeth and wanting to smack that ass.
Hard.
She thought a moment, recalling where she’d left off, and then chuckled.
“The hours passed,” she began. “The days and nights and the seasons too. And the little prince’s head kept growing. It was making it more and more difficult to move. Soon he was unable to run and race; even walking had become difficult.”
Rocco stopped and turned around. “Really?”
Nico smiled. “Yes, really.”
She flitted her hand like she was shooing away a fly, and he resumed walking.
“There were no laws in the kingdom. The people did as they pleased. Life was good, everyone—happy. As a result, no harm was ever committed, and they had no need for laws. But now the king and queen made a proclamation. If the little prince could not run or race, no one would run or race. From thenceforth, running and racing was forbidden.”
Rocco stopped so suddenly, she ran into him.
“No racing?! Come on!”
Nico bit her lip to keep from laughing and shrugged. “That’s what happened.”
“What do you mean that’s what happened? You’re making the story up, so it doesn’t have to happen.”
“That’s. What. Happened. Now do you want me to finish the story or not?”
“Is it going to have a happy ending?”
She chuckled.
“Go on,” he said gruffly as he turned around and continued walking.
