Page 88 of King of the Crease

His voice softens.

“Everything began happening so quickly. I knew I should tell you, but I was already in too deep. I didn’t know how to come clean without ruining this. How do you tell the man you’re falling in love with that you’re a crown prince?”

I sink onto my porch swing. I love this spot—watching neighbors walk by in summer, seeing the first snowfall before the real cold sets in. The seat is freezing now, biting through my mesh shorts, but I don’t move. Because Nick just said he’s falling in love with me.

“You are?”

He nods yes.

Despite the awkwardness of the situation, my heart manages to do a flip. Yet the harsh fact echoes in my head: I’m falling in love with a prince.

I feel like every girl in a Hallmark movie.

Nick sits beside me and takes my hand.

“Please say something,” he murmurs. “Even if you hate me.”

“I think I’m too confused to hate you.”

“It wasn’t all a lie,” he says quickly. “How I feel about you—that isn’t. I really like you, Hank.”

I should be swooning over having a handsome guy admit he really likes me, that he’s falling in love with me. My mind is in too much of a fog, though. Maybe next time I date someone I should ask for ID before confessing feelings.

“You’re a prince,” I say for what feels like the hundredth time tonight. “I don’t even know what to call you now. What’s your full title?”

“Crown Prince Nicholas of Ardenia.”

“I couldn’t find Ardenia on a map if you paid me a thousand bucks.”

“It’s in Europe.”

“I know where Europe is.” I glance at him. “Do you live in an actual palace?”

“I do. It’s very nice…though rather cavernous. I really like your house,” he adds quickly.

“Oh please.” A ripple of embarrassment courses through me. My life can’t help but feel small next to him. “It’s a tiny little dinky place. No servants. No canopy beds. I’m mostly going off movies here.”

He smiles faintly. “You’re not entirely wrong.”

He squeezes my hand tighter, like he’s afraid I’ll disappear. “Hank, I’m so sorry. I hope you understand why.”

“I do. I mean… how do you casually bring that up?”

And honestly, at first, everything he’s saying makes sense. He wanted to experience life as a normie. I bumped a tree into his head and convinced him to play on the Comebacks. I could see how easily lies could pile up. But my heart is way too involved for logic right now.

Nick blinks those big, puppy dog eyes at me, waiting for me to say something.

“Do you still like me?” he asks.

One look at his face gives me my answer. I’m in deep with this guy.

“Heck yeah.”

His whole body relaxes with relief. He leans forward and kisses me, soft and careful. It feels real. It feels true.

The world tilts a little, and I grab onto the porch swing chain like I might fall.

I let out a shaky breath. “I’m not even sure if my passport’s expired. Guess visiting you’s out.”