Page 112 of Handle Me

I love your garage.

APRIL

Boss: Mom is getting suspicious. I better hang here this weekend.

Madeline Bishop probably had a tracking device on her daughter. I wasn’t sure how we were going to make it through the next nine months without her finding out.

I flopped back on the bed and stared at the Dubai skyline. I’d asked Lola to come with me. I hated these long trips, hated seeing places without her. But she didn’t want to risk it. Now I wasn’t going to see her at all. I swallowed my disappointment and tapped reply.

I’ll probably be jet-lagged anyway.

I would prefer you only see me as a high-performance machine.

Noted.

I’ll be watching tomorrow, completely knickers-free.

Fuck, now I was thinking about her naked, which was honestly a constant problem. My dick hardened but before I could give in, there was a knock on the hotel door.

“You ready?” Wilkes shouted.

I groaned. Cock-blocker. “Give me a sec.”

You better be. Gotta run. Love you.

MAY

Boss: I know I’m supposed to be in town this afternoon, but I forgot that I have a birthday party for Wills.

Your Highness: Shit. I meant to remind you.

Huh? How did you know?

Clara sent an invite to Uncle Anders.

Maybe I should get him a present?

A racecar?

Good thinking, boss.

I pocketed my phone and sighed. I needed to be across London in fifteen minutes. Thank God Belle had reminded me about the party. Lately, I’d been too preoccupied to remember simple things. Probably, because I was completely preoccupied with Anders.

He wasn’t being shy about his hints. But he couldn’t be ready to move in together.

Could he?

EPILOGUE

LOLA

There are birthday parties, and then there are royal birthday parties. A handful of tables dotted the lawn behind Buckingham, and it was clear that while the guest list was small, the event was lavish. Thanks in no small part to my mother’s party-planning skills. Even the May weather was cooperating, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

“Lola.” Belle rushed over to greet me. “You look gorgeous. Did you steal this from our closet?” she teased, twirling her finger.

I obliged her request, turning to give her a better view of my Diane von Fürstenberg summer dress. “I picked it up at Harrods the other day.”

“I love how fluid it is.” She touched the sleeve thoughtfully. “We need to bring this one in for our clients to borrow immediately.”