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“You know her—the bride that is?”
“I do now.”
“Ah, so you’re a friend of the groom.”
“I am now.” She smiled.
He was confused. Was this beautiful woman some sort of wedding crasher? Was that why she was quiet? He quickly dismissed the idea. There was nothing about her that said she was anything but cultured.
“I’m confused,” he said. “Are you a guest of the bride or the groom?”
“Neither. I’m their wedding planner, Bianca Bartolini.”
He hadn’t expected that response. He must be slipping. He was usually very good at reading people. It probably had something to do with the turmoil back at the palace. By the time he turned in at day’s end, he usually had a headache that kept him up until late into the night.
He needed to do something to bring peace back to the palace. If he couldn’t do that for his family, how would he ever keep peace over the nation?
He turned his attention back to his beautiful acquaintance. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Pr...erm... Leo.”
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
“You’ve done a lovely job with the wedding. The groom seems quite pleased.”
“Thankfully.”
He hesitated. “You say that like there was a chance he wouldn’t be happy.”
“I only had six weeks to plan this wedding. Six weeks. Do you know how short that is in wedding time?”
Before he could reply, Bianca was called away by the waitstaff. With a curtsy and an apology, she was gone and he found himself disappointed to see her go.
* * *
A prince.
A real live, sexy-as-sin, bona fide prince.
And he’d been talking to her. Her heart fluttered. It was all Bianca could do not to spill the drink he’d so kindly gotten for her. But she didn’t dare drink it. She had to maintain all her senses throughout the ceremony and reception. Everything had to go perfectly. Her future was riding on it.
Still, no one, including the bride and groom, had told her that the prince, whose face graced every gossip magazine, would be in attendance. Someone should have told her. She would have gone to great pains to make sure he had everything he needed.
Instead she’d stood there trying to keep her knees from shaking. And she had absolutely no idea what she’d said to him. She’d been so nervous. She’d probably made a complete fool of herself. And that curtsy. Did people still curtsy to royalty? She wasn’t up on her royal etiquette.
Her rambling thoughts and precious memories of meeting the dashing prince would have to wait until later. Right now, she had a job to do.
She approached the bride, who was waiting to walk down the aisle. “Camilla, is everything all right? What do you need?”
Camilla looked flustered. “I forgot my gift for the groom.” She paced around the study. “I don’t know how I could forget the watch. It took forever to pick out the right one. And I had it engraved.”
“Don’t worry. Everything is going to be all right.”
The bride’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “No. It’s not. This is an omen. Our marriage is doomed.”
Bianca reached out, taking the bride’s ice-cold hands in her own. “I just need you to breathe. Can you do that?”
“But—”
“No but’s. Just breathe. Inhale. Deeply.” Bianca demonstrated, hoping the bride would follow her example.
