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He made something unbelievably hard seem simple and easy. There was a rock sitting in my stomach that could see me sitting on the sidelines one day while he married a perfect princess. And I'd love him and lose him because he had duties that went beyond his own desires. Was I willing to fall in love with someone who would inevitably break my heart?
"We can try."
He pulled me in for a hard kiss. I could taste his relief. It reassured me, because he'd sounded like he knew that I'd say yes.
When I broke the kiss, he ran his hands over my back. "Let me show you what I couldn't before."
"Like what?"
He smiled at me. "Let's take my helicopter out at dawn."
"I'm going to barf," I said into the microphone. I did not like the way that the ground was rapidly falling away from us. I didn't like the harness that was keeping me in the helicopter. And I especially did not like the way that the door didn't close. I closed my eyes, as if by not seeing it, the wide-open door would magically close.
"You're fine," Massimo said, his hand holding mine. "You can see everything like this."
The loud drone of the helicopter motors and the sound of the blades surrounded me. I was more than a little acrophobic. I cursed my past self for agreeing to a dawn helicopter ride. Not only had Massimo yanked me out of bed while I was having a nice dream, he'd poured coffee down my throat and pushed me into the shower. I wasn't wearing any makeup because I hadn't been awake enough to handle it.
We could see the sun rising on the horizon.
"It's beautiful," I said, even though my head hurt from lack of sleep.
"Not even half as beautiful as you, bella." He kissed my hand, which I could hear through my headset.
"Knock it off, you two. We can hear you flirting," the pilot said, his voice dry.
His co-pilot said, "I don't mind. I think it's sweet."
"Such a romantic, Jones."
"Leave them alone. They're in love."
I felt a spike of fear flare in my stomach. Was I in love? I'd barely learned that he was a wealthy crown prince before he'd brought me to this helicopter. It was what rich people did for fun. I'd never been in a helicopter before and after Massimo and I were done, I probably never would be again.
Now that I knew about his crown, I was aware that every minute we spent together was part of a race towards our breakup. But I'd drink the sweetness of every drop that I could get until then.
"We'll land soon," the pilot said. He lowered us onto a helicopter pad on top of one of the buildings that Massimo owned.
Massimo unbuckled himself and helped me unbuckle. He jumped out and then held his arms out to me. I yelped as I hurled into space. He caught me and spun in a half circle.
"You were so brave," he whispered in my ear. "Thank you for coming."
"Thanks for making me do this." I kissed his jaw. "But let's not do it anytime soon."
"I'm not making any promises," he said before kissing my temple and settling an arm around my shoulders. "Thank you. I'll see you soon."
The pilot and co-pilot waved back. They were talking to someone else with a clipboard.
Massimo took me downstairs and begin to whistle. "Where do you want to go to breakfast?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"There's a brunch place that's a hole in the wall. They make the most amazing bagels."
"Lead the way," I said. "I love bagels." Just thinking about it made my stomach growl.
When we got downstairs, we got into his car and sped away. We parked in front of the small restaurant. Instead of letting come around to open my door, I hopped out.
"You should wait for me to help you," Massimo said. "I can open your door."
