AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I’d like you to come to a party with me,’ he said.
Her face assumed a wary expression. ‘You mean, to work?’
‘No, not to work,’ he negated, a flick of his hand indicating his impatience. ‘As my guest.’
Her head jerked back. ‘Your guest?’
‘That’s right.’
Unvarnished nails on show, she splayed her fingers over her breastbone and let out an odd kind of squeak. ‘Me?’
‘Why not?’ he drawled. ‘You don’t strike me as someone who goes to many parties and I thought that all women liked parties, and the chance to dress up. Wouldn’t it be fun to do something different for a change?’
‘You’re inviting me to a party because you feel sorry for me?’ she said in a small voice.
‘Partially, yes,’ he agreed, surprised enough by the honesty of her question to give her an equally honest reply. ‘But your presence at my side will be advantageous to me.’
She screwed up her face. ‘I’m not sure why.’
‘It will deter other women from hitting on me. Because I’m not in the mood for predatory.’ His eyes glittered. ‘Frankly, I am bored with predatory.’
Her cheeks went very pink when he said that and she shifted awkwardly from one flat and clumpy black shoe to the other before shaking her head. ‘It’s very kind of you to ask me, Your Royal Highness, but I’m afraid I can’t do it.’
‘Can’t?’ Kulal frowned, because hesitation was one thing but refusal was something else. Something he wasn’t used to and would not tolerate. ‘Why not?’
‘Because members of staff aren’t allowed to fraternise with the guests. It’s a hotel rule and grounds for instant dismissal.’
His smile grew wolfish. ‘Only if they get to know about it.’
‘Everyone will know about it!’
‘How? This is a very exclusive party and it’s on the other side of the island. I doubt whether anyone else from the hotel will even be invited and even if they are, they aren’t going to recognise you.’
Again that suspicious look. ‘Why not?’
Kulal slanted her a smile, her genuine reluctance fuelling his determination. ‘Because you won’t be in uniform.’
She stared at him uncomprehendingly.
‘Wouldn’t you like to put on something pretty for a change?’ he continued. ‘To dress like a princess, even if it’s only for one night?’
‘I don’t have anything remotely princess-like in my wardrobe,’ she said woodenly.
‘Then let me fix it so that you do.’
Again, those aquamarine eyes narrowed with suspicion rather than the gratitude he would have expected.
‘How would you do that?’
‘Easy.’ Kulal shrugged. ‘All I have to do is pick up the phone and have one of my staff find you someone who deals with such matters. Someone discreet who can transform you into someone even you won’t recognise.’
‘You mean like Cinderella?’ she said slowly.
His lips curved, for his tutor had also taught him about the English obsession with fairy tales and their need to transpose them onto real life. ‘If you like.’
She tilted her chin upwards and, for the first time, he saw a flash of spirit in her aquamarine eyes. ‘Does that mean my clothes will turn back into rags at midnight?’
‘You can keep the dress, if that’s what you’re angling for.’
