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I did—especially when my father was alive.
However, it had always been directed at my mother, really. She never seemed affected by it, but I wondered if she just hid it from me when I was young.
“I apologize, ma’am.”
“Huh?” I focused back on him. “For what?”
“You looked worried. I didn’t mean to frighten you or anything—Iskandar always tells me to talk less for this exact reason.” He cringed.
“No, you’re fine. I’m not worried. And you can just call me Odette.”
“Iskandar would have my head.” He laughed. “It’s either ma’am, miss, or my lady.”
“My lady?” What? “So, you all really still do that?”
“Never stopped. As I said, Ersovians really like our monarchy and traditions,” he answered, and I made a mental note of that.
“Ma’am or miss is fine then.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I glanced out the window, and only then did I even think to ask, “Where are we going exactly?”
Chapter 12
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“You are fidgeting, sir.”
“I am not. Fidgeting is a nervous habit, and I am not nervous. I am only fixing my cufflinks.”
“For the twelfth time.”
I glanced up at him. “Do you have to be so close to guard me? No one else is here.”
No one else was here because the only way I could take her out to dinner was to rent out the whole place for the night. I was starting to think all of our money over the years was used only for security. Instead of answering me, he took a single step back as if that really made any difference. Trying to ignore him, I shifted the watch on my wrist to check the time. Rising from my chair, I glanced out at the décor of little Italy above the city, as her mother described it. Sapori D’italia was her favorite restaurant. It was massive, two levels in fact, and in the middle of the winding stairs was a giant tree, and old-fashioned lanterns hung inside of it. There was a Roman-style water fountain at the entrance, and the walls were made of aged cobblestone, even though I had yet to see any in this modern city at all. To top it all off was the view, the lights from every building and car glimmered like a million fireflies from way up here. She had said she was cold and wasn’t easily moved, but if this was her favorite place, I had a feeling she was much more of a romantic than she wanted to admit.
