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Before either of them had time to think, the King had kissed Arissa on both cheeks. His sister’s eyebrows rose in surprise then she stepped forward and held out her hand. ‘Grace Aronaz,’ she said, leaving the Princess title to the side.
‘And I’m the good-looking one,’ said his brother jokingly as he held out his hand to Arissa too. ‘Anthony.’ He gave Philippe a glance. ‘I think my brother has been hiding you from us all. Trying to keep you secret.’ He dipped down low and kissed Arissa’s hand. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr Cotter. We hope we’ll have a chance to get to know you a little better.’ He stepped forward and pretended to whisper in her ear. ‘And I have a dozen stories on Philippe that you’ll be able to use as blackmail material on him.’
Arissa’s eyes were wide. Maybe she hadn’t expected such a warm welcome. But Philippe wouldn’t have expected anything else from his family.
‘It’s Arissa, please,’ she said finally. ‘And it’s a pleasure to meet you all.’
The music picked up tempo behind them. The King’s eyes gleamed. ‘Oh, it’s that time again. Right, I’m off to find old Aunt Livia, try and stop whatever trouble she is causing and sweep her around the dance floor while I tell her off.’
Philippe looked at Arissa’s surprised face. ‘I warned you about her. Wait and see—at various points, each one of us will take her around the dance floor before she ruins any of our diplomatic relationships.’
He watched as Anthony grabbed two glasses of champagne from a tray and moved over next to a blonde woman in a silver gown. Grace turned her attentions to an older woman and launched into a long story. And his mother gave him the slightest nod of her head, which he knew was approval.
He wasn’t embarrassed to admit the relief that flooded through his body. All of his family liked her—just as he’d known they would. He could only imagine the questions he’d get later when he was on his own.
He gestured towards the white and black dance floor. ‘How are your dancing feet? Do you trust me not to stand on your toes?’
She gave him a nervous kind of smile. Her shoulders had relaxed just a little. ‘I guess I could risk it,’ she said.
He led her to the dance floor and took her into his arms. It was perfect. The music. The dancing. The lights around them gradually lowered, leaving the ballroom illuminated by flickering candlelight. It was an illusion of course—they weren’t real candles, but no one really cared.
They toasted with champagne and ate some of the canapés that were offered. As the sky grew dark outside and the temperature in the ballroom rose, the doors to the gardens were opened. The cooler night air didn’t deter people from walking outside.
After her initial few minutes of nervousness, Arissa relaxed. Maybe it was the thought of meeting his parents and family, or maybe it was the whole intimidation factor of appearing at a ball with a prince.
She wasn’t used to the life that he had. He’d met Arissa in her own life where she was a capable and competent doctor. Rarely fazed and always able to deal with unexpected emergencies. He’d admired her tenacity and just how capable she was, keeping so many balls juggling in the air at once. Most of all he’d admired her ‘can do’ attitude.
Tonight there had been a flicker of uncertainty and something else. She’d gripped his arm tighter than she ever had before. Part of him hated that it was him that had put her in this position. He’d almost forgotten how intimidating this could all be to someone who hadn’t been brought up in this life.
But Arissa had handled things like a pro. She’d helped him manoeuvre a conversation with a difficult diplomat onto something much less flammable. She’d charmed a few of his mother’s friends. He tried his best to ignore the knowing glances they all shot him, smiling and moving on to the next group.
By the time it was almost midnight, he was conscious of the fact Arissa was leaning on his arm. ‘You okay?’ he asked.
She was staring out at the gardens that had been lit tonight with some pale pink and pale blue lights. ‘We could have done with those the other night,’ she said dreamily.
