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Luc sighed, running his hand through his thick, silver-tinged hair. “Such a bad idea. Not to mention that you’re going to be missing dinner with your father.”
“Please. He’s missed more dinners with me than he’s been to. And when hedoesbother to show up for them, he barely says a word.”
Luc said nothing, and I could sense that he wasn’t going to speak an ill word about the king.
“If he asks, just tell him that I commanded you to take me out of the castle. Put it all on me.”
“Putting the blame on someone else, and lying in the process, isn’t something I’m used to doing. But if you want to spend some time in your city, I suppose it can be arranged.”
“Arranged? It’s already done. All I’m worried about now is finding some way to get you to take the stick out of your ass and let me pick out one of the nicer cars.” I grinned, a thought occurring to me. “Let me ask you this—which car doyoulike?”
“Doesn’t matter; none of them are mine.”
“But they’remine, kind of, and I’m giving you permission to pick.”
Luc sighed, as if realizing that he wasn’t getting out of this. When he finally accepted it, a small smile formed on his lips.
“This way.”
He stepped away from me, making his way down the rows of cars. I followed, eager to find out which one was his favorite, which one we’d be taking out for the night. Eventually we came to a stop at a forest green luxury car, one that was a little older than most of the automobiles there.
“This is a 1990 Jaguar XJS V12 convertible.” His voice was tinged with awe. “Back when I was a kid,thiswas the height of luxury to me. And it’s not just nice-looking; this thing’s a beast under the hood.”
“It’s perfect,” I said with a smile. “You ever taken it out?”
“Just once, many years ago. One night, back when we were both a little older than you, the king had a little too much wine. He wanted me to take him into town for a bite to eat, and he said that I could drive any car I wanted. Naturally, I picked this one.”
“Well, now’s your second chance.”
He nodded. “Alright. Let’s do this.”
Luc went over to the pegboard on the wall where all of the keys were hung, taking a few moments to locate the set for the Jag. Seconds later he was opening the passenger side door for me. I slid into the car, an “oh, wow,” coming from my mouth as I took in the interior. The seat was plush, brown leather, the dashboard all analog, no fancy iPads or electric readouts to be found.
Luc eased into the driver’s seat, and I could sense he was savoring each moment. He wrapped his fingers slowly around the steering wheel, the faintest hint of a smile on his face.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“So ready.”
With that, he slipped the key into the ignition and turned. The engine growled to life, the vibration so deep that I could feel my bones shake. Luc expertly pulled the car out of its parking space, driving down the lane toward the garage door. The door opened before us, the wild sunset filling our vision.
Luc gunned the engine as we pulled out of the building, catching the attention of the castle staff that happened to be nearby.
“This is amazing!” I said, unable to hold back the big grin on my face. “I can see why you like this car so much!”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he replied, putting on his best American accent.
He pulled through the gates of the royal palace, the guards waving us past, all of them regarding me with curious expressions on their faces. So much for keeping a low profile. Luc gunned the engine again, taking us out onto the highway that overlooked the city. As we drove, he pressed a button on the dash that retracted the roof. Wind rushed through the car, the feeling totally exhilarating.
I couldn’t help it. I threw my hands up into the air and let out awoo hoo!
“You know,” Luc said. “I never understood why American women love sayingwoo hooso much.”
I laughed. “It’s our way of letting you know that we’re very, very happy. So, where to?” I had to raise my voice over the rushing wind.
“I’ll show you.”
We drove, Luc speeding down the highway, the sun still setting to the west. He took an exit that led to a small town in the shadows of the Alps. Soon we reached a small, winding road that went up along the side of the mountain. Eventually, we arrived at a small clearing off the side of the road that afforded a sweeping view of Lausanne and the countryside around it, the sunset having turned the entire sky orange and red. Luc turned off the engine, a peaceful silence coming over us. A bit of heat came from the vents, just enough to offset the chilly autumn air around us.
