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Probably a good thing. I’ve got a feeling I’m not ready to hear it.
Clayton takes me to the conference room, his hand holding mine, calm—as if nothing happened.
“Rob,” he calls. “Amber.”
Rob and Amber beam at us. Their presence takes my breath away, more than the showroom did. I’ve seen them in photos—stunning couple, in love, made for each other. But in the flesh, they’re simply real—real love, real connection, real them.
“Hey, brother! Hey, lovely,” Clayton greets them, giving Amber a peck on the cheek. “Rob, Amber, this is Isabelle.”
“Nice to finally meet you.” I shake Rob’s hand and then hug Amber—sideways because of her growing belly. “How far along are you?”
“We’re almost there.” Amber rubs her bump. “One more week.”
I smile, mesmerized by the warmth they exude. Amber is so beautiful. With that magnificent mommy belly, I can’t say anything else, but she is an angel. And Rob—Californians were right to award him their most eligible bachelor, however long ago it was. His gaze is deep but different from Clayton's. I don’t think he’s quite an extrovert like his younger brother. But if I have to sum up the way I feel about them, Rob and Amber are the couple I want to stay close to and chat with all night.
“The prince is here,” Clayton’s assistant Wanda announces.
“Amber-Rose and I will meet him at the front.” Rob rounds his arm around his wife. “You guys stay here. Pour yourselves some drink.”
“What would you like, Baby Belle?”
“Whatever you’re having.”
Clayton gets a couple of flutes and pours us some champagne.
Moments later, Amber, Rob, and the prince arrive in the conference room. He has a glass of champagne in his hand while Rob and Amber explain to him the Middle-Eastern-inspired cordial they’re having. It appears both of them are teetotalers for the pregnancy. How sweet!
“Clay, my man!” the prince greets Clayton with open arms.
“Neo. Meet Isabelle.”
Neo? I know his name is Prince Yiannis-Andreas from Greece, but how come Rob and Amber call him ‘your highness’ while Clayton seems to call him by his nickname?
“Nice to meet you, darling.” The prince kisses my hand. “I really hope that man treats you well.”
“He does. Very well. Great to meet you, your highness,” I say, following Rob’s and Amber’s lead earlier.
“Call me Neo. Your boyfriend calls me that, so you call me that.”
“Very well,” I oblige. “Great to meet you, Neo.”
“I know your Clay for a long time,” he professes, looking like he’s about to hand out some pearls of wisdom. “His romance timeline is like an erratic radio transmission. Up and down, up and down, and even a flatline. That was when he started to take Rob to parties as his other half because he ran out of dates. Then, of course, Rob found Amber, and he’d been a miserable bachelor ever since. Well, until now, apparently.”
“I’m the luckiest man alive.” He kisses me.
Lucky? He doesn’t even know what’s about to hit him.
Cold sweat spreads through me. Clayton will probably soon ask me again if I’m okay.
“Shall we?” Rob invites the prince to sit down, and soon the presentation begins.
The lights dim, and fortunately for me, Clayton’s attention lands on the multimedia suite in front of the conference room.
I take a glimpse at his access card one more time.
Between love and reality, I make my decision.
25
