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Trap herself with him while they were a hundred feet off the ground?
No way.
“I’m, umm, scared of heights—-”
The prince only smiled down at her. “Even better.” And then he was unceremoniously pushing her inside. The door was slammed shut behind him as the prince followed her, and a second later, the Ferris wheel had started to move, bringing the passenger car up while the one below them took on its next set of passengers.
“So…” The prince’s drawl called her attention back to him.
She said weakly, “Sorry?”
The prince stared at her.
“I’m so sorry…baby?” When dark color stained the prince’s cheeks, Fawn almost sighed in relief.
Oh, thank God the prince still liked hearing that.
“Who’s being fucking unfair now?” she heard the prince mutter, and she couldn’t help giggling.
“Oh, prince.” She reached for his hands impulsively.
The prince teased, “Are you going to propose to me?”
Thinking she should tease him back, she said quite seriously, “Yes—-”
“Dammit, Fawn!” The prince yanked his hands away as if her touch burned him. “You know we fucking agreed that’s my job—-” He broke off at the way her brown eyes laughed at him.
“I’m…kidding?” When his gaze narrowed at hers, she quickly added, “Baby?”
Silence.
And then a small sigh escaped him.
“I can’t fucking believe I’m as pussy whipped as the others.”
Her sweet, innocent laughter played out in the air like a beautiful melody, and he closed his eyes, savoring the sound.
“Come here, angel.”
She immediately moved to him, joining him on his side of the passenger car, and he scooped her onto his lap.
“I love you.” A part of him wondered if he was smothering her with his love, but a bigger part of him didn’t care. He just needed her to feel loved.
She snuggled closer to him. “I love you, too.” When she felt his lips graze the top of her head, she whispered, “I think it’s time.”
The prince tensed, and she knew he knew what she meant.
Looking up at him, she said softly, “It’s going to be okay now.” The scars had served their purpose, and it was time to let go of the past.
The prince sucked his breath, asking hoarsely, “Are you certain?”
“About what?”
“That your feelings for me won’t change when they’re gone?”
“Who’s being insecure now?” she teased.
The prince didn’t smile, and the darkness in his green eyes didn’t fade.
And then he said simply, “I’ll always be scared of losing you.”
Oh.
She blinked back tears, not wanting them to blur her vision.
She looked at the prince, wanting to memorize every beautiful feature of his face.
And her heart hurt—-
Her heart hurt so much with love.
“I’m certain.” And as she spoke the words, Fawn suddenly remembered the first time they met.
Igor saying, ‘Please tell us a bit about yourself, Ms. Cornwall.’
And then she had started to speak. ‘I’m, umm, Fawn Cornwall…’
The prince’s cold green gaze settling on hers as he said, ‘Go on.’
She had stammered, ‘M-my resume—-’
And the prince had answered icily, ‘If I had wanted to just read your resume, I would have.’
Fawn choked back a laugh at the memory. Oh, Lord, who would have thought that from there…they would end up here?
The prince tipped her chin up, asking, “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.” And nothing was wrong. Her heart hurt, but it was a beautiful kind of hurt.
Because the Prince of Darkness loved her, at long last.
****
A short distance away from the Ferris wheel, three women came to occupy the same table that the prince and his fawn had recently vacated. “Of all places, why did we have to meet here?” Alyx muttered irritably. “This place just makes me feel old.”
Fredericka Spears glared at her cousin. “Shut up. At least you’re still in your twenties.”
“But I’m wondering the same thing, too,” Anneke de Konigh protested. “Why do we have to meet here?”
“Because misery loves company,” Fredericka said with a shrug. “I had to come here to support a former client of mine, and I don’t want to be the only granny roaming around Christopoulos University. You remember that huge case I handled against Abraxas Davos?”
Anneke rolled her eyes. “It was the biggest scandal of the year, Freddie, and we do have Internet in the Netherlands, too.”
Fredericka snorted. “Stop being so sensitive, your royal bias is showing.” Anneke sputtered, but she ignored this, continuing, “I became good friends with my clients, and they made it impossible for me to refuse their invitation to this Family Day—-” She stopped speaking and stared.
Alyx and Anneke, following Fredericka’s gaze, stared, too.
It was Mairi Tanner-Leventis, the infamous-turned-famous American schoolteacher who had once been the center of much controversy, having been labeled by international media as a serial gold-digger. Her name had been linked to numerous Greek billionaires, but in the end—-
They watched Mairi smile up at her husband, who had their one-year-old daughter on his back in a carrier. The two were dressed casually for Family Day, both in shirts and jeans and with matching baseball caps and Adidas Superstar sneakers. She tried feeding her husband with her ice cream, but their daughter chose that exact same time to lower her head and take a bite from her mother’s soft serve instead.
