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The next day I woke up to an empty bed. I’d brought Louis home last night and we’d slept together. He was a kind and considerate lover, and we just seemed so perfect together, but he’d disappeared before morning and I was alone.
I climbed out of bed and went to put on some coffee. I couldn’t keep seeing a man who kept this many secrets. I was determined to find out who Louis was. I opened my laptop and stared at the search screen. I’d spent the weekend with him and I didn’t even know his last name.Stupid, Harper, stupid.
Picking up my phone, I called Jed.
“What’s up?” Jed’s sleepy voice asked. “Your prince charming is not keeping you busy?”
“More like Cinderella,” I said. “He disappears in the middle of the night.”
“Oh,” Jed said. “I’m sorry. I thought you guys were having fun.”
“We are,” I said, pouring my coffee. “He’s amazing in bed but I don’t know anything about him.”
“Do you need to?” Jed asked.
“I really like him,” I said, and I realized it was true. Louis and I had so much in common, other than money which he obviously had way more than I could ever dream of. We both loved the same music and books and walks in the city.
“Ut oh,” Jed said. “Sounds like you have it bad. Are you sure this isn’t just a rebound from your ex?”
“Maybe,” I said. I told Jed about Louis’s weird behavior last night. “You’ve got to help me. How do I find out who he is? Who would have such a public job?”
“Well, you could try looking at the news,” Jed said.
“Ugh, you know how I hate that. So depressing,” I said, returning to my laptop with my steaming coffee mug in hand. “But I guess you’re right.” I typed inLouisandcurrent events, and my screen was filled with images of the royal family that was visiting from some tiny European country.
“I could look through the receipts tonight,” Jed continued. “His guy paid for the drinks but there—”
Jed stopped at the sound of my coffee mug shattering on the floor. Hot liquid splashed over my slippers, but I barely noticed. My eyes were on the front page image of the royal family.
“What happened? Harper?” Jed’s voice erupted in my ear.
“He’s . . .” I took a breath.I had been sleeping with a prince?
“You found him?” Jed asked, excitedly. “Who is he?”
I swallowed. “The Prince of Valtoria. Louis is a prince!”
“No fucking way!” Jed exclaimed.
I was so embarrassed, I wanted to crawl under a rock. How could I have been so stupid? So naive? And why would he hide this from me? Did he not think I was good enough for him? Did he think it would be too scandalous to date a waitress like myself?
There were so many reasons now for him to be secretive, but the biggest one was that I wasn’t good enough for him. I was just a cocktail waitress. What could I offer him?
Nothing.
6
Louis
The next day, I tried calling Harper but she didn’t pick up. I tried texting her and still, nothing. After a few days of this, I started to worry something was wrong. Had I done something wrong? Did she not like me anymore?
I was tiptoeing out the door of the hotel when I heard my mother’s voice behind me. And just like when I was a kid, it pulled me up short.
“Where do you think you are going?” she asked, her hands firmly on her hips.
“I’m going out,” I replied.
“Your duty might wait but your mother won’t,” she said sternly. “You need to stop these frivolous escapades and work on finding a wife.”
