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I try to couch this in a way that doesn’t announce Etienne is hungover. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if the gossip rags to learn he’s behaving like his usual self.
But if we’re going to play the part of a happy couple, then I need to at least try.
Steffen gives me a knowing look. “I have just the thing for that. Anything for you, Your Highness. Sunscreen?” I study Steffen’s dark golden skin and then glance down at my freckled pinkness, feeling the heat searing the back of my exposed neck.
“I have sunscreen in my hotel room. But in addition to the prince’s breakfast, I’d love a fruit salad.”
He nods courteously, then offers the seat next to him in the golf cart. “Would Your Highness like a ride back to the hotel to apply sunscreen? Even this early in the morning, it can be brutal if you’re not used to it.”
I’m touched that this man is so protective of me. I feel a twinge of sadness that my husband could not care less if I fry like an egg on the beach. He doesn’t even care that I’m a woman alone on a beach in a foreign country. Anything could happen. It’s not likely to happen, seeing how weirdly abandoned this place is.
“Steffen,” I ask. “Why does this place seem so deserted?”
He gives me a quizzical look. “Your Highness, you’re the only guests on the premises.”
I blink at him. “Is it the slow season? Is something happening in the world that I’m unaware of?”
“No,” he says, shaking his head slowly as if he’s worried that I’ve been hit on the head and lost my memory. “There are no other guests anywhere in the resort because the palace booked all the rooms.”
“All…the rooms?” My brain is buffering, so I’m doing that annoying thing, repeating things back to people while I scramble for a proper reaction.
“Every last one. I thought you knew.”
And now he’s looking at me with a hint of sympathy because, evidently, he’s realizing that things were planned without my knowledge. The sheer cost of booking up every room boggles my mind. The extravagance. The misuse of money. I feel sick.
“May I ask what that cost the taxpayers of Gravenland?”
Steffen shrugs. “We gave a discount, but …” I feel lightheaded When he tells me the amount.
“Steffen, thank you for being so honest with me. I think I will take you up on that offer of sunscreen.” Because I’m not yet ready to go back to the room and look at a member of the royal family.
He nods and removes a small white bottle of mineral sunscreen from a box of supplies inside the golf cart, plus a tube of lip balm and a hat with the resort logo printed on it. Bless him. He really does think of everything. Boy, if I was twenty years older and local…but I spot the ring on his left hand. Of course, he’s married.
Moments later, I’ve slathered my neck, face, lower arms, midriff, legs, and everything not covered by my exercise outfit.
“Did I miss anything?” I ask.
“Ah, the backs of your legs, it’s difficult to see. Shall I? I don’t want to be too forward, Your Highness.”
I love five-star service. “Sure,” I say.
Steffen warms up a dab of sunscreen in his hand as I wait patiently, wishing I’d brought a bottle of water.
“I’ve got it from here, Steffen.”
I whip around to see Etienne striding up the beach, his jaw set. He’s carrying a bottle of water, sunscreen, my beach cover-up, and a towel.
For the briefest second, my mind clamps on the knowledge that Etienne has rifled through my things. I had declined the offer to have hotel staff unpack our clothes since we’d arrived so late at night. I’d placed my cover-up in the top drawer with my underwear and swimsuits—right next to a little stack of racy lingerie that I fully do not expect to use. I had no expectations, but if the unimaginable happens and we’re both in the mood and getting along, who knows? Better to be prepared.
Of course, that’s also the drawer where I’d hidden my favorite toy—in case the need arises.
The need arises a lot these days.
My face heats, and I’m thankful for the warm sun as an excuse for why I’m blushing.
“Oh! Hello!” I exclaim in surprise, a little too breathy.
Etienne closes in on me. For a second, I think he’s about to kiss me, haul me away, or do something rash.
