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“Alexis Vanecourt,mon petit chou, the love of my life. Yes.”
“What was that?” Alex says, grinning even a little bit wider.
“Yes, I’ll marry you.”
We all shriek, even the girls who just moments ago were all piling on. It’s like if there’s an engagement happening, women have to be happy. It’s the law.
He grabs my hand, and it’s shaking like crazy. He slides the ring on and pulls me into a hug. Everyone in the café starts cheering.
If he kisses me, I’ll knee him in the nuts so hard,I think.
“Free coffee for everyone,” the café owner yells, ringing a loud bell behind the counter.
The café erupts, not quieting down. I try to pull myself out of Alex’s embrace. He merely tightens his hold on me. I have no choice but to look up into his eyes. I never noticed how blue they are before right now. If I had to have a husband, those eyes would be nice to wake up to every day.
He releases me, and I breathe a sigh of relief. He puts his arm around my waist a moment later. What have I done?
Nothing irreversible. It’s just a little white lie to save face. After a while, we’ll break up. I’ll say I dumped him, of course. We were just too different. I was won over with his looks and his charm, but there wasn’t enough to build a marriage on.
He slides his arm across my back, coming dangerously close to my butt, and I’m momentarily disappointed he doesn’t go further. I stiffen up but relax as he grabs my hand.
He cups my hand and my back like he’s protecting a delicate piece of china.
“Congratulations,” Sasha says bitterly.
I feel a pang of guilt, but then I think about how terrible she’s been to me over the years.
It’s still lying,I think as Alex leads me out of the restaurant. Still wrong. I just have to fake it until he leaves. He’s a prince, after all. He was just complaining he had to get back to his country and his job.
Once we are out of the restaurant, I try to take my hand back. He smiles and tightens his grip. “You wouldn’t want people thinking you don’t want to hold your fiancé’s hand.”
I wait until we’re across the street. “Where are we going?”
“I parked at the fairgrounds.”
“You were following me?”
“No, I was taking in the sights.” We walk through a row of cars, and the keyless entry to a beautiful Mercedes convertible chirps. “This is me.”
He follows me around to the passenger side and opens the door for me.
He doesn’t say anything, just shuts the door for me. I spin my head to face the driver’s seat. When he sits down, I’m ready.
“I know what you’re up to.”
“You do? Because I don’t. Maybe you could explain.” He starts up the car, and we’re gliding over the back roads leading to the ranch.
“You think after that little photo op, or whatever it was, you’ll have no trouble getting to Lily. I’ll melt like putty in your hands, and you can get what you want. I’m going to protect Lily, though. I’m not that easy.”
“Oh, believe me, I would never make the mistake of underestimating you. I genuinely did that for fun, because I like you.”
If I let myself read into that, I might feel like I’m soaring on a swing set. But the part of me that takes things at face value knows ‘like’ can mean a lot of things. But still.
I give him an incredulous look.
“I mean it. That was out of no motivation besides thinking it would be fun. My business with Lily is completely separate from you.”
For some reason, this hits the same way that his saying he likes me did but in reverse. And there’s a burr in my heart when I hear him call Aunt Lily by her name. He doesn’t even know that she’s his mother. He doesn’t see how much it kills her to look at him.
