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Ellery had a busy Friday with the passport office and stacking up training appointments and somehow fitting her own workouts in, and Saturday with the commercial shooting. The protein shake company had contacted her Thursday night, as promised. They didn’t say a thing about Naomi Rindlesbacher, white silk pantsuit lady as Ellery thought of her, and that was fine. Ellery hated the thought of the commercial deal being a handout. Loathed the thought, actually, but it would make it possible for her to go to Augustine with Derek and somehow protect him and his family from a devious murderer, Hattie Ballard, if the woman was even alive.
She hoped Hattie was in fact dead and Prince Steffan was safe and simply volunteering in third world countries with his medical expertise because he was mourning his lost love like the media claimed. Derek’s family life was crazy, but also intriguing and exciting. It was so far out of her realm to think about being amongst them that she was nervous and at the same time felt like she was living in a fairy tale.
Derek was right there with her throughout the passport experience, proud of her that she had gotten another commercial deal, and asked her to go to lunch and dinner with him each day. She kept having to turn down his dining offers, explaining that she was just too busy. It obviously bothered him, and he’d thoughtfully brought her takeout Friday night.
There’d been a shift in their relationship yesterday during the insane monkey bar experience. She would never forget how it had felt to cling to his beautiful muscled body as he showed off superhuman strength and carried her through the last of the swinging bars and then did a pullup with her wrapped around him.
Maybe to some girls, a sweaty, tough guy carrying them around like Tarzan and Jane wouldn’t be appealing, but it had been the most romantic experience of her life. It rated right up there with when he’d pinned her against his super car a couple nights ago and … leaned. Prince Derek was a lot like his car—beautiful, unrealistic, completely out of her sphere, and far too appealing. She had to somehow remember that she was a ‘challenge’ to him.
What was she doing thinking she could spend a week with him and not fall for him, not let him win his challenge?
Saturday night she closed the gym at seven, early because it was the weekend, and was looking forward to a quiet, restful, and healing Sabbath with her mom and Aunt Elise. She needed to run to the store for some groceries tonight and cook a bunch of extra food for her mom to eat while she was gone. Sometime before she left Tuesday night, she had to take some of the earnings from that commercial and buy dresses and shoes. How awkward would she be walking into Bloomingdale’s in her workout clothes and shopping for fancy dresses and high heels? The royals wouldn’t expect a poor girl from Boston to have expensive jewelry, would they? It didn’t matter because she wasn’t buying it.
Locking the door, she turned and ran into a wall of man. She gasped and stepped back against the building, clutching the keys.
“Elle …”
Her gaze focused on the man’s handsome face.
“Derek,” she breathed out.
He’d obviously gone to his penthouse that overlooked the Boston Commons and showered. He was clean, smelled delicious like a crisp, fall morning, and looked even better in a white shirt and black pants that outlined his muscular body and showed how wealthy and royal he was without being ostentatious.
The street was decently quiet, except for his ever-present bodyguards. A middle-aged couple walked by and stared at them. Did they know who Derek was?
“Elle.” He leaned in. She loved it when he called her that. “Since we are officially dating and you’re coming home to meet my family, I think it would be highly appropriate for me to take you to dinner and then walk you into your home so that I can meet your mum and make sure you get home safe.”
He’d said similar lines the past couple days to get her to go to lunch and dinner, but she’d always had an excuse. Tonight she needed to grocery shop and sleep like the dead. Flimsy excuses to not go to dinner with him, but here she was in a T-shirt and fitted running pants and he looked like a prince. Just as he should.
“We’re not …” She held tightly to the keys in her hand. They were dating? No. She was going to Augustine to help protect his family from a murderer, and because she really, really wanted to live this fantasy of being close to Derek for a week without all the stress and worry about why she wasn’t right for him and couldn’t trust her heart to any man. Especially a man who thought of her as a challenge and would walk away like her dad had done once he either completed his ‘challenge’ or realized how different their stations in life were.
He didn’t know she was trying to help keep him safe from Hattie Ballard.
“We’re going as friends,” she tried to insist.
He leaned in. Her heart took off at a gallop and her legs turned to liquid mush. She slid the keys into her pocket, leaned against the building for support, and stared into his blue eyes. She was afraid her heart was already lost, and she hadn’t even arrived at his romantic country and castle yet. What was she doing?
“It’s past time you and I moved beyond friends,” he said in his silky accent, giving her a look that said he was serious and more than capable of moving out of the friend zone and quickly.
She had to escape. She couldn’t trust her heart to a man, even a man as incredible as Prince Derek. The very fact that he was a prince made the thought of them ever dating impossible.
“If you want to spend time with me, you can help me grocery shop for my mom, buy a dress and heels for your brother’s wedding, and we can pick up takeout and go back to my apartment to have dinner with my mom.” She gave him a challenging look. What man, especially a prince, wanted to shop for clothes and food and eat takeout with an ill woman in a threadbare apartment on the wrong side of town?
“An ideal evening.”
“Ideal?” Her brows shot up. “What was ideal about any of that?”
“Spending time with you.” He smiled, and it was a good one. She was faint—from a smile. Maybe she needed to rescind her offer from Naomi to help his family. She would not survive this. Sadly, he or his family might not survive if she didn’t help Naomi get the information to the right people to capture Hattie Ballard and protect the royals of Augustine. It was terrifying that they didn’t even realize the danger they were in.
What a mess she was in. She was no investigator. Why had she thought she could do any of this? She excelled at competing in Ninja Warrior events, personal training, and watching out for her mom. Protecting a royal family and dating a prince weren’t in her wheelhouse.
“Oh, boy.” She took some deep, steadying breaths. Spending time with you and that smile combined with the power of his blue eyes…
He was far too alluring.
“Shopping first?” he asked brightly.
“Goodness. If you really want to get mauled at a grocery store, Prince Derek.”
