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She took a deep breath and nodded. “I accept your offer on one condition.”
“Name it,” I said.
“If I'm going to pull off a royal wedding in just one month, I’ll need complete creative freedom.”
I grinned. “You shall have it. I trust your vision wholeheartedly.”
And hopefully, her creative choices would lead to complete and utter chaos, as they had heretofore proven to do, making me a free man.
“Wonderful,” Grace said.
A few minutes later, Sadie returned with the check for me to sign as she and another employee boxed up our food.
With no sign of the paparazzi, we were able to chat for another fifteen minutes, mostly about food and other cultures.
“I forgot to ask,” Grace said. “When shall we leave for Verdana?”
“The jet will be fueled and ready to depart tomorrow morning at ten sharp,” I said. “Pack light, as you’ll have your pick of any wardrobe items once we arrive.”
Grace’s eyes lit up, as if she were starting to finally loosen up to the idea. “Sounds good.”
Just then, the front door of the restaurant burst open with a BANG. Suddenly it was chaos, a swarm of paparazzi flooding the restaurant like a tidal wave, cameras flashing so rapidly it looked like strobe lights at a nightclub.
“I knew it,” I said, turning to Dante. “We need to get out of here. Now. Grab the food.”
Grace’s eyes widened in panic, then she popped up to her feet, and scurried to the backdoor, knocking over a chair in her haste.
Before I could even make a move, the reporters surged right past us, cameras clicking furiously, not even glancing in our direction.
It was as if Dante and I were invisible.
My mouth dropped open. “Wait a minute—they were after Grace?”
Dante nodded. “It appears so.”
That was unexpected.
“Let’s make sure she’s okay.” I grabbed the bags of food and headed out the back door with Dante. We stopped near the back of our idling SUV as Grace and the paparazzi disappeared.
The realization hit me like a punch in the gut; they hadn’t been looking for me at all. I wasn’t the story here. Somehow, despite all my efforts to keep our visit under wraps, the vultures had gotten wind that Grace was involved. And now they were chasing her through the streets while I stood there uselessly.
I needed to go after her.
“We need to get out of here.” Dante opened the backdoor of the SUV. “I’m sure Grace will be fine. You can call her.”
I quickly slid into the SUV, with Dante right behind me, closing the door. The driver took off, the tires screeching.
“Everything was going so well,” I said. “I hope she doesn’t change her mind. She’s my only hope for escaping this dreadful, arranged marriage.”
“Don’t worry,” Dante said. “Grace already agreed to being your wedding planner. The seeds are planted in her mind about turning her life around. You have nothing to worry about. She won’t change her mind.”
I sighed and stared out the window as the boulevard lights passed by in a blur. “I hope you’re right. My entire future depends on it.”
Chapter Four
PRINCE OLIVER
The Next Morning . . .
