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"Not yet, not really, but soon," he replied, then he stretched his hand and grabbed a few strands of my hair as he pulled himself closer to me.
I took some steps back, until my back came in contact with the tabletop.
I swallowed and called out, "Lawrence?"
"Sorry, I forget how beautiful you get every time I run into you," he said softly. "You've grown…a lot."
"We both have," I chuckled nervously as I placed my hand on his chest and pushed him back gently. "You also got bigger too. I can easily guess why they wanted to name you most eligible bachelor."
"You should see the trolls they placed as eligible spinsters, almost made me barf," he said as he gagged. "For a prince like me, it's only fitting if my spinster was…a princess. Don't you think? Especially one I've known for so many years."
He was scaring me. I didn't like the way he worded it.
"Always with the jokes," I sighed and pushed him away putting some distance between us. "I know some very good looking women. If it's a doctor you want with parents that spoiled her rotten, I know a few."
"Come on, Natasha, you know my type: blonde hair and green eyes," he said as he walked up behind me and held my waist from behind. "And a body modeled after a goddess. What's your skincare routine? Some dermatologist secret common folk like me are restricted from ever finding out about?"
"I think my parents are going to be waiting for us," I announced. I removed his hands from my waist. "You can have the rest of the cookies."
"I thought you said I shouldn't eat them all?" he asked but had already started scarfing them down.
"You seem to want them badly," I offered.
"I rather have the baker, though," he said with a smile as he bit into the cookie.
"Funny," I replied with a forced smile. "I'll tell the maids to get lunch started."
As I returned to the dining area, Mother and Father seemed to be in a serious conversation.
"You took a while," Mom said. "Was everything okay in there?"
"Everything's fine," I said with a forced smile. "I'll head to my room and freshen up before lunch starts. Lawrence seems to be joining us too."
"I might not eat a lot," Lawrence said as he came out of the kitchen with the cookie tray in hand. "Have you had any of this? Your daughter is exceptionally talented. Can't believe it's the same girl I grew up with."
I can't believe this is the same guy I grew up with either.
"We have something to discuss once lunch is ready," Father said to me.
"I'll be ready," I said as I made my way to my room.
In the solitude of my room, I realized something was definitely wrong. I didn't want it to be what I feared.
****
During lunch, we had duck à l’orange. My favorite. It felt like I was a prisoner being allowed to eat any food of her choice before being sentenced to death. I didn't like the feeling at all. We ate in silence, save for the occasional complimenting of the meal and asking to pass the sauce or so on and so forth.
"So you had something you wanted us to discuss?" I asked, breaking the silence.
Mother exchanged glances with my father; they looked over at Lawrence who seemed more interested in devouring the duck. At least his appetite and greed hadn't changed a bit.
"Sweetheart, there comes a time when a woman will want to settle down and start a family of her own," Father started to say.
"Oh, marriage talk, thank God," I let out a sigh of relief.
"You're relieved?" Mom looked surprised.
"I am actually. I've been thinking of settling down too," I replied. "I was worried you wanted to send me off to some far off place or re-enrol me in Rosemary's Etiquette School's Adult program."
