Page 46 of A Wise Prince

He looks at me in confusion.

“Are we seeing this thing through or are you just going to go to this one auction and see if they have it or not?”

He looks at the screen and then does something I don’t expect. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a pocket watch. He opens it and pushes back the inside cover to reveal a photograph of his mother, wearing the crown.

“I don’t think that I’ll stop looking if I’m being honest with myself, I’ll never stop looking.”

“OK, then, trust me, you need to know this stuff.” I give him a pointed look.

“Fine, proceed,” he says and urges me on with a motion of his hand. I giggle.

“What?”

“Proceed?”

“Yes.”

“That’s very…royal of you. Well, as I was saying, Your Highness,” I start but he leans down and kisses me, interrupting my train of thought. When he finally pulls back, I stare up at him.

“I like those words coming from these lips,” he says as he traces my lower lip with his finger.

“What words?”

“Your Highness.”

I laugh. “I’m sure you do, jackass.”

“But I’m your jackass, now,” he says pointedly as he kisses me quickly and then points back to the screen.

We spend the better part of the morning looking over the information that Anna has provided him, plus information I’m able to dig up on the web. While the auction is secret, the people are not. It’s easy to find information about most of them, other than a few recluse billionaires who appear to spend all their time on superyachts.

By the time Franny appears with lunch, we are almost done.

Auggie looks longingly out at the pool. “Care for a swim?”

“I don’t have a suit,” I state as I take a bite of a wrap.

Auggie grins, and I roll my eyes. “No way.”

Auggie waggles his eyebrows. “Oh, come on, live a little.”

“But…” I trail off as Jackie walks in and looks at us.

“Your parents’ new house is secured. Will you be joining them this afternoon?” Jackie asks me.

I look toward Auggie. “What time is your…reservation?” I ask, trying to be cryptic and feeling like I’m failing horribly.

“Six. You should go. Have dinner with your parents. I’ll call you later tonight. Maybe I can join your family tomorrow.”

“Fine,” I grumble, looking longingly at the pool. I’d rather stay here with Auggie, but if I do, then I can’t follow through with my plan.

I stand up and lean over Auggie so that we are face to face. “Be careful. Remember, no one there is your friend,” I remind him as I give him a quick kiss. He wraps a hand around my head and holds it there so he can deepen the kiss. When I pull away, I’m breathless.

“I’ll see you later,” he says to me as I walk toward the door. I pause because I want to tell him my plan, but I force myself to continue walking. He can’t know or he will refuse to go tonight.

I turn just before I walk through the door. “Don’t forget to wear your earpiece,” I say to him. Anna has provided him with a state-of-the-art earpiece that looks more like a small sticker. It fits inside his ear and is both a microphone and a speaker. As long as he has his phone on him, it’ll work.

He nods as I leave. It’s going to be a long afternoon.

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