Page 57 of His Royal Matchmaker

“Because I saw something you didn’t.” She sets her cup down and leans forward. “At first, I thought the matchmaking might actually work despite your best efforts. Those women were carefully chosen, after all. But then I saw how you looked at Emily, and I knew.”

“Knew what?” My mouth feels dry suddenly.

“That you were falling in love with her.” She smiles, perhaps more to herself than me. “You looked at her the way your father used to look at me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention.”

“I—I…”do not know what to say.

Yes, I’m in love with Emily. But what good will that information do me now? She’s already decided she wants nothing to do with me.

“Is that why you’ve been working around the clock since she left? Why you look like you haven’t slept in days? Why you’re sitting here now, holding that cup like it’s the only thing keeping you from falling apart?” My mother’s words strike me like bullets, quick, each hitting right after the other.

I look down at my hands, white-knuckled around the delicate china. Slowly, I release my grip.

“It doesn’t matter,” I say quietly. “She’s gone. What was I supposed to do? Fall for my matchmaker? The woman hired to find me someone else? It’s absurd.”

“Love usually is.” Her smile is sad and knowing. “Hugo, you’ve worked so hard these past five years. You stepped up when we needed you most, and I’m so proud of the king you’re becoming. But your father wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your happiness for duty. Neither do I.”

Something cracks inside me, a wall I’ve been carefully maintaining since Emily walked out of the palace and out of my life. The truth spills out before I can stop it.

“I do love her,” I admit, my voice hoarse. “I love her laugh, and her jokes, and the way she sees through people to what they really need. I love how passionate she is about her work, how shelights up when she talks about love even though she hasn’t found it herself yet.” I swallow hard. “But I realized it too late. And now she’s gone, back to her life in Los Angeles, probably having already met someone else.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?” my mother asks.

“Do?” I echo. “There’s nothingtodo. I can’t just chase after her. She made the decision to walk away.”

Her lips draw thin. “Andyoumade the decision to not chase.”

I blink at her, unsure of what to say to that. I showed Emily how I felt — or did I?

For all she knows, I’m still the playboy I used to be. Perhaps she believed I was only attempting to bed her.

My cheeks burn at the thought. It makes perfect sense; why would she think otherwise? That is, after all, my track record, and even once I became interested in Emily, I wasn’t thinking about any long-term plans.

Not at first, anyway. But that quickly changed.Iquickly changed.

I shake my head, knowing that none of that matters now. Emily has slipped through my fingers nearly as quickly as she appeared in my life. She’s gone, and that is something I will simply have to learn to live with.

CHAPTER 24

EMILY

“Emily, you’re with us, right?” Elliot’s voice snaps me back to attention.

Elliot is the executive producer — a man with gelled hair and a smile that never reaches his eyes. He taps his expensive pen against the table and raises his eyebrows at me.

“Sorry, just taking notes,” I lie, quickly flipping to a fresh page in my notebook.

The hearts I’ve been drawing mock me. I should be paying attention, but instead I feel like a bored kid in school. I’m supposed to be helping plan a reality dating show where contestants compete for love in a tropical mansion, but I feel like a fish out of water. This whole week of meetings has been nothing like what I expected, and the vision of the show… it’s more than lacking, in my humble opinion.

“As I was saying,” Elliot continues to the group, “we need the drama to start early. Maybe we pair the fitness model with the kindergarten teacher right away. Opposites attract, but they’ll clash by episode three, guaranteed.”

The other producers nod along. There are five of us crammed around this table in the production office, the walls covered with headshots of the contestants — beautiful people with perfect teeth who applied to find love on TV. I wonder if any of them really believe it will work. Good for them, if so.

Or not.

Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if love is truly meant for everyone. Maybe some people — like me — are destined to wander the Earth all alone for their entire lives.

My throat feels dry. “I thought the point was to make successful matches, not to create conflicts.”

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