Page 36 of Night's Fall
I was certain this wasn’t that.
But maybe this was just a male, who was attracted to a female, and he wanted to court her.
The male just happened to bePrinceAleksei, theTrueHeir.
And the female, against all the odds, seemed to be me.
Perhaps it wasn’t so strange, if you really thought about it.
I mean, did models, vid stars, clinically enhanced debutantes, equally clinically enhanced aristocrats and royal princesses get boring?
Maybe.
Maybe they did.
And maybe the female in a pink dress living at the top of an old warehouse with three fluffy cats was a new adventure.
Maybe, at least for a while, he wantedCaptainJacques’sand to be able to be simplyAleksei.
Bottom line, he should be able to date whoever he wanted.
AndIshould be able to date him.
Right?
So okay, there would be no strings.Noties.Nofuture.Ihad nothing to offer theRoyalFamily.
But he brought me aCaptainJacques’schicken schooner, for goodness’ sake.
And he wasPrinceAleksei, my deepest crush, right here, on my couch…with me.
So yeah.
Okay.
I could be his, for a time.
“Laura?” he called.
I pulled myself back to the placeIwas with him, here, in my flat, eating greasy fast food, andIreached for my schooner.
AfterIdipped a fry in the aioli,Isaid, “Iguess five hours did it.”
Hearing that, he smiled fully for the first time, and let me tell you, it was so glamorous, it was heart-stopping.
I doubted mine was either, but that didn’t stop me from smiling back.
Chapter7
Dream
Iwas in my closet, and, as holograms beamed through my fabulous new tablet, so wereGayle,CatandMonique.
“I cannot believe this is happening,”Catbreathed. “Imean,MadamGarwah!” she cried. “Dadtried to get her to train me before my presentation, but her waiting list is years…years.”
“I still cannot believe we’re in holo.Thisis so freaking cool.Iam one hundred percent asking for aDY5000fromMomandDadforDeadWinter,”Gayleput in.
“I cannot believeIhaven’t taught you, no matter what, slap your cosme-mask on for a natural, day look the minute you finish brushing your teeth,”Moniquegroused, taking us back over old territory, seeing as this was her refrain last night. “Younever know what’s going to happen.Ifyou need to pop down toMr.Tanugu’sand you run into your mate.Or,Idon’t know, say, theTrueHeirofNight’sFallshows up at your door with chicken oars.”
