Page 26 of Forbidden Prince
"Do you have another date with Prince Marco tonight,ma'am?"
She wasn't a ma'am, but she bit her tongue. "Yes, and I'm a little late,Anise."
"You remembered my name," the maid said in a surprisedvoice.
"Of course! You’ve taken such good care of me while I’ve been here. Everyone has been sonice."
Anise slipped in and went to the bathroom to change the towels, but she left the door open. "I'm sure Queen Anna has been kind but with the vote tomorrow, a lot of us in the castle are worried something else mighthappen."
Right. She and Kristin had almost been killed because of this vote. Her skin felt prickly. "How are youvoting?"
Anise lowered her lashes as she walked out holding the dirty towels. "The King and Queen have brought us economic prosperity. I don't believe that their return meant all of our futures are blessed, but there are many whodo."
Hopefully this meant no more plots against his family after tomorrow. Renee pointed to the left. "Thisway?"
"Yes, ma'am." Anisecurtsied.
Renee went up the last flight of stairs and prayed she made it to the right tower. She slipped her hand around the wooden handle and opened. Once inside she gasped. The stone floor was covered with a blanket, surrounded by flickering candles. Food on trays and a flagon of wine—all meant to romance. She glanced up and saw the stars in the opensky.
Marco came out of the side room. "I was about to send the Calvary to look foryou."
"Your mother visited." She walked into the room. The night sky above them and the bright moon mixed with the lights made the castle tower almost magical. "Now this must be where you take all yourdates."
"Truthfully, a couple times, when I was twenty-four maybe, but it's been a long while." Marco reached for her. "This was the best I could do for tonight, since I worked late and we both have to be up early tomorrow for thewedding."
She pointed to the blanket. "I'm a little hungry, so your snacks and the blanket looktempting."
"Good." He took her hand and helped her to sit. "When we moved here, this was one of the first places I discovered. My father found me sleeping outside more than once, but I love looking at the clear sky. Growing up in London, I never saw any stars and often enough not even themoon."
"In Miami, the smog blinds most of this too." She popped a chocolate covered strawberry in her mouth. "So, did you get my background check too or just yourmother?"
Marco's eyebrows went up but then he handed her a glass of white wine. "Is that what you two talkedabout?"
"Yeah." She sipped and the crisp white blended perfectly with the tart strawberry. Then she scoffed like she shared a joke. "She wants to plan our wedding for next week, after yourbrother’s."
"I read your background check that Lucio sent over." Marco lowered his head. "It seems all your exes think fondly of you, especially Tom Heights, the investmentbanker."
"Well that's nice to hear." She took another drink for fortification. Tom had left fast and never returned after meeting her parents. "Unlike you, I've not dated that manypeople."
"Don't believe what you read in the newspapers." He held out his glass for her to clink. "Tonight, it's about us. Renee, the idea that you were in the room with that bomb terrifiedme."
"To be truthful, I was terrified too, but I don’t want to talk about that. Cheers." They drank but the memory floated in her mind of Marco running toward danger. "How did you come with all your gear? I guess it doesn't matter, though, as you were myhero."
"I'm no one's hero." He drained his glass. "I should have suspected Sophia, and Victor. I wasblind."
Sophia seemed like someone she’d avoid at all costs. "Don't beat yourself up on that. It's hard to suspect people who practically grew up in yourhouse."
"You are sweet." He put his glass down. "I confess, I was jealous of you huggingGreg."
"Really?" She put her glass down next to his, then looked up with a smile as a shooting star caught her attention. The bright trail it left in its wake was spellbinding and hopefully this brought them good luck. "But I've been in your bed, since the moment we met—besides, nothing ever happened withGreg."
"You wanted himthough?"
"I wanted to bring himhome."
He winced like she’d slappedhim.
The light crackle of the flame on the candle made lying next to Marco one of the best moments to remember. "My parents have never been supportive of any man I ever brought home. I thought if I brought him home, an accountant who is handy around the apartment and can fix his car, that they'd finally stop lecturing me about my badchoices."
