Page 31 of Royal Charmer
The cheese course arrives. No Alice.
Dessert course arrives. I even ordered a chocolate soufflé, hoping in some cosmic way it would attract her. What the hell is wrong with me? This is not who I am, so fixated on a woman.
Jules finally gets down to business. I force myself to focus on his questions. I can’t screw this up with thoughts of Alice. After a lengthy conversation, he seems interested yet hasn’t asked me for a more formal meeting to make it official. I’m trying to decide how much to push for next steps when Celeste lifts a hand, saying excitedly, “Hello, Alice! Over here!”
I nearly collapse with relief and stand to greet my extremely late fiancée.
~ ~ ~
Alice
I did it! Nothing like an impossible deadline to get the words flowing. My fingers were flying across the keyboard, typos all over the place, but it didn’t matter because I got the feeling I missed for so long, the deep flow of creativity. The best part is, Quinn just texted that she loved the chapters I sent, and told me she’s confident my contract will hold as long as I turn in the first draft by next week. I’m back, baby! She changed my title, though. I had called itThe Duke’s Arrangement, and she changed it toThe Scoundrel and the Governess. Marketing loved her title, so that’s what it is now. I suppose the duke is a scoundrel the way he’s using his governess as a shield from the more eligible women of the ton. And he’s already stolen kisses from her. I have a feeling he’ll become more and more of a scoundrel as the story goes on.
I’m exhausted but happy, and it looks like I made it in time for dessert, my favorite meal. I leave my suitcase and laptop with the royal guard who greeted me, and take in Lucas striding toward me in a dark gray suit. He does not look happy. Uh-oh. I hope his meeting didn’t go poorly.
“Hi!” I say brightly. “I made it. Sorry I’m late.”
He leans down and kisses my cheek, playing the fiancé game. “I texted you.”
“I saw it when I was on the jet. I texted you back, but you were probably busy with dinner.” I lower my voice. “How’s it going?”
He takes my hand and guides me back to the table without a word. Is he mad that I was late? I raced all day just so I could make it here.
We arrive at the table, and Lucas places a hand on my lower back, distracting me with the touch. He’s touched me very little, and I’m terribly aware of the warmth and pressure of his hand through the thin fabric of my dress. “This is my fiancée, Alice. Alice, this is Jules and his lovely wife, Celeste.”
“Hello, so nice to meet you both,” I say.
They both give me warm hellos. Lucas pulls out my chair for me, a very princely gesture, before taking the seat next to me. I’m thoroughly enjoying playing engaged couple so far. It’s like living the romance without all that messy real-world emotional angst. Between that and getting back into the writing groove, I’m feeling so much better.
Celeste smiles at me. “We were saying earlier how much Lucas resembles Gabriel. Except for the beard, it’s like twins.”
I nod. “Not quite twins. Lucas’s forehead isn’t as prominent, his nose is a touch narrower, and he’s undoubtedly the more handsome of the two.” So I did a little Rourke research online, marveling over the strong resemblance of the Rourke brothers, all five of them with thick dark brown hair, angular cheekbones, square jaw, full lips. The aquamarine eyes are a family trait as well, except for Adrian, who has hazel eyes.
Lucas smiles widely. “Spoken like a besotted fiancée, eh?”
He’s not mad at me. I think.
I hitch a thumb toward him. “That’s him too. He asked me to marry him on our very first date!”
Celeste and Jules laugh. I glance at Lucas, a small rueful smile playing over his lips. “I told her to keep that quiet,” he says with a wink.
“Ah, young love,” Celeste says. “Shall we order you something, Alice?”
“No, thanks. I ate earlier at the palace to power through my chapters.”
Lucas slides his dessert over to me. “I ordered you chocolate soufflé. It’s still warm.”
“Thank you! What a great reward after today’s work.” I dig in to warm chocolate heaven.
Lucas turns to Jules and speaks French like a native, startling me. He does have a unique accent in English, more proper and formal than mine with a bit of a lilt. Now I realize it’s a French lilt, and he must be bilingual. I quickly recover, returning my attention to my dessert. That’s the kind of thing a fiancée would know. Celeste chimes in on the conversation too. I have no idea what they’re saying. I fear I’m in for a long stretch of pasting on fake clueless smiles. I’ll probably develop a tic. Or I could join the conversation, spouting my menu French—éclair, croissant, quiche. I’m sure that would impress everyone. Not.
After the dessert dishes are cleared, the waiter pours cognac in snifters for us. Jules and Lucas are still speaking in French. It sounds more serious now.
I take a sip of cognac. Wow, that is strong.
Celeste leans across the table toward me. “While the men talk business, I have to confess I’m a big fan of your work.”
“Oh, thank you! That’s so nice to hear.” And in English too!
