But like he'd said in his text, anyone with eyes could see there was no heat between them. No spark.
"You mean like I wasn't to you last week?"
It took her a second to remember what he'd said, to figure out what he meant. Polite. He wasn't talking about their chemistry.
As he shouldn't be. It had all been one-sided. Her side. And who wouldn't be attracted to the prince after seeing him in all his post-exercise glory?
"I didn't take it personally," she said. It hadn't been her best client meeting, but it hadn’t had to be.
She'd spoken on the phone to her brother Michael earlier in the week and sworn him to secrecy before she'd revealed her job. And he'd pointed out that even if she didn't make a match for the prince, she'd have him as a client for her CV.
She'd prefer to make Valentin a success story, but she'd take what she could get. Especially since he didn't want to cooperate.
"I still feel I owe you an apology."
That was unexpected.
"I'll take it. I don't suppose you'll give me a hint as to what kind of woman you'd like to meet next?"
"I rather think I'd like to be surprised."
He might like that, but it made things more difficult for her. She mentally went through her list of single friends. Maybe Angelica would like to be set up with the prince. If he wasn't taking this seriously, shecoulddo it...
"I'm supposed to visit an elementary school on Friday. Promote literacy and all that. Do you think you could send someone to come along with me?"
Three days? That was short notice.
But it wasn't as if she could refuse. "I'll do my best. Will you be doing a reading? Or just a speech?"
He cleared his throat. "Does that matter?"
She laughed a little, awkwardly. "Only to assuage my own curiosity."
She wasn't obsessed with the royals like some people she saw posting on social media, but she'd known about the prince's work to promote childhood literacy since he'd walked into the public eye as a teenager.
There was an audible pause and then, "If you'd like to come along, you'd be welcome. In the background, with Conrad."
"Of course."
Because she worked for him. Or for the queen, although the lines were awfully blurry. Employees stayed in the background, while whomever she set him up with would be front and center.
She swallowed back the irrational disappointment. "I'll check my schedule."
"Fine."
"I should go."
He said good-night and she tossed her phone. It bounced off the couch cushions and onto the floor, hitting the wood with a clatter. She didn't bother to pick it up but paced the small living room and into the kitchen, then whirled around to fetch her dirty dishes.
Valentin was being kind, not putting her in her place, even if that's what it had felt like.
He'd called her, after all, and she was attracted to him.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on here.
Even as a small child, Crystal had spun daydreams. Grand ones.
Being an astronaut and going to the moon.
