4
Valentin wasn't feeling well.
Crystal could tell from his pallor and the flush in his cheeks.
But he was playacting that nothing was wrong as he read to the children, a mix of kindergarteners and first graders. He should look silly wedged into the chair meant for a small child, but he'd stretched his long legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles. The children were hanging on every word.
So was she.
So was his date.
Shehadrecruited a friend to be Valentin's match for the day. Pansy was more of an acquaintance, someone Crystal had met when matching a millionaire CEO over a year ago. She'd done an initial round of interviews for each dating candidate, and she and Pansy had hit it off. Their friendship had grown to the occasional coffee date. She was an entrepreneur and one of the smartest women Crystal knew.
She'd spent the first few minutes of the classroom visit chatting with the children while Valentin spoke to the teacher. She'd been a big hit, judging by the giggles and awestruck gazes she was still getting.
While Crystal was standing at the back of the classroom, sandwiched between Conrad and a beefy bodyguard. She almost hadn't come. But then she'd wondered what Valentin would think if she didn't show up.
And the school was only a few minutes’ walk from her apartment.
She was worried about Valentin. "He needs to cancel his other engagements for the day," she muttered under her breath.
"He won't," Conrad returned.
Valentin concluded his reading with a charming smile, and the children buzzed around him, their small voices clamoring for attention.
"Can you read us another one?" one little girl asked.
"My mom says she's in love wiff you!"
"I got a scrape on my knee. Wanna see it?"
Valentin smiled through it all, though his smile had grown tighter over the half hour they'd been in this classroom.
The teacher clapped her hands, and the kids quieted.
She thanked Valentin, and he and Pansy excused themselves.
The bodyguard was the first person into the hall, and Crystal hung back with Conrad as the prince and his date walked down the hallway empty of children.
Valentin and Pansy had their heads tipped close together, and Crystal forced herself to avert her eyes. Look at that artwork by creative little ones. The black and red blobs drawn in crayon were... well, she didn't know what they were supposed to be exactly, but they were something.
The bright noonday sunlight made her eyes tear as they exited the school building. Another bodyguard stood outside on the sidewalk, and Valentin's red convertible was parked at the curb. Two motorcycles for the bodyguards were parked right behind it. Valentin was supposed to drive Pansy to a coffeeshop to chat.
But as a small crowd of onlookers watched from across the street, Valentin leaned in and kissed Pansy on the cheek, and she peeled off down the sidewalk, walking briskly away with a glance over her shoulder. A lens flashed from across the street. A photographer.
Conrad hurried forward, and Crystal found herself on his heels, even though the prince wasn't her responsibility. The date was. Had he disliked Pansy so much?
But when Valentin turned to speak to Conrad, Crystal caught sight of the darker flush blazing in his cheeks and the fevered look in his eyes.
"I need a rain check," the prince said.
Before Conrad could answer, someone hailed him from the crowd across the street.
Valentin stiffened beside her. The dark-haired bodyguard moved to intercept the man—was it a man?—who was jogging toward them.
"Conrad," Valentin's voice was pained.
She realized the man approaching had something strapped to his chest. Was it a bomb? Her adrenaline surged.
