7
As Crystal walked in to the palace her stomach threatened to revolt. She should've tried harder to cancel the meeting with Valentin.
When she'd texted him first thing that morning saying that something had come up, he'd responded with,I need to see you.
And when she'd still been chewing on how to respond to that, still telling her leaping heart to settle down, that he didn't mean it like that, he'd texted again.Your presence is required at the agreed upon time.
How was it possible that his pompous tone could come through in a text message? She didn't know, but hearing it had obliterated all of her softer feelings, clouded them with anger at his high-handedness.
She was clinging to that anger now, purely as a matter of survival. Following Conrad through the winding passageways meant she was getting closer and closer to the moment when Valentin would break her heart.
And then the assistant was knocking softly on a door—not Valentin's suite this time—and opening it to usher her inside.
It was a lovely, well-appointed parlor in creams and blush tones.
The romantic atmosphere of the room only served to heighten her discomfort. And then there was Valentin, rising from where he leaned against the arm of a massive brocade sofa.
He wore dark slacks and a white shirt that had been left open at the collar, as if he'd discarded his tie. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing the corded muscles of his forearms.
It was more casual than she'd seen him dressed anytime other than that morning in her apartment.
She didn't dare think about that morning right now.
"You came." He sounded... relieved? He stepped toward her, because she hadn't moved once Conrad had practically pushed her in the doorway and closed the door behind her.
"I almost didn't. I don't like being ordered around."
One corner of his mouth twitched. Not really a smile, but a hint of one.
He took another step toward her. "I've missed you these past few days."
That was... not what she expected him to say. He was supposed to tell her he'd fallen for Pansy. She was supposed to congratulate him.
But his statement had put them off the script, and she didn't know what to say in response.
There was no way she was admitting to the insane jealousy she'd experienced last night.
"The date last night went well, didn't it?" she asked stiffly.
He waved her question away. "It was fine."
Fine. It had looked more than fine in the snatches she'd seen.
"So you'll be seeing her again?" she confirmed. She needed to get out of there.
"No."
He'd come a step closer somehow and now stood at the boundary of her personal space. He filled up her vision, but she tried to look beyond him as her emotions surged in crazy directions.
She cleared her throat. "Do you want me to find someone else for the fourth date?"
The little girl inside her, the one who'd once dreamed of being a princess, was screamingno!even as she fought for composure. She wasn't sure she could do it, not with the feelings she harbored for Valentin. The crush that had exploded out of proportion like a stalk grown from magic beans.
Her emotions were totally out of bounds.
And then he took one more step. Into her space. Got so terribly and wonderfully close that she could smell his spicy shampoo, could see the shadow of scruff at his jaw that must have meant he hadn't shaved that morning.
He put his hands on her waist, and she froze.
