Thankfully, he doesn’t wait for my answer. “Besides, my father won’t be home for a week. Even if I wanted to proceed with our wedding, he won’t be here to renegotiate the terms until then.”
Stars above, he’s right, and I need this wedding to proceed on schedule. Nyxia only gave me two weeks until my family will be moved to the catacombs, a deadline that aligns with my original wedding date. At this point, there are only ten days left of the two weeks she gave me. Ten days until my weddingmustoccur. Desperation propels my next words. “Perhaps if we spend the week getting to know one another until your father returns, you’ll find our arrangement amenable, and we can proceed with far fewer reservations.”
He runs his free hand over his jaw, expression thoughtful. “A princess shouldn’t be forced to win her prince’s affections. Isn’t that the opposite of how most love stories go?”
I bristle at his words. I said we should get to know each other, not that I’d win his affections.
“But I do like the sound of that.” He stops in place and whirls to face me. “It’s like a reverse fairytale romance. You’ll spend a week trying to win my heart.”
A thread of irritation winds its way around my chest. It takes all my effort to keep a false smile on my face. “I can’t tell if you’re jesting, Mr. Phillips.”
He claps his hands. “Let’s make it a game.”
“Monty.” Thorne says his friend’s name with a growl of warning as he and Minka stop beside us on the path.
Minka bounces on the balls of her feet. “Oh, I love games.”
“A game,” I say. “You want our betrothal…to be a game.”
He casts a withering look at Thorne. “Did you not tell her how much I love games? Stones, Thorny, what are you good for if you didn’t talk up my best points?” He turns back to me with a crooked grin. “I bet he said nothing to you the entire time you were together. He can be as dour as a slug when he wants.”
Monty isn’t wrong, but he’s taken our conversation off course. I clear my throat and try to speak with as much calm as I can. Even so, my words are half hissed between my teeth. “About our betrothal. I don’t think we should make light of it.”
He waves a dismissive hand. “I don’t mean that I’m not taking it seriously. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to fall in love with you than through a game. Bets, bargains, and games are my love language, for I do enjoy the thrill of a risk. I’m halfway in love with you already, for I tend to fall in love at first sight.” He says the last part with a wink.
Stars above, I might punch him.
“How about this?” he says, oblivious to my growing ire. “If you can win my heart five times over the next seven days, I will beg my father to reinstate our betrothal agreement. Beg. On my knees. I swear it.”
Thorne’s voice comes out sharp. “You’re talking to a princess, Monty. You can’t proposition a royal like this.”
Monty shrugs. “She’s more than a royal. She’s my potential future wife. For the first time, I’ve been granted permission to choose the woman I spend my life with. I’m not going to pretend to be someone I’m not just to please the bride that was chosen for me.” To me, he says, “If you don’t like how I am, we should just call it off now.”
Yes, let’s do that!my insides plead. This man is insufferable and clearly dislikes our arrangement as much as I do. Perhaps more, considering I at least need the marriage to fulfill my bargain with Thorne and break the curse on our families. If we’d met before our union became so necessary, I’d find him to be a kindred spirit. The rebellion he shows now is the same I felt when I first learned of my surprise engagement. No matter how it irks me in this moment, I understand it. Understand him. But what he’s proposing is humiliating.
Thorne steps closer to me. “Say the word and I’ll punch him for you.”
“No, Thorny,” Monty says with an easy laugh. “The last time you punched me, you shattered a rib.”
“Let’s make it two this time,” Thorne mutters.
Monty leans in with a loud whisper. “This one I don’t like playing games with. He really doesn’t know his own strength.”
Thorne’s fingers curl as if he’s truly preparing for that punch. I feel bad for the clay cup he still holds, which is surely being strangled in his grip. “This isn’t a game, Monty.”
“Oh, but it could be.”
Minka lifts a finger, head cocked to the side. “The terms are hazy, though. How exactly will Her Highness win your heart?”
“You’re right, kitty cat, a game should have clear rules. We’ll have seven activities total. Drinking, dining, dancing. That sort of thing. If I find Her Highness pleasing—judged beneath the lens of becoming my future wife, of course—I’ll reward her with a kiss by the end of the day to show she’s won my heart.”
“Stones below, Monty.” Thorne runs a hand over his face as if he’s truly embarrassed. Or is he simply worried our bargain is about to unravel?
Monty gives me a playful pat on the arm, a far-too-familiar gesture. “What say you, Princess? Are you up for a game? Do you think you can win my heart in seven days?”
Minka’s grin stretches wide. “Oh, I think she can!”
My stomach roils. I’ve done this before. I’ve competed for a man’s heart and lost. I wasn’t invested in the bridal pageant I participated in and was rooting for my rival the entire time, but this situation is different. Ineedthis marriage—
