What did she do?
What did she plan?
Was she happy?
What does she want for the future?
Unexpected questions.
I store them away for another moment—strangely unwilling to share the answers with my brothers.
And I’ve always shared everything with them.
I park in front of Nina’s house. She unbuckles her seatbelt and says goodbye to the guys with a smile and playful words.
Drako jumps out and opens her door before I get the chance—not out of courtesy, but because the moment the seat is empty, he occupies it, earning another laugh from Nina.
She walks around the car, and we head toward the steps of her house together.
She stops on the first step, facing me, while I remain on the sidewalk. It nearly evens out our heights.
I lift my hand to touch her face, and the soft skin of her cheek is warm and smooth beneath my fingers.
“Thank you for tonight,” I say.
She smiles with that bold little look I’m discovering I love seeing on her face. Nina gives a loose curtsy before replying.
“It’s always a pleasure to be a princess.”
I laugh out loud before closing the small distance between us, leaning in and watching her blue eyes lower slowly.
I kiss her cheek, even though the desire to kiss her mouth crawls beneath my skin.
I don’t trust my friends not to make fools of themselves—and the glance Nina shoots toward the car tells me she wouldn’t feel comfortable either.
I catch one of her hands with my free one, needing to touch her just a little longer.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“And we’ll be Nero and Nina.”
“Nothing more than that.”
“Nero will have to work hard if he wants to outdo the prince.”
She gives me a wink before turning and climbing the steps.
I laugh loudly at her audacity—and before she reaches the door, I reply:
“You shouldn’t have challenged me.”
CHAPTER 9
NERO ZANTHOS
“Thank God! You’re home!”
My mother storms into my bedroom like a hurricane, and I lift my eyes from my phone screen before slipping it into my pants pocket. I turn toward Lysandra.
