My brow wrinkles. I take step back, shaking my head. “What, when you randomly kissed me out of the blue? I had nothing to do with that, honestly.”
He smiles ruefully. “You didn’t exactly resist though, did you?”
I take a step back, smoothing my hands down the length of my dress. “I don’t understand what’s happening here. You have been cold and distant to me since I got here. Now you have done a complete one eighty and you want to talk about how we kissed yesterday?” I fold my arms across my chest. “You have to stop. You’re giving me whiplash.”
He turns away quickly, before I can see his expression. “I’m not trying to, Margot. Honestly.” He starts moving away, deeper into the maze formed by the hedges. He glances back, but doesn’t quite stop. “Are you coming?”
I swallow, then start after him. On my short legs, catching up to him actually proves quite a challenge. WhenI finally pull even with him, I glance up into his face. “Can I ask you some questions for my article?”
Stellan’s lips thin. “Must you?”
My lips quirk. “Yes.”
He slides me a look, slowing his pace. “All right.”
I pull out my notepad, flipping through a couple of pages until I find the list of questions I came up with while I was doing research. Skimming the list, I choose a light topic to start.
“Your mother and father seem to be fairly busy people. Obviously.” I blush. “What I mean to ask is, who did you grow up around while they were running the country?”
He frowns. “I had a whole swarm of educators and caretakers. And my grandmother was around, making a lot of the day to day decisions regarding my care. She still is, actually. Just yesterday she was here, pressing me about my private life.” His lips lift at the corners. “She’s bossy, but I don’t mind. I think I inherited that from her.”
I scrunch my face up. “That still sounds kind of lonely. Didn’t you go to school?”
He sighs. “No. I was tutored privately. But once Erik was around, I never wanted for a friend.”
My lips curl. “Yes, I can see that. You two are inseparable.”
He stops, turning to face me. “What about you? Tell me about your childhood living in the Big Apple. Or… did you move to New York later in life?”
I give him an annoyed look. “We made it through one question about you.One. How am I supposed to write this article if you won’t cooperate?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “You’re not supposed to bore me to death, I’m pretty sure. My whole life has been documented. Photos were taken to mark each little milestone of my life. It’s a part of the public record.” He gives me ahard look. “I’m just trying to keep things interesting. I regurgitate sound bites about my life. You give me some of your story in return.”
“What if I said that I wasn’t interested in the same sound bites that you’ve been giving for your entire life?” I cock my head, challenging him. “I want the truth. Besides, if I write anything that is too sensitive, it will no doubt be caught by the press office.”
A genuine smile plays across his mouth. “Fair enough. What I need to know is, will you be as honest in your answers as you are encouraging me to be?”
I roll my eyes. “Of course. I have nothing worth hiding.”
A wrinkle of concern appears on his forehead. “So you say.”
“Yes. So, to summarize: if I answer your questions, you’ll answer mine.”
He examines me for a moment, his eyes searching my face. “It’s a deal.”
Stellan holds out his hand. And I take it, shaking it firmly.
“Stellan!” a woman calls from the other side of the hedge. “Stellan, come tell everyone about your trip to Okinawa!”
He lets go of my hand and shakes his head. “I don’t even know who that is.” His lips curl down into a frown. “Tomorrow, we’ll go somewhere private and try to get most of your questions out of the way.”
My eyebrows lift. “Okay…”
But he’s heading away, already turning around a corner in the hedge maze. I frown after him. What am I supposed to make of our agreement? I have absolutely no idea.
But I do know that this is entirely new territory for me.I’m in a foreign land, at a freaking palace, trying to puzzle out a tall, dark, handsome enigma.
Nothing is familiar here, not anymore.
