“Come on, Fabiana. I dare you,” I say.
“Youdareme?”
“Yup.”
Without another word, she ducks under the blanket, settling cross-legged on the pillows, followed by Toffee, who thinks this fort is the best thing since the last best thing—because she’s a dog and loves any adventure.
I follow, the space around us cozy but somehow lesscharged than the open room. Maybe because it’s like we're kids playing pretend.
“See? Isn’t it like the rest of the world doesn't exist?” I ask, settling beside her, careful to leave some space between us.
Some of the tension has left her shoulders. “Actually, you’re right. This is fun. In a totally man-child kind of way.”
“Hey! I thought you’d given up the name calling.”
“Max, you’re a twenty-seven-year-old man who’s currently sitting inside a blanket fort.”
“You are, too.”
The edges of her mouth quirk, and I’m satisfied I’ve got her to relax a notch.
I pull out my phone from my back pocket and open an app. I place the phone between us.
“You have a candle app on your phone?” she asks as she looks at the flickering candle on my screen.
“You never know when you’ll need it.”
“Like when? Other than when hiding from non-existent grown-ups in forts, that is.”
“Concerts, or when you forget candles for a birthday cake.”
She throws me a look. “Are you telling me you can blow the candle out?”
“Watch.” I blow on my phone, and the candle blows out.
“That’s amazing! What other apps do you have?”
“I’ve got one called the polite procrastinator,” I say as I swipe my screen. “Every time you try to open TikTok, it gently asks if you really want to procrastinate in that way. Listen.” I open the app and a sexy American woman’s voice purrs, “Do you really want to do that, sweetie?”
“Face it, you just like her voice.”
“It has a certain appeal.” I waggle my brows at her, making her grin as Toffee curls up at my side, leaning against me.
Fabiana laughs, shaking her head, and any last remnants of tension seem to have disappeared. “Does it actually stop you from using TikTok?” she asks.
“Not in the least.”
She snort-laughs.
“I’ve got to see what certain journalists are saying about me.”
“The life of a member of the Ledonian royal family, huh? Spare time to burn.”
I turn on the candle app once more and place it between us. “It’s light relief.”
She leans back against the bed, her legs crossed. In the dim, filtered light, she looks younger somehow. More vulnerable. Definitely more beautiful.
I’m finding it hard to look away.
