Infuriating? Oh, absolutely. But there’s something so compelling about him, something that makes me want to figure him out. To crack him open. To make him smile—reallysmile— and bring out the human locked inside that marble exterior.
We reach my door and Frederic gives a small, formal bow. “Dinner is at seven. Someone will collect you. Please try to dress appropriately.”
“I will wear a nice dress and try not to spill anything on anyone. Oh, and the ring, of course,” I add, lifting my left hand. “I won’t forget that. Sound good?”
“I would greatly appreciate that. Good afternoon, Astrid.”
“Good afternoon,” I echo.
As he walks away, I lean back against my door and watch him go. A future with a man made of stone. A man who looks at me like I’m some sort of puzzle he doesn’t understand.
I wanted adventure. Well, here it is. The question is: am I brave enough to see where it leads?
Chapter Six
Frederic
“Your Highness, if I may?”My valet, Yusefi, who has been dressing me in my formal attire since I was sixteen, holds out my blue Ledonian sash. It bears the royal crest, and though it’s heavy with the metaphorical weight of centuries of monarchy, it’s made of satin and weighs next to nothing. He secures it in place, and I regard myself in the mirror. “The Princess will think you are very handsome tonight, sir,” Yusefi says as he steps back, his gray hair catching the light in my dressing room.
Ioffer him a tight smile. “We'll see.”
The truth is I don't know if Astrid sees me as anything other than the diplomatic mission we're both on, aka our arranged marriage. She’s friendly enough, not to mention a diplomatic disaster waiting to happen with her excessive enthusiasm and clumsiness. But she’s friendly to everyone. I’m not special.
The image of her sitting on the floor of the glasshouse, chatting happily to the dogs, fills my mind. Her pretty face with its high cheekbones and full, pink lips. Her striking blue eyes that look like the Mediterranean on a warm summer’s day. The way she moves, so natural and light. The way her dress molds to her soft curves.
When she smiles, her entire face lights up, and it's hard not to want to smile back. I've been fighting that instinct since she arrived this morning.
I’ve noticed it all, every last drop of her. She might not see me as a man, but I certainly see her as a woman.
She’s intriguing.
Yes.Intriguing.That’s the word for Princess Astrid of Elkevik.
She’s so very different from the usual women I meet. She’s unguarded and full of the joys of life. Yes, I’d met her last month when we visited Elkevik, so I knew she wasn’t your run-of-the-mill royal. But she was at home then, not in a foreign country, not in someone else’s palace. You’d expect she’d have more reserve here, more concern for how she comes across.
She doesn’t seem to care. She’s who she is, and she’s happy with it.
A part of me wonders what it would be like to be as free as her. What it would be like to experience life as thoughbeing the Crown Prince of a country that doesn't seem to want me.
“Will that be all, sir?” Yusefi asks, interrupting my trail of thought.
“Yes, of course. Thank you.”
He turns to leave and then hesitates at the door to my dressing room. I've known him long enough to know he has something he wants to say.
“What is it, Yusefi?”
“You look exceptionally well this evening, sir.”
“It's the same formal attire I wear to every state dinner. Tonight is nothing special,” I reply, even though I know tonightisspecial. Tonight is the night I introduce my bride-to-be to the country.
“Of course, sir. Henrik mentioned he’d be escorting the princess to the dining room.”
I can’t quite explain why, but the thought of the princess being escorted by anyone other than me suddenly feels wrong.
“A change of plan. I will escort her myself,” I say, surprising myself.
A faint smile passes over Yusefi's face, but it's gone before it’s fully formed. “As you wish, sir.”
