“How will you answer them?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Not sure I will.”
I chuckled. “As a journalist, I can guarantee that the longer you avoid answering them, the more persistent they’ll become.”
He hummed. “Then I suppose we will have to discuss how you’d like me to answer them later. But a benign answer as discussed in the car would suffice, I’d think.”
I didn’t get a chance to ask him what he meant by “discuss,” because people began to descend upon the prince. He kept me tucked close as he introduced me to whom I assumed were heavy hitters within the royal family and politics of it all. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure how the order of things worked here.
“Your Highness.” A blond woman with a too-wide smile wearing a royal-blue dress that hugged her body, and even what I could see was an impressive bosom, approached us.
“Governor Rambles,” Julian said by way of greeting.
She waved her hand. “Oh, do call me Rona. It’s a fun dinner, after all.” She eyed me with—dare I say—disdain. “And who might this lovely gentleman be?” I would bet money lovely hadn’t been the word she’d used to describe me in her head.
“Governor, this is my date, Wynn Carter. Wynn, this is the governor of Crellesia, Rona Rambles.”
I held out my hand. “Oh, so nice to meet you. Crellesia is a gorgeous island, and the people have been wonderful.”
Reluctantly, she took my hand. “Date?” Her eyes flickered over to Julian as if that were all she could hear.
I was no stranger to reading people—it sort of came with the territory as a journalist—and everything about Rona Rambles screamed jealousy, anger, and disgust…toward me.
“Yes, I met Wynn in a café in Lamdera the other day, and we hit it off.” Julian’s grin was almost predatory and as I glanced at his eyes, I almost gasped. There was a darkness to them.
“I see.” She slipped her hand out of my grasp. “Do you live on Lamdera?”
“Ha, no. I wish. I’m here on vacation.”
Her hostile stance deflated. “Oh, so not staying, then.”
Wow, she was a bit of a viper. I opened my mouth to answer, but Julian beat me to it.
“Perhaps I can convince him to stay longer.”
I laughed but couldn’t help the warm feeling that touched my heart when I realized he was serious.
There was a beat of silence until Rona butted back into the conversation. “Well, Your Highness, perhaps you’ll save me a dance.”
That was the moment I noticed an orchestra in the corner. It was small, but they were playing classical music, and it was beautiful.
“We shall see,” was all Julian said before gently tugging me along. “She’s a nightmare,” he whispered into my ear, making me shiver.
“I don’t think she liked me very much.”
He huffed. “That’s because her goal is to climb the ladder, and marrying me would get her as high as she could go.”
“Seriously? That’s gross. You’re a person with feelings.”
He stopped walking to regard me. “Kind of you to say, Wynn. But she’ll never achieve her goal.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
He smirked and leaned closer. “She doesn’t have the parts I desire…and she isn’t you.”
What the fuck was happening right now? I hadn’t even kissed this man, and he was acting as though I were his one and only. As sweet as it was, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to feeling slightly unsettled.
“Welcome, everyone, to the Crellesia State Dinner. I am Ferdinand Lovar, your host for the evening…” He went on to welcome everyone, especially the prince.
