“Nico’s been telling us a story,” Beatrice said as she hugged his legs.
He cast her a sidelong glance.
“So I hear.”
“It’s the story you were telling us last night,” Sofia said.
He grinned as he peered at Nico. “It sounds a little different than what I remember.”
Nico lifted her chin. “Yes, well when you were their age, the princess was always in need of a prince to save her.”
He was still grinning. He couldn’t seem to stop himself. “And that’s no longer the case, is it?”
“No, it isn’t.”
He looked down at his nieces. “Your mom will be here soon. Go wash your hands, and I’ll order something for dinner.”
They took off, and there was a moment of silence.
He sighed. “So, princes have gone out of fashion.”
“I don’t know about that. But the world finally figured out that princesses can do things for themselves. Even things that were once reserved only for princes.”
“And those backward princes, who would call such princessescockroacheswhen they do things once reserved only for princes, need to realize that or be banished from the kingdom.”
She grinned. “Something like that.”
“Which I never did, by the way. I never called you a cockroach. My nieces heard me use that wordencroach, and I was angry when I said it.”
“Is this your version of an apology?”
He swallowed. “It is.”
She nodded. “It sucks, but I accept it.”
He laughed but stopped when he realized she was avoiding looking him in the eye. If she wasn’t looking at the floor, she was looking somewhere else.
Was it the way he was looking at her? Did it make her uncomfortable?
He began thinking of those photos—the ones on social media and those in the magazine—and thinking of what Dario and Celeste had said.
Is the way I’m looking at her—intense? Too—intense?
“The backward prince should be glad to hear about this change,” Nico said. “For Sofia’s and Beatrice’s sakes. I’m sure he wouldn’t want them to have to rely on a prince to save them. And he certainly would never tell them they couldn’t do something just because most of the people doing it were men.”
She’s got me there.
He nodded. “Most definitely.”
She blinked, laughed, and finally met his gaze.
The girls came running.
“Pizza!” they shouted. “We want pizza!”
Rocco frowned. “Again? Your mother will be angry with me if I get you pizza again.”
“Hey, can Nico have pizza with us?” Sofia asked.
