Page 82 of Reveal

“’Kay,” Lucy says.

The sounds all around us are so familiar, recognizable, and yet so generic that I have absolutely no clue where we are.

“Stop here,” he says and holds our arms in place. “Are you ready, Lucy?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” she squeals.

“I figured since you were a princess, I needed to arrange a date fit for royalty.”

Her giggle fills the air as she all but vibrates in anticipation beside me. “Can I look?”

“Yes.”

And if I thought her squeal was loud, then I don’t even know what to say about the sound she emits when she sees the scene set before us. We are on the terrace of the Belvedere Castle in Central Park. The whole thing has been transformed.

There is a canopy draped in some kind of sparkly fabric that sits over a table complete with candles and fake gold goblets and covered in all kinds of arts and crafts. Standing beside the table are two women who are wearing royal garb, and their smiles are as wide as Lucy’s.

“What?” she exclaims as she looks at Ryker and me with wide eyes and a disbelieving smile, all but bouncing out of her shoes.

“Well, if you’re a real princess, then you need to do real princess things. These two ladies-in-waiting are here to transform you into the princessiest princess of all time. And after you have your makeover and complete your majestic art, then we’ll have a feast fit for royalty out here.”

“You mean this is all for me?” The way Lucy looks at Ryker has chills chasing over my skin, and it has nothing to do with the air chilling with the setting sun.

Ryker nods as tears well in both Lucy’s and my eyes but for completely different reasons. “You’re a princess, aren’t you?”

She nods fiercely.

“Then go get ready!”

She jumps up and down and all but runs toward the two women standing there waiting to pamper her.

I don’t have words—none—as I look around the space. Fairy lights have been hung between flags and crests. There is a sunbed behind us draped in elaborate fabric with tables on either side. A bottle of wine and a charcuterie board sit on one of them.

“Ryker.” My voice sounds as awed as I feel. “What did you—? We can’t accept this.”

He runs a hand down the small of my back. “Who said I did this for you?”

When I turn to look at him, he just lifts an eyebrow and gives me a shy smile that all but warms all of me in every way possible.

And of course, I feel like an ass. Not only for doubting that he’d know what Lucy would like but for thinking he hijacked my time with her to do something for himself . . . or whatever my excuse was going to be.

Because this . . . this is insane.

“You rented out a castle for her.”

“Technically, just the terrace. They don’t allow people to rent inside the actual castle.” His laugh rumbles against my lips as he presses them to mine.

“You’re crazy.”

“Perhaps.”

“This is too much.”

“She deserves this.”

“But . . .”

“Don’t try to figure it out. Just let her enjoy it.”