Page 19 of Royal Cocktail

At one point, he realized that he hadn’t even noticed the slur in her words or the pauses in her sentences.

“No desire to see what other firm might want you?” he asked. “Or to do something entirely different? Teach or go in-house?”

She shook her head. “That firm is home. I practically grew up there. By the time I was twelve, I was actually proofreading briefs. By the time I was fifteen, I was writing them. It’s not a lack of ambition or me being stuck in a rut. It’s wanting to help continue building something excellent that started generations ago.”

He nodded. “I get that. I’ve worked in my father’s business all my life as well. And I’ve pretty much learned how to run it. Fortunately, I don’t have to yet, but I could if something happened to him.”

“Do you want to?”

“Run the business?” He shook his head. “No. My sister would be much better at that. My passion is physics.”

She nodded. “I can hear how much you love it when you talk about it.”

“I do. But the business is important to the family, and there are reasons why my sister can’t take over. So I’m afraid it may fall to me. No, not afraid. I know that it will.”

Her forehead wrinkled, and she frowned. “I’m sorry. Maybe you could—”

“No. Thanks, but I’d rather not talk about it. Believe me, I’ve spent much of my life wondering how to avoid it. It’s not a fun subject. I’d rather talk about, well, anything else.”

“Fair enough. How about the moon landing? I mean, Neil Armstrong. What a guy, right?”

He practically exploded with laughter. “Yes. The moon landing, and then we can move on to old James Bond films.”

The weird thing was they did exactly that. They talked about the moon landing and the current state of space exploration. They talked about the law, then physics. From there, they somehow managed to move on to Blumhouse horror movies and twist that over to James Bond, with both agreeing that Sean Connery was the best.

They bounced from topic to topic with such seamless ease, it was almost as if they were characters in a play who had rehearsed this conversation over and over again. Or a couple who had been together for years and not just weeks.

Quantum entanglement, he thought again.

It was unexpected. It was wonderful.

And it was so damned inconvenient.

They finally moved their conversation from the bar to the street, then walked back to her place. He paid no attention to their surroundings. He was too wrapped up in the conversation and the feel of her hand twined with his.

Foolish, yes, but Jürgen was out there somewhere, making sure all was well. It was a lack of privacy, true. But one Leo grew up with, and it was so familiar that he barely thought about his constant shadow.

It was past midnight when they reached the door to her condo, and he expected her to invite him in. They’d have a drink, talk a bit more. He’d hold her, kiss her, lose himself in her. But that was as far as it would go, and after a few hours, he’d leave, summon Jürgen, and head back to their rented house.

Tonight, though, she paused after punching in the entry code.

“I have one condition tonight,” she said, her eyes locked on his. “If you come in, you don’t leave until morning.”

He felt the shift in the air as the universe aligned. “Skye, you—we—you know I won’t be staying in America. I can’t promise you—”

“I don’t care.” She slid into his arms. “I’m falling for you, Leo. And maybe I can’t have you forever. But if you let me, I can have you for now. Please,” she added in a whisper. “I trust you. More than that I want you to be my first.”

He should walk away. He shouldn’t claim this moment as his own when he held onto so many secrets.

He should tell her no, but he didn’t. Because he was a selfish ass, and oh, God, how he craved her. Yes, he’d have to go back home, but it wouldn’t be tomorrow or even next week.

They had time, and he wanted to fill it with Skye.

Chapter Ten

Present Day

“So you said no?” Hannah sat across from her at one of the tables at The Fix. “To working with a prince?” She shot a sideways glance at Bart, Skye’s roommate, and lifted her brows before turning her attention back to Skye. “Do you really think that was a good idea?”