do the same.
Johann came over and asked to confer with Nico. Nico excused himself and stepped away. Lemon sidled up next to me. “Isn’t this all exciting?”
Exciting was not the word I would have chosen. I slipped my bracelet off of my wrist and twirled it back and forth with my fingers. The big gems caught the light as I whirled it. “I guess.”
“I can hardly wait to put those pictures up on Facebook. There isn’t a sister at Zeta Beta Gamma who won’t be seething with envy.” She looked down at my hands. “Be careful there, darlin’. That’s worth a lot of money.”
I stopped mid-flicker to look at Lemon. “What do you mean?”
“You were worried about how much your dress cost. That bracelet is worth two of your dresses.”
“I thought this was costume jewelry.” My voice was barely even a whisper.
“Why on earth would they give us costume jewelry? This is the real deal. You’ve got at least twenty carats in diamonds on your ears.”
Great. Now I would spend the rest of the evening checking my earlobes every thirty seconds to make sure I still had those suckers in. I slid the bracelet back on, double-checking the clasp. Another thing to worry about. It sickened me to think about the fact that just one little sliver of my jewelry tonight could solve all of my financial problems.
Someone from security came in, holding the door open. This apparently was the signal for us to get in the cars. Nico came back to claim me, again slipping my hand onto the crook of his arm.
“Stay close to me,” he instructed, putting his hand on top of mine.
Always .
I didn’t even question where that had come from. I was clearly losing my mind.
If I had thought the paparazzi at the hotel were bad, it was nothing compared to the teeming throng outside of the Intercontinental Grand Hotel. A wide red carpet ran from the street up to the hotel, and there were beautiful, well-dressed people taking pictures up and down its length.
Lemon was in her element. She climbed out with the twins and posed for picture after picture.
“Ready for our first official royal date?” Nico asked me.
I shook my head. “I don’t want to deal with all that.” I remembered that stifling, suffocating feeling I’d had earlier with the group outside of the hotel. This one seemed worse.
He looked disappointed, but directed Giacomo to stay with me and called over Lorenz, one of the security guards. They had a quick conversation in Italian. Nico gave me one last smile and got out of the limo. The paparazzi went nuts. Like teenage girls at a boy band concert.
The driver pulled slightly forward, and Giacomo, Lorenz, and I got out of the limo. “Do we go inside?” I asked.
“We will stay here until His Highness makes his way through the press line.” I wondered if that’s what Nico had told them to do.
It was cold out in the winter night, even though heaters had been set up along the red carpet to warm it. I shivered and ran my hands up and down my arms, trying to warm myself. I watched Nico charm and smile, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. I wished I could hear what he was saying.
On the opposite side of the press line stood a crowd of onlookers who called out to people arriving. While watching the frenzy of the crowd, I saw a little girl, about eight or nine years old, crying. She had on a princess costume.
Was she lost? Alone? I stepped off the carpet and into the group, pushing my way through. As I got closer I saw that she was holding hands with a woman who must have been her mother.
“Is everything all right?” I asked. The little girl just buried her face against her mother’s leg.
The woman started speaking to me in French.
“Do you speak English? Anglais ? ”
She shook her head no. I turned and almost bumped into Lorenz, human Alp. “Can you get Giacomo?” I asked.
He nodded and spoke into his wrist. Like he was in a James Bond movie. A few seconds later Giacomo arrived. “Do you speak
Johann came over and asked to confer with Nico. Nico excused himself and stepped away. Lemon sidled up next to me. “Isn’t this all exciting?”
Exciting was not the word I would have chosen. I slipped my bracelet off of my wrist and twirled it back and forth with my fingers. The big gems caught the light as I whirled it. “I guess.”
“I can hardly wait to put those pictures up on Facebook. There isn’t a sister at Zeta Beta Gamma who won’t be seething with envy.” She looked down at my hands. “Be careful there, darlin’. That’s worth a lot of money.”
I stopped mid-flicker to look at Lemon. “What do you mean?”
“You were worried about how much your dress cost. That bracelet is worth two of your dresses.”
“I thought this was costume jewelry.” My voice was barely even a whisper.
“Why on earth would they give us costume jewelry? This is the real deal. You’ve got at least twenty carats in diamonds on your ears.”
Great. Now I would spend the rest of the evening checking my earlobes every thirty seconds to make sure I still had those suckers in. I slid the bracelet back on, double-checking the clasp. Another thing to worry about. It sickened me to think about the fact that just one little sliver of my jewelry tonight could solve all of my financial problems.
Someone from security came in, holding the door open. This apparently was the signal for us to get in the cars. Nico came back to claim me, again slipping my hand onto the crook of his arm.
“Stay close to me,” he instructed, putting his hand on top of mine.
Always .
I didn’t even question where that had come from. I was clearly losing my mind.
If I had thought the paparazzi at the hotel were bad, it was nothing compared to the teeming throng outside of the Intercontinental Grand Hotel. A wide red carpet ran from the street up to the hotel, and there were beautiful, well-dressed people taking pictures up and down its length.
Lemon was in her element. She climbed out with the twins and posed for picture after picture.
“Ready for our first official royal date?” Nico asked me.
I shook my head. “I don’t want to deal with all that.” I remembered that stifling, suffocating feeling I’d had earlier with the group outside of the hotel. This one seemed worse.
He looked disappointed, but directed Giacomo to stay with me and called over Lorenz, one of the security guards. They had a quick conversation in Italian. Nico gave me one last smile and got out of the limo. The paparazzi went nuts. Like teenage girls at a boy band concert.
The driver pulled slightly forward, and Giacomo, Lorenz, and I got out of the limo. “Do we go inside?” I asked.
“We will stay here until His Highness makes his way through the press line.” I wondered if that’s what Nico had told them to do.
It was cold out in the winter night, even though heaters had been set up along the red carpet to warm it. I shivered and ran my hands up and down my arms, trying to warm myself. I watched Nico charm and smile, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. I wished I could hear what he was saying.
On the opposite side of the press line stood a crowd of onlookers who called out to people arriving. While watching the frenzy of the crowd, I saw a little girl, about eight or nine years old, crying. She had on a princess costume.
Was she lost? Alone? I stepped off the carpet and into the group, pushing my way through. As I got closer I saw that she was holding hands with a woman who must have been her mother.
“Is everything all right?” I asked. The little girl just buried her face against her mother’s leg.
The woman started speaking to me in French.
“Do you speak English? Anglais ? ”
She shook her head no. I turned and almost bumped into Lorenz, human Alp. “Can you get Giacomo?” I asked.
He nodded and spoke into his wrist. Like he was in a James Bond movie. A few seconds later Giacomo arrived. “Do you speak
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