Chapter Eleven
CATE WAS STILL PACING her royal suite when Miranda got there late the next morning. Her hair was a frizzy, tangled mess and dark rings circled her eyes. She’d gotten less than three hours of sleep, tossing and turning the entire night, worried about the fate of her and her friend. They had to come up with a plan — and fast.
“What went wrong?” Miranda asked, exasperation darkening her eyes. She’d rushed over as soon as she could, already dressed in a slimming blazer and dress pants for work. Large wooden earrings hung from her ears.
“I don’t know.” Cate threw her hands up in the air and continued to pace the room. “First, I totally bombed it on the ski slope. Then, I tried to make him uncomfortable during the cocktail hour. I mean, I really made him uncomfortable. But he seems totally resistant to my efforts. He’s just so...he’s so...”
She tried to come up with the perfect description, but all she could think about was the gentle curve of his proud smile as he talked about his kingdom during the cocktail hour. She’d felt that way about her career path, once. Back when she still had her job at the University teaching in the history department. And then there was this new softness in his eyes anytime he looked her way. It disarmed her. Made her feel naked and safe at the same time. As if that made any sense.
Miranda pierced her with a stern gaze. With a hand on her hip, she wagged her finger. “You’re not falling for him, are you?”
“No!” Cate’s cheeks burned bright red. “Come on, I just met the guy. That would be crazy.”
“I’d think the fact that he’s a vampire and you’re a human would be the number one reason why that would be crazy.” She narrowed her eyes. “Promise me you won’t let your feelings get the better of you.”
She gulped. Miranda had a point. Vampire and human romance equaled a monstrously bad idea. Plus, he’d confessed to her about the heartache his father went through with losing their mother. She couldn’t put him through that again. Not that she wanted to. But then again, everything was so confusing. She wasn’t sure what she wanted. She just had to get out of here.
“I promise,” Cate swore, crossing her heart. “Just tell me what to do. I need a plan.”
Miranda perched herself on the edge of the bed and massaged her temples. Cate recognized the pose. It was her thinking position, the method she used to put on her thinking cap. All Cate had to do was give her some space until the neurons firing inside her friend’s head came together with one brilliant answer to their prayers. Until then, she’d just have to munch on some breakfast.
A tray had been left on a table near the door. On it lay an assortment of breakfast pastries good enough to make even the most diehard dieters salivate. A note printed on stiff card stock was folded on the edge. It was from Stasia, declaring that these pastries had been made by her little sister especially for her and to enjoy her break from filming today.
She wondered at the tantalizing spread before her. If Stasia was a werewolf princess, that meant these had been also made by a werewolf princess. That girl had some talent. She’d have to thank her personally someday. That was, if she stuck around long enough to do so.
“Got it.” Miranda shot upwards, her finger raised in the air.
Cate shuffled toward her, two pastries in her hands. “Wonderful. Spill.”
“If Prince Viktor doesn’t seem repelled by your efforts to avoid him, then we need to change tactics.” She took the pastry Cate offered her and took a solid bite. “You need to pursue him, with as much energy as that Duchess Jezebel. Chase him down. Make him run from you.”
A smile grew on Cate’s lips. “Yes, that’s it. You’re brilliant! I’ll be as clingy as a pair of pantyhose straight out of the dryer. He’s going to wish he’d sent me packing last night.”
“That’s the ticket.” Miranda’s eyes twinkled as she held up her pastry. “To clingy women.”
“And the men who run from them,” Cate added, touching her pastry to Miranda’s and shoving it into her mouth.
?
Viktor was nearing the end of a meeting with the chief financial officer when a cameraman burst into the room. He was quickly fo
llowed by a beaming Stasia who couldn’t seem to stand still for longer than a second.
“What is this?” He scowled at the camera with the blinking red light pointed at his face. “I thought we got a break today.”
“Change of plans.” Stasia waved to the retreating financial officer and plopped herself into his empty chair. “You’ve got a date. A one-on-one.”
Cradling his head in his hands, he groaned. “Come on, Stasia. Hasn’t this been enough already? Don’t I deserve a break?”
“Nope.” She grinned, an ornery glint in her eyes. “Besides, I’ve never known you to take a break from anything. Follow through to the end. A real get-her-done kind of vamp. You can do this.”
He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. “Yeah, right. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“You’re welcome. Now come on, your date’s waiting.”
She hopped out of the chair and dragged him down three flights of stairs and out into the dazzling afternoon sunlight. His old rusty dirt bike with the wire basket on the back was parked in the gravel courtyard. Next to it, stood a waving Cate with a picnic basket tucked under her arm. She looked gorgeous in her flowery pink tank top and cut-off jean shorts with lace trim. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and she wore just the slightest hint of pink lip gloss.
“I thought we’d go for a little picnic,” she said, swinging the picnic basket. “You can show me the castle grounds. It’ll be fun.”