In fifteen minutes, she was back at the palace. The girls were with Armin in their room, beside them
selves with excitement.
“Ready to go?” he asked her as they whirled through the room.
“Absolutely,” she said, and she promised herself then that she’d put it aside. All the guilt. All the gross feelings about Papazyan.
Right now, it was time to enjoy the moment. Or at least she should try really, really hard.
The villa was gorgeous.
It was, of course, classically beautiful, with endless white bricks and smart black shutters that made it look like a fairy tale castle. Katie suspected that Armin wasn’t one to be left breathless by castles, since he’d always been steeped in royal traditions, but still—she could see the way his shoulders dropped in relief and relaxation as they crossed the threshold. He gave them all an expansive tour, showing them to their rooms on either side of a wide, sunlit hallway on the second floor. The prince was still smiling when they tumbled out of one of the back doors and the girls sprinted across the patio to the wide-open lawn.
“Is everything all right?” he asked, hanging back with her on the patio.
It was different, now. He’d kissed her. That had happened. She’d admitted that she wanted it, and he had done it, and now…
Now what? They were on vacation together, though there was still that lingering tension. Armin was her boss. But he had kissed her.
And she had loved it.
Her body ached for more.
Not that she could say that now, with the girls right in front of them and no privacy in sight for hours.
She smiled across at Armin, struggling to dance on that line between personal and professional. “I’m well. Maybe a little tired from traveling.”
Something flashed in his eyes, and Armin opened his mouth as if he were about to say something…naughty. A joke. A double entendre. But instead—
“I thought that you’d like some time away from town,” he offered. “Given how busy we’ve kept you lately. But now…” Another flash in those eyes, which quickly mellowed to a faux concern. “Now I’m beginning to wonder if it’ll wear you out.”
Pleasure dropped into the center of her like a raindrop on an open lake.
There it was.
The very hint of a dirty joke.
So regal. So royal.
“That remains to be seen,” Katie said lightly, looking away.
“Are you sure you’re happy to be here?” Urgency tinged his voice.
“I am happy.” Katie turned her focus on the girls up ahead, who had run in a wide circle and were now sprinting across the lawn. “It’s a good thing for me to…to get away from our routine. Not that I have a problem with it,” she said with a little laugh. “We’re all mostly content with the schedule. But it’ll be nice for them to have a break, too.”
Lily and Seraphine plunged headlong into a garden, where they were quickly hidden by the hedges. Armin and Katie’s conversation stopped while they chased after the two sprites.
On the other end of the garden was a hidden lake.
Katie gasped at the sight of it—the shining, clear water. “I had no idea there was a lake here.”
“And a boathouse.” Armin pointed up the shore to a white building snuggled up to the water. A dock jutted out halfway between the building and where they stood, and a strip of gleaming sand formed a beach.
The girls stood ankle deep in the water, shouting just to hear their voices echo back across the little lake. Then, with a mischievous look in her eye, Lily scooped a hand into the water and splashed Seraphine.
“Lily!” Seraphine’s face was the picture of shock. “Why did you do that? My dress is wet!” Her face reddened.
“It’s only a little wet,” shot back Lily. “I was having fun. It’s water anyway. It’s not like I dumped juice on you.”