fter.
When he’d caught his breath Artur helped Amy up from the ground, laughing. Her hair was tousled and he helped her smooth it down. They both worked to brush the dirt off his jacket. “Come on,” Artur said. “We need a picture.”
Amy blushed. “Now?”
“Yes. On the overlook.” They went over to the railing and he raised his camera in front of them. “A picture of the date,” he joked. He took one of them together, then told Amy to pose in front of the spectacular vista behind them. She put her hands easily over her bump and grinned into the camera. His heart felt molten.
“We should get back,” she said, with one last look over the forest.
“Not without a souvenir.” He stepped back into the woods and picked up a pine cone from the forest floor. Amy took it from him like it was as precious as a diamond. “For your collection,” he said. For our baby.
10
“You should go on the date.” Amy looked at Artur and was rewarded with nothing more than a sly smile and shake of his head. They’d spent the last two nights together, but every morning, she wondered if it was just...selfish to want these things. If it was selfish to take him up on touring the country together, without any more dates. Shouldn’t she be helping him find the right woman to stabilize his image and help the monarchy?
“I’ve made my stance on your planned dates clear,” Artur said, reaching for her hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “No more.”
“Artur, you haven’t really taken it seriously.” Amy had, after all, put a lot of work into arranging the dates.
Artur laughed. “None of this is serious. It’s only entertainment for the country. That’s what PR is.”
“That’s not all it is.”
“It’s a matter of the roles we play.” His hazel eyes on hers made her feel like she was going to fall right into them. “I’m playing the role of the sweet prince, rather than the party prince. Aside from that, if I actually did date all these women, the journalists will only say that I’m still the same playboy I’ve always been.”
“But—” She wanted to argue that once he found the right one, she would—of course—cancel the rest of the dates. But she doubted that would matter to him when he was determined to give none of the women a chance. “The networking is still a serious aspect of this tour. You’re uncovering real problems that the citizens have, and the only way you can fix them is if you know they exist.”
“You’re right about that.” He rubbed the pad of his thumb over the back of her hand, which threatened to become a real distraction. “I’m still enjoying the idea of you taking all this feedback and talking through possible solutions with me.”
“I will,” she said. “And we can start by going on today’s date.”
“Today’s tour,” he said, and she couldn’t help it—it made her laugh.
The tour for the day was actually a fair. It was Stolvenia’s longest-running fair, and it featured hundreds of stalls of products and foods and an area stuffed to the brim with thrill rides. The tour guide, a woman named Inga, seemed pleasant and engaging and was even game to go on a few of the roller coasters. Amy stood at the bottom, waiting for Artur and Inga to come back. They both looked windblown and happy, and even though she had no true desire to ride a roller coaster—even if it would be allowed in her condition—Amy’s stomach did a jealous turn.
Still, Inga’s expression turned serious not long after the pair rejoined her. “It was fun, but there are still...issues.”
“With the technology?” Artur’s eyebrows shot upward. “Surely, we didn’t—”
“No, no.” Inga held both hands up. “We are unmatched when it comes to the safety of our attractions. But the thing is, my family’s business is...limited here.”
“Limited in Stolvenia?” Artur frowned.
“Yes. My father has been at the helm of the family corporation for decades. We run parks all across Europe and have high standards for quality. But we’re prohibited from expanding in Stolvenia. There are tax levies in place that make it impossible even to purchase additional land. We want to stay and grow, but—” She lifted one shoulder helplessly. “Something has to give. There’s no way to get the government’s attention on the issue.”
“Do you have any...suggestions for how we might fix that?” Artur leaned closer to Inga, his expression hopeful.
“Oh no.” Inga laughed. “I wouldn’t be the right person to comment. I can only say that I feel my father’s frustration. He’s tried and tried to get a foothold here, but without the ear of anyone with the power to make a change, it’s nearly impossible.”
Artur nodded. “Thank you for your input, Inga. It’s been...very illuminating.”
The reporters Amy had chosen to cover the day’s event converged then, and Amy stepped aside as Artur and Inga repeated some of their conversation for the benefit of the press. They smiled, shook hands, and spoke about how exhilarating the roller coaster had been.
Amy’s feet ached. She shifted her weight from one to the next, trying to get comfortable. The shoes she’d chosen were usually her most comfortable professional flats, but every day that passed in her pregnancy, new changes were surprising her. It was too early to be pestered by her own shoes.
They moved toward a rope line that had been set up to contain the crowd. The photo op went on, and Artur turned back to Inga, who gestured with her hands in front of her face, then up toward the roller coaster, and over the rest of the fair. At least all the photos were done, and then they could—
The younger couple was first to approach, hovering by the velvet rope, right in front. They couldn’t have been more than thirteen or fourteen, and the girl, with a flower in her blonde hair, was blushing furiously. They stood just next to the security guard, who was doing his best impression of an absolutely neutral guard with a stone face, until he looked down at her and nodded. They moved underneath the rope line and approached Artur.