The Sinful King (Naughty Royals 1)

“We can use yours,” I said quickly. “The three of us will be on hand and we have two other women I like to bring to make sure everything is seamless, but aside from that, I’m happy to use yours.”

“Good.” She smiled as she stood up and extended her hand toward me. “I cannot wait to see what you do.”

“Thank you so much.” I stood and shook it.

“If you have any questions, feel free to email or call.”

“I will.”

Joss and I walked out of the office with my mother and Madame Rose trailing behind us.

“We’re going to do a quick tour of the grounds,” I heard my mother say. “And draw up a plan for you. You’ll have it by the middle of the week.”

“Will that give you enough time to have everything ready?” Madame Rose asked.

“Plenty of time,” I said, turning around.

“You have a lot of faith in your work,” Madame Rose said.

“If I don’t, who will?”

With that, I walked with my mother and Joss to the gardens and we started coming up with a plan. I found myself trying to ignore the fact that it was for Prince Elias and trying to put another face to the occasion, though I couldn’t understand why. Thankfully, the gardens were so lavish and striking that roaming around freely allowed for me to put thoughts of him in the backburner. The lawn was so well manicured. Close to two-thousand acres of greenery. It felt endless and with as beautiful as they were, I couldn’t imagine there being a time they weren’t being tended to. I could barely keep a plant alive for three days, let alone be in charge of this. The party would take place in one area of the gardens, and that was the area we needed to focus on, with a large circular area that was perfect for a stage and dance floors to surround it. The circle around the area was elevated, like an amphitheater. It was absolute perfection for what I had in mind.

Chapter 11

The bookstore looked completely different after Lenora and Pedro were finished with it. It looked quaint, but beautiful on the outside, with bright green grass and a sleek, white storefront that made it look like a fancy boutique store. Upstairs, the café area was adorable, though it was still missing a lot of things, including an actual coffee maker and barista. I’d have to speak to my uncle about that when he got back. Instead of spending my time stocking books, I spent it drawing up ideas for the Versailles gala. I was on my fifteenth drawing when the door of the shop opened, making the bell above it ring and giving me pause. A customer? It shut and opened again. And again. And a fourth time. I set down my pencil, shut my iPad, and stood up, waiting for the customers to come into view. I saw the first man dressed in all black, followed by three others, and I already knew Prince Elias was due to follow. My heart slammed in my chest as I waited.

As usual, there was no use in bracing myself. Each time I saw him, I found myself surprised. Today, he wore khaki pants and a white short-sleeve button-down that gave me a full view of his muscular arms. The top two buttons were undone and I found myself licking my lips as I stared at his neck. He had an almost golden skin tone that I knew wasn’t natural, but more so from being outdoors. The brown loafers he wore tapped atop the hardwood of the bookstore as he approached, and I forced myself to look into his dark eyes. He was staring right at me, yet there was no way for me to decipher what he was thinking.

“Hey,” I said, my voice more excited than I intended. “Looking for a book?”

“Just here to browse.” He walked to the first aisle, leaving a bookshelf between us, though I could still see the top of his head, and when he glanced up, his eyes. “You weren’t here yesterday.”

“No. I trust Mrs. Meyers delivered your basket nicely though.”

“She did okay.”

“Just okay?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Where were you?”

“Out of town.”

“Will you be delivering it tonight?”

“The basket?” I frowned. “Yeah. I mean, I’m back. Why?”

“I like to know who’s delivering my things.”

“Okay. Your security knew. I informed Pierre that Mrs. Meyers would be delivering it.” My confusion was clear in my voice. “Is there anything in particular that you’re looking for?”

“What are you working on?” He ignored my question and walked around the bookshelf and over to me, eyeing the iPad in front of me.

“It’s a work in progress. It’s bad luck for you to see it in this stage.”

“Bad luck for who?”

“In this case, both of us.”

“Both of us?” He frowned.