“I was supposed to start a business here in Cunningham Falls next month with two of my friends from L.A. They were going to relocate here.”

“What kind of business?”

“A luxury concierge service.” She leans in. “Basically, whatever someone needed, we would provide. Do you need housekeeping services? We can find it. Need to throw your spoiled nine-year-old the birthday party of the century? Done. Car service? We can book that for you. You get the idea.”

“It sounds great to me.”

“Me, too. But, Safron and Amanda both pulled out yesterday, and I just don’t have the means to do it alone.”

“Is it the money?”

“Not at all. It’s the physical and emotional resources. I need staff. I need partners. So, I dissolved the company, and spent the day reaching out to vendors that I already contracted with to tell them I wouldn’t need their services after all.”

“I’m sorry.”

And I mean it. She looks defeated. I want to call those women and give them a piece of my mind.

“Me, too. But it’s okay. I’ll figure it out. It’s just…with Christian not needing me like he once did, I need to fill my time with other things. I’m a workaholic, Sebastian. I enjoy working. But now I have to find something else.”

I have just the thing for her. Being a princess is a full-time job, with obligations to charities and fundraisers and appearances to attend. She wouldn’t be bored for a second.

But I can’t mention that quite yet.

However, this entire conversation only reiterates for me that this arrangement will work perfectly for both of us.

Nina’s phone pings, and she frowns as she checks it.

“I’m sorry,” she says and sets her mobile aside. “Since my mom had a heart attack earlier this year, I keep my phone on me, just in case.”

“That’s understandable. Is everything okay?”

“Oh, that’s her, but she’s fine. Just needy.”

“You mentioned that earlier. In what way is she needy?”

“She wants attention all the time. She calls every day, and that’s fine. I don’t mind talking to her, but she is the queen of the guilt trip. If every conversation didn’t end with her sighing unhappily and hanging up on me, our daily chats would be much more pleasant.”

“I admit, my mother can be overbearing, as well. I think that’s a mother’s job. But even when I make decisions she doesn’t agree with, she never hits me with the guilt trip.”

“You’re lucky. Your mother is gorgeous, by the way.”

“Inside and out.” That reminds me, I need to call her. “And she’s an excellent queen.”

“Does she walk around the palace in a tiara?” Nina asks. “I’ve always wondered that.”

“No.” I laugh and sit back as our meals are delivered. “She’s usually casual in a simple dress.”

“No slacks or jeans?”

I frown and reach for pepper. “No. Royal women aren’t permitted to wear slacks, and certainly not jeans.”

“Wow. Even in the twenty-first century?”

“My sister-in-law did wear maternity pants when she was pregnant because it was more comfortable for her, and she had a tough pregnancy. But aside from that, no.”

Nina chews on her lasagna thoughtfully. “I think I would hate that.”

“You’re wearing a dress now.”

“I know, but I’d want to choose what I wore. I wouldn’t like to be given a dress code. I mean, I understand for formal or state events, that sort of thing. But day-to-day? They’d kick me out for wearing jeans.”

“I admit, it is an archaic rule. But aside from the dresses, women have as many rights as men in my country.”

“That’s good.”

The rest of our dinner is full of interesting conversation and fun banter. At one point, Nina reaches across the table with her napkin to wipe red sauce from the corner of my lips.

I can’t remember when or if I’ve ever enjoyed myself more.

When it’s finally time to take her home, I walk her to her door and wait while she unlocks it. When she turns to me, I drag my thumb down her cheek and watch the way her eyes light up in the moonlight.

“You’re absolutely lovely, Nina.”

I lean in and gently brush my lips over hers. That one touch isn’t enough, and I sink into her, pinning her against the doorjamb. She moans and shoves her hands into the hair at the nape of my neck, holding on tightly as we ride the wave of lust and attraction.

Her body is tight and firm. Strong. And fits against me as if she were bloody made for me.

I can’t get enough of her.

When we pull away to catch our breath, I cup her face in my hands and look deeply into her eyes.

“You need to marry me.”

Chapter Three

Nina

I CLEARLY HAD too much wine. Or, maybe I’ve been hit on the head, and I’m unconscious, and this whole thing is a dream.

Because I know I’m not just finishing up a date with the freaking Prince of England where he just proposed marriage.

Tags: Kristen Proby Big Sky Royal Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net