Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
“I guess doing things like this.” I smiled.
“You mean cutting and coloring hearts for Miss Kate’s classroom?” Daniel asked. “You don’t have to be a princess to do that.”
“True. But I meant spending time with smart kids like you.”
“You don’t have to be a princess to do that,” Saddie said.
“So basically, the only cool thing about being a princess is finding and marrying a prince?” I asked.
“He’s supposed to find you,” Saddie said.
“Oh.”
“He’s supposed to rescue you from a tower,” Marcus added.
“Oh?”
“And fight a dragon,” Daniel said.
“Well, if I find myself sitting in a tower with a dragon guarding me, I’ll be sure to call out for a prince. But I’ll tell you what, my brother is a prince and I don’t think he’d rescue anyone from a tower.”
“No?” Saddie gasped. “What if the princess was in danger?”
“My best guess?” I leaned forward. “She’d have to save herself.”
“Well, that’s a boring story,” Daniel said.
“Not romantic,” Saddie added.
“But realistic.” I shrugged. “We’re the only ones who can save ourselves.”
“But what about the dragon?” Marcus frowned.
“The dragon is life, and we are all the princesses and Prince Charmings.”
“Hmm.” That was Saddie. “I like my version better.”
So do I, Saddie. So do I.
CHAPTER 22
Pilar
My phone vibrated in my hand, and I smiled when I saw Ben’s name on the screen. I answered.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “I missed the sound of your voice.”
I felt myself blush deeply. “Are you at practice?”
“I’m heading out now. Are you finished with your engagement?”
“Yes. I just got home about five minutes ago.” I stretched my arms above my head with a yawn. “I don’t know how teachers do it.”
“That crazy, huh?”
“Crazier. Kids are a handful.”
“Was it fun?”
“It was…” I paused. “Yeah, it actually was pretty fun once I got over the initial shock. I mean, I knew they’d be energetic, but it was a lot.”
“I bet.” He chuckled. “When can I see you again?”
“When do you want to see me again?”
“If it were up to me, I’d be seeing you right this second.”
“Well, in that case, whenever you’re free.” My face hurt from smiling.
“In that case, I’ll pick you up for dinner.”
“In that case, I’ll see you at seven.”
He chuckled. “In that case, I can’t wait to kiss you.”
“Okay, I’m going to hang up now.”
“See you soon.”
We went to a little sushi restaurant near my building. It was usually quiet and not too crowded, but even so, Amir and the rest of the security went ahead and made sure they could accommodate Ben and me in the back, away from prying eyes. I wondered how often he had this issue and if he ventured out much. Once we were seated across from each other at a table so small we were forced to touch each other, even if we wanted to keep our hands and legs to ourselves, I let out a breath and smiled at him. The table was on the floor, so we had to take our shoes off to sit, and it was inside of what felt like a little room with a curtain for doors, but we couldn’t see anyone, and no one could see us.
“Do you venture out often?” I asked. “I mean, nightclubs aside.”
“Generally not in the city.”
“Why is that? You don’t like to be photographed unless it’s staged?” I was half-joking, but he nodded.
“What? Really?” I leaned in just as the server set down two cups of water between us. “I would have never guessed that.”
“Why? Do you look for photographs of me often?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe,” he repeated, taking a sip of his water. “I guess I’m flattered.”
“You guess?”
“Sure. I mean, a beautiful princess looking for photos of me. How could I not be flattered?” He winked as he set the cup down. I felt myself blush.
“I have a question. Why didn’t you ever try to talk to me at my mother’s Sunday dinners?”
“I always spoke to you at those.”
“To be nice. And because you knew I liked you.” I swore my blush was getting deeper, which was dumb considering we were already together.
“I always liked you.”
“So why not ask me out?”
“You had a boyfriend, remember?”
“We saw each other a lot after he and I broke up.” I raised an eyebrow.
“Well, then, let’s just say I had my reasons, and I don’t want to disclose them at the moment.” He winked. “I’m a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason. I think it took seeing you in Ibiza for me to finally make my move, so I’m glad you were there.”
“Me too. I mean, despite the fact that the night you took me home I was completely blacked out.”
“The first night I took you home.” He smiled. “I fully plan on taking you home tonight. To my real home.”
“Word on the street is you rarely take women to your house. Should I be flattered?”