But he was real. And on my porch.
“I came to see you.” He inched closer, like he wanted to move to me but held himself back. “The moment I could.”
“Seriously?” My mother would be horrified to see how fast my training got tossed out the window in front of the Prince of Great Victoria. Since birth, I was brought up with proper social etiquette, but it never really stuck. I could fake it like the best of them, but it wasn’t naturally me. I was kind of awkward and blunt. Thankfully, Theo seemed to like that about me. Or he had.
Theo shook his head, that grin twitching his mouth. “I missed that.”
“What?”
“Everything about you.” He stepped up to me, his good hand grasping the side of my face, his mouth gently coming down on mine. My stomach fluttered as he kissed me, the familiar smell and taste of him melting my defensive nature as I leaned into him.
“Did you miss me too?” He pulled back, his fingers running through my tangled hair, his green eyes burrowing into mine.
“I did.” I grinned up at him, and suddenly, no time had passed. We had stepped right back to where we left off, though I could feel a slight change in him. A seriousness and focus that hadn’t been there before.
“Good.” He dipped his head. “Because I couldn’t think of anything but you. To the point everyone wanted to kill me.” He pulled me into a slow kiss, his slinged arm pressing between us. “You asked for this time away for me to really think about what I want?”
“I did.” I swallowed.
“I know exactly what I want.” His hand ran down my shoulder, gripping my bicep. “You.”
Emotion crammed in my throat. Disbelief, giddiness, and… fear.
“I don’t want to hide us or sneak around.” His palm stroked my skin. “You understand what that means? I want to introduce you to my family. To the world.”
I stared at him.
“Spence?” He tilted my face up to his, worry creasing his forehead.
“Fuck,” I whispered, the sentiment covering every single one of my feelings.
Theo burst out laughing, his old easy smile expanding over his face. “Damn, I’ve missed you.” He chuckled, pulling me into him. “Is that a yes?”
Theo was not a normal guy. You couldn’t simply date him. For the prince to confirm he had a girlfriend was a huge deal. To the world.
I actually think it would have been better if I was an ordinary girl, not seeing firsthand the life of a royal. Ignorance was bliss. You’d be lost in the excitement and romance of being with a prince, a fairy tale coming to life.
I knew better.
“I know it’s a lot.” He laced his fingers through mine. “The amount of attention that will come on you and your family will be enormous. If you need to think about it, I understand. But I want you to know I love you, Spencer. I want to be with you. I will be by your side the entire time.”
My chin jerked up, my eyes searching his for the truth of his declaration. This was like a scene in a movie. A book. He said everything perfectly, like it had been scripted. The girl would be leaping into his arms, they’d kiss, and the scene would fade to black with happily ever after written across the screen.
This wasn’t a movie. This was real, and what he was asking wasn’t to be taken lightly. My entire world would blow up. I’d be hounded. Criticized. Ranked by what they thought my worth to him was. They’d question why I dared to think I was good enough for their beloved prince.
“Spencer?” He said my name quietly, a question.
Inhaling, I peered up at his familiar green irises. The ones I had come to adore. To love. I couldn’t progress in my career or schooling, but with Theo, I could move forward. Be something more than this.
Letting go of the breath of air, I bobbed my head.
“Yeah. Sure. Let’s do this.”
Another howl of laughter burst from Theo, his head falling back.
“I don’t think in the history of time has a prince’s offer to be his girlfriend been returned with ‘Yeah. Sure. Let’s do this.’” He shook his head with amusement.
“I’m not like other girls. I know better.”
“Don’t I know it.” He shuffled up to me again, his right hand cupping my face, his warm lips parting mine, our kiss quickly deepening to more.
“A-hem.” A guy faked coughed behind us, making me jump away from Theo, expecting to find Dalton standing by the SUV.
It was not Dalton.
Not even close. It was probably the shock of not seeing the prince’s principal bodyguard, who had been at his side since fifteen, that stabbed a jolt of electricity into my lungs.
This guy was unbelievably good looking; no one could deny that. Actually, you couldn’t even call him good looking. He was so smoking hot he didn’t even seem real.
“Your Highness, His Majesty has called again. He’s getting impatient.” The new guard’s deep gravelly voice glided over to us like a shot of brandy. Appearing in his late twenties, he was over six-four, broad shoulders, trim waist, and built like working out was his only job. He barely stayed contained in the dark gray suit he wore. His brown hair, trimmed on the sides, but a little longer on top, looked slightly disheveled. Light scruff covered his strong jawline, and aviator sunglasses covered his eyes. He was straight out of casting a lead for a sexy-as-hell bodyguard.
“Shocker.” Theo rolled his eyes. “Lennox, I want you to meet Spencer.” Theo stepped back down the steps, tugging me with him.
I couldn’t see his eyes, but I felt his gaze through the sunglasses. Cool. Detached. Assessing.
“Lennox Easton, Spencer Sutton.” Theo nodded at both of us. “Lennox will be taking lead on my security now.”
“Nice to meet you, Lennox,” I replied politely, shooting Theo a questioning look, bluntly asking. “Where’s Dalton?”
It was very uncommon for nobles to change their main guard unless something horrible happened, especially in Great Victoria. We were very loyal to tradition. They built a relationship and awareness with each other. Most stayed in the same family until they retired, going from father/mother to son/daughter.
“Don’t worry. Dalton’s still one of my guards,” he said to me, then smiled at Lennox. “You’ll get used to her candor.”
“I protect you, Highness. What she says is not my concern.” Lennox’s massive shoulders lifted slightly, his expression blank.
My lids narrowed. He didn’t really insult me, but it still prickled the hair on the back of my neck like a hissing cat.
“And Spencer, you will get used to this brusque arsehole.” Theo chuckled, linking his free hand with mine. “He’s better after a few shots of whiskey, a boxing match, and some porn.”
Hearing the prince say porn caused me to jerk, darting a glance at him, once again seeing the distinction between the boy I went to school with and the man who stood next to me now. “Porn, huh?”
“I’m innocent. That was all him. I only thought of you.” Theo’s eyes widened, his hand on his chest. “The prince would not do something so vulgar.”
“Bullshite.” Lennox snorted, covering the scoff with his hand.
“Sorry, don’t buy it either.” I laughed, leaning into him playfully. He might have been royal and raised to appear proper, but he was still a red-blooded male who thought about sex a lot. Hell, I thought about sex a lot. It was the only line we hadn’t crossed yet, but I thought that line would soon be disappearing.