It was past midnight when they reached the door to her condo, and he expected her to invite him in. They’d have a drink, talk a bit more. He’d hold her, kiss her, lose himself in her. But that was as far as it would go, and after a few hours, he’d leave, summon Jürgen, and head back to their rented house.
Tonight, though, she paused after punching in the entry code.
“I have one condition tonight,” she said, her eyes locked on his. “If you come in, you don’t leave until morning.”
He felt the shift in the air as the universe aligned. “Skye, you—we—you know I won’t be staying in America. I can’t promise you—”
“I don’t care.” She slid into his arms. “I’m falling for you, Leo. And maybe I can’t have you forever. But if you let me, I can have you for now. Please,” she added in a whisper. “I trust you. More than that I want you to be my first.”
He should walk away. He shouldn’t claim this moment as his own when he held onto so many secrets.
He should tell her no, but he didn’t. Because he was a selfish ass, and oh, God, how he craved her. Yes, he’d have to go back home, but it wouldn’t be tomorrow or even next week.
They had time, and he wanted to fill it with Skye.
Chapter Ten
Present Day
“So you said no?” Hannah sat across from her at one of the tables at The Fix. “To working with a prince?” She shot a sideways glance at Bart, Skye’s roommate, and lifted her brows before turning her attention back to Skye. “Do you really think that was a good idea?”
“Of course it was,” Bart said. He reached across the table and squeezed Skye’s hand. “The guy was a son of a bitch.”
Skye squeezed back. Bart hadn’t been around two years ago when everything had fallen apart with Leo, when his abrupt disappearance the morning after the first and only time they’d made love had shattered her dreams. But he was one of her closest friends now, and he knew the story. And, yeah, she appreciated the loyalty.
She cocked her head, looking at Hannah. Hannah was one of her closest friends too. And while she wished that Hannah was on her and Bart’s side, she couldn’t deny that she had to at least give what her friend said a little consideration.
“I know that from a career standpoint, it was probably an idiot move. But his leaving destroyed me. How am I supposed to do that again?”
“It’s been two years,” Hannah said. “And everything’s changed now. And don’t forget—he was the asshole, but you got screwed. This is a chance to fix that, because if you bring him on as a client, at least you’re getting something from him.” She shrugged. “Even if it’s only massive billable hours and clout for the firm.”
Everything had changed? Skye supposed it had. Everything that mattered, anyway. Before, she’d allowed herself the fantasy that they would end up together. Now that she knew who and what he was, she knew that she’d dodged a bullet.
Even if he’d wanted her in his homeland, she couldn’t do it. Being that much in the public eye? It would be a nightmare.
More important, he’d never asked. He’d done the opposite of asking. He bolted back home without even saying goodbye.
She’d been despondent at first, her whole body aching with waves of alternating grief and anger. But then someone had recognized him from the picture at The Fix.
At first, Skye had thought they were just bullshitting her. Then she’d done some research. And, sure enough, he was a prince. A prince who’d left the States to go to the side of his ailing father, the king, who had not been expected to live through the week.
The king had pulled through, and though Skye kept expecting Leo to call or come back to Texas, even if just to see Professor Malkin, he never did. And though the hurt never fully went away, it did fade. After all, the hurt was only about her ego.
The real truth was that he’d done her a favor. She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to date a royal, even one from a relatively anonymous country. There would be press. She would be expected to make statements.
She’d never taken anxiety drugs, but she had a feeling that a life on Leo’s arm would require intravenous Xanax. No, that definitely wasn’t happening.
Which, of course, meant that Hannah was right. Things had changed. Everything except the way she felt about him.
She reached for her wine and took a sip to hide what was undoubtedly showing on her face, because in the conference room, she’d felt those butterflies again. That warm and wonderful feeling that she’d felt the first time she met him. And she wasn’t sure if she could work with him on a professional level unless those butterflies were exterminated.
“If you don’t face him,” Hannah said gently, “It’s never going to go away.”
Skye sighed. “How do you do that?”
Hannah shrugged and grinned. “You’re my best friend. I can read you like a book. That and the fact that you’ve told me you’d never gotten over him. But you know why, don’t you?”
Skye rolled her eyes, not wanting to say the answer out loud.
Bart looked between the two of them. “So you’re suggesting that she work with this guy so that she can be close to this guy so she can get over this guy? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“No,” Skye said. “I actually think it’s pretty smart.” She could hear the misery in her voice. Being close to him wouldn’t be easy. But if they were working on a professional level then once he left, that would be the relationship that lingered. Not the long nights in his arms and gentle kisses. Instead it would be document revisions and strategy sessions for how to approach his advisors. Hardly romantic stuff.
“But it’s not only about getting over him,” Hannah said.
“I know. I know,” Skye said. “It’s important to my dad.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “To your dad? It should be important to you, too. You know that, Skye. He would be a hell of a client, and all of the branches of the firm are going to know that you’re the reason he came. Because of that article you wrote. This is a way to make absolutely clear that you belong at a firm as important as Porter, Jenson & Kaye no matter what your last name is.”
“Okay, I changed my mind,” Bart said. “Hannah really does have a point. I mean, landing a royal as a client for my firm? The partners would go wild. Hell, they’d give me a crown.”
Skye couldn’t help a grin at the mental image of Bart wearing a crown. He was one hell of a good-looking man, but it was Leo that she was picturing in the royal attire.
Mentally, she waved the image away. She did not need him in her head dressed as a royal or just dressed as Leo. Either way, it wasn’t a good idea.
“He’s in town through the symposium,” Bart said, looking up from his phone. “It says here that the prince is going to New York after that for some meetings at the UN. But that’s a full two weeks you have to work with him. And get him out of your system.”
She pressed her fingertips to her temple. “Two years ago, I would have been thrilled to have him in the audience. Now, it just … makes me even more nervous.” She shuddered. “At least my stage fright is winning out over my angst about Leo.”