Page 24 of Gilded Princess

Leo leans back in his chair, never taking his eyes off of me. “So, Madison, how long have you lived in the big apple?”

“Most of my life. What about you?”

“Well, I just finished school outside the city, so I’m back home now.”

I eye him over my cup, scanning his features and his clothes. “Oh really? How old are you, anyway?”

He smirks and tips his chin back. “What do you think?”

I huff and playfully roll my eyes. “I’m terrible with ages. Everyone looks between fifteen and fifty to me.”

He laughs, the sound warm and inviting. I notice the laugh lines around his eyes, and something warm unfurls inside my chest. He looks like a man who likes to laugh.

And I think that’s exactly the type of man I need right now. Forget about those dark, mysterious men who’ve been plaguing my thoughts.

“I just graduated from St. Bartholomew’s Academy,” he says with a shrug.

“Wow. I thought St. Rita’s was tough, then I heard about what your classes are like at St. Bart’s, and it really put it into perspective.”

“Ah, so you’re a St. Rita’s girl, yeah? That explains it.” He snaps his fingers with a smile teasing the corners of his mouth.

I arch a brow. “Explains what?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, it’s nothing. Just a rumor that the girls from St. Rita’s are groomed to be ball-busting bitches.”

I sputter a laugh, choking on the tea I just took a sip of. I wave off his look of concern. “I’m fine. You just took me by surprise is all. By that logic, you must be a playboy asshole like so many girls claim St. Bart’s boys are?”

He presses a palm to his chest. “You wound me, Madison. I thought we were friends?”

“Friends? We just met,” I say with a flutter of my lashes.

His smile slips off his face, but the warmth stays in his gaze. “Sometimes you just know these things, yeah? We’re going to be fast friends, you and I. Can’t you feel it?”

My breath stalls in my lungs for a moment. Because even though I’m sure he’s just flirting and he probably uses this line on every girl, it’s really working on me.

“I bet you use that line on all the girls.” Despite my racing heart, I laugh it off. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a connection, but I also felt one with the guy at the masquerade ball. And let’s not forget Matteo. I wonder if I’ll ever stop feeling connected to my ex.

So maybe my instincts aren’t that reliable.

Maybe I’m just lonely.

No, no that doesn’t feel right either. I scan his face, looking for the hidden deception or a reason for the virtually instant connection.

His gaze remains steady on mine. “Nah. It’s not a line, I can promise you that. You don’t know me well enough to trust my word yet, but you will.”

Like his words hold the power of premonition, thunder cracks through the air. I jump about a foot off my chair when a lightning bolt streaks across the sky.

“See? Even the gods agree with me.” He flashes me a smile that’s somehow sincere and teasing.

“The gods?”

“The gods, fate, the universe, whatever you want to call it.”

I shake my head a little with a small smile. “I know not everyone believes in it, but I like to follow my horoscope. It’s been right more often than not.”

My cheeks warm with embarrassment, and I’m mentally face-palming. Here I am spouting off about the very same thing most people make fun of me for. Sure, maybe not to my face, but I see the girls at school roll their eyes anytime I bring it up. I’m not embarrassed that I like following the stars, but I don’t usually blurt it out so quickly after meeting someone.

There’s something sort of comfortable about Leo—almost as if I’ve known him for years, not hours.

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