Page 33 of The Heir's Bargain

Tugging at the back of his hair, Fynn sighed. "Dani, I'm the Crown Prince. Nothing is ever simple."

"Of course it isn't." I rubbed a hand across my face, then shoved my hands in my back pockets. "Do you have any ideas, then?"

The smirk that slipped over Fynn's face had my heart beating rapidly against my ribcage. A thin layer of sweat coated my palms. That look never meant anything good.

"I do."

I wanted to scream.

So I did.

Straight into a pillow.

Over the span of an hour, I had nearly emptied my entire closet of clothes. Dresses lay across the back of the vanity chair, over the end of the bed, on the floor. All that remained inside my closet was an abundance of training gear, which was not helpful for tonight's outing with Fynn.

When I finally stopped screaming, the back of my neck prickled.

"Is courting me that bad that you need to suffocate yourself, Ferrios?"

At the sound of Fynn's voice, I screamed again, squeezing the pillow closer to my face.

After seeing me get knocked flat on my ass, apparently him finding me in precarious situations was our new normal.

Eventually, I peeled the pillow away from my face and hugged it close to my chest. "Fynn, what a pleasant surprise," I said with a grimace.

"Surprise?" Fynn leaned against the door frame, his hands stuffed casually in his pockets and his ankles crossed.

He wore a freshly pressed suit, one more extravagant than his earlier ensemble. It was a rich, dark purple with an elegant floral design embroidered on the lapels. It was so royal—the opposite of anything lying in my room. The corners of his lip twitched with amusement, the faint mark of his dimple appearing. "I told you I was going to meet you before dusk."

"But it's—" I looked out the window, where golden light streamed inside the room. Dusk had already arrived, yet I still had nothing to wear, even though my entire closet was on the ground, sprawled out around me.

"What happened in here, anyway?" Fynn asked, pushing himself off the doorframe and taking a few steps inside my room. "It looks like someone ransacked the place."

I slammed the pillow down on the bed. "Very astute of you, Fynn," I said, annoyance and frustration coloring my voice.

Fynn snorted.

"It's not funny!" I grabbed the first item of clothing my fingers touched and chucked it at him.

Fynn caught it without even looking.

Stupid mind-reading ability.

"Stupid? Or useful?" he asked, arching a brow. He held up the blouse I had thrown at him, inspecting it.

"I'm serious, Fynn."

He tossed the shirt onto one of the many piles of clothes littering the floor. "Let's go, Ferrios."

"Go? I'm not ready."

"Just follow me, will you?"

"Follow you where?"

He hit the door frame with his hand and glanced over his shoulder. His dark eyes sparkled gold in the soft, warm hues of the sun. "Ferrios, I know you better than most. I also know you dislike being late, so I made arrangements."

Before I could respond, he disappeared around the door. Despite the anxiety turning in my stomach, there was nothing else I could do but follow him.

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