Page 56 of Once Upon a Prince

It wasn’t anything I had expected, but once I realized it, a feeling of calm and clarity came over me. She was everything I could ever want in a woman, a wife, a lover, even a friend, and she would become all of those to me. In the short period of time that we had known each other she had worked her way into my heart and I knew there was no turning back.

The idea of us dating and sleeping together had poised a bit of a problem but we had handled that. I would need to see what it would mean for us, for the company, and our future working together once we got serious. I hoped eventually we would get married, have kids, and start a life together.

I wasn’t sure if she would be ready to do that just yet. She had just left her family home, she was finding out who she was, and she might not want to do that with me. She said she didn’t want to go back to Nebraska, but I worried that her stepmother would find a way to pull her back, to make Ella feel obligated that she had to.

When we got to the front of the plane, Ella let my hand go and walked up the stairs. I followed behind her and when I was inside, she had moved to the back of the plane. I could see her shoulders tensing up.

“Ella, are you okay?” I asked.

“Fine. Yeah. Everything is good.” She gave me a half-hearted smile and sat in a chair.

I knew she was lying. I wasn’t sure why she didn’t want to tell me what was wrong but I wasn’t going to push it. I sat down next to her and smiled when Tom, our flight attendant, walked into the cabin.

“Hello. I’m Tom. I’ll be taking care of you today. Can I get you a refreshment or a snack before we take off?” he asked.

“Water would be lovely, thank you,” Ella said.

“Two please,” I added.

Tom nodded and went to the back to get us our waters. I looked over at Ella as she watched Tom go. A strange sinking filling came into my stomach and I wondered if Ella found Tom attractive.

“No Hannah?” Ella asked.

I smiled, suddenly feeling better and understanding why she had been looking so strangely at Tom.

“No. I thought it was best if she was not on our return flight. Did I misstep?”

“How could you misstep? It’s your plane, your staff, yours to decide how you want to handle it,” Ella said.

“Having her around made you uncomfortable,” I stated.

“I never said that. Nor did I want her to lose her job or not have work because of me.”

“You didn’t need to say anything. It was an awkward situation and I didn’t want that for any of us. Hannah is a flight attendant who is in very high demand. I’m sure she’s doing fine wherever she is.”

“Okay.” Ella’s shoulders relaxed but not completely. I had solved one of her issues but I didn’t know what the other ones were.

“Can you tell me what else is bothering you? Please don’t say nothing. I know you, intimately. I know your tells and you’re upset about something. Was it something I did? Are you sad about the trip being over? What?” I asked.

She didn’t get a chance to answer as Tom came back with our waters and some nuts and chips for us to snack on. We thanked him and I leaned back in my seat, waiting for Ella to answer my question.

“It’s strange that you know me so well,” Ella said.

“If it makes you feel better, I think you know me just as well, if not better. I like that you do. I like it even better than I do. I hope you know this week; this whole trip was better than I ever could have imagined. I love working with you, I loved traveling with you and showing you a city I love so much. I really liked seeing you naked.”

“I liked all of that too. Does that mean you want to continue to do all those things when we get back or was this just a South American thing?”

“South American thing?” I asked, confused.

“Is this just something you do when you’re in South America? Was this just something we did because you were on vacation?”

“No. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve never done this with anyone.”

“Never? Really?”

“I’ve been with women; I’ve taken them on vacation but I have never slept with an assistant before. I have never wanted to nor had I ever felt any of them was worth the risk that came along with doing it. I wanted to be with you, I wanted to see how we could be. I didn’t want to wait.

“Buenos Aires gave us a perfect chance to spend time together. If we hadn’t been going, I would have asked you out in New York. I would have taken you to a nice restaurant, looked at your beautiful body under candlelight, taken you to the hottest play, danced with you under the moonlight at a rooftop bar, and done my best to convince you to come home with me.”

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