Page 13 of Lily and the Billionaire Prince

She sniffed.

“At least let me give this a chance.” Henrik wasn’t one for pleading, but if he needed anyone’s support in this, it was hers. Mother and Father were against the notion of him marrying a commoner. They were determined he would come home a failure and find himself proposing to Lady Eden a week later. He could handle the challenge from them; their skepticism was his driving force to prove them wrong. But if Louise didn’t support his efforts….

As a child, whenever his parents had scolded him for his failings, Louise had been his source of comfort. She’d been his sounding board, she’d cheered him on, encouraged him, snuck him food from the kitchens.

Louise’s scowl softened. She raised a leathery-soft hand and patted his cheek. “If you think I’m worried you’ll fail at this, don’t be. Failure isn’t in your nature, Henrik.”

He breathed in relief.

“Be sure you move with caution, that’s where my concern lies. You’ve always jumped into everything with both feet, but you’re a real catch, Henrik.”

“I’m blushing.”

“I mean it, boy. You are handsome and sweet and very rich, and I don’t want you mistaking a woman’s interest in you when she truly only wants your prestige.”

Louise’s concern meant more to him than he could say. “I know. I’ll be careful. I’m hoping to get to know women without the need to reveal all of that. The prestige bit.”

“Your public persona has made that impossible,” Louise said. “You’ll have to settle with her knowing all your faults before you know any of hers.” She gave him an almost imperceptible twinkling grin.

“Don’t forget my virtues,” he said.

“The media rarely raves about those.”

Louise had a point. Depending on who he found, because of who he was, of how he’d acted, if she kept up with any of the gossip magazines, the girl he found would indeed know more about him from the start, which could be an advantage for her, but a disadvantage for him. He’d never regretted his behavior as much as he did now.

“The tabloids don’t know everything about me,” he said, more for himself than for Louise. “There’s still a chance this could work out.”

It had to. The last thing he wanted was to go home with his tail between his legs.

A knock stole both his and Louise’s attention. Henrik’s heart leaped. Lily had been agitated and borderline paranoid when he’d given her the money this morning—a fact he’d chosen not to reveal to Louise who certainly would not have approved. Had Lily gotten her worry resolved?

Henrik opened the door and Lily stood in the hall, wearing shorts that accentuated her great legs and a baggy Wonderland theme park t-shirt knotted at her hip. She gave a small wave, and the smell of plumeria teased him.

“Hi,” Lily said.

“There you are,” he said.

“Did the dinner meet your liking?”

“Dinner?”

“The trays I had sent up for you. I apologize I couldn’t bring them myself. Mr. Elir had a matter for me to attend to at the time and—” She glanced toward Louise, who cleared her throat and stepped forward.

“Louise Perry, the Prince’s advisor,” she said sternly as if her tone needed to reprimand Lily for not noticing she was there sooner.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lily.”

“Henrik was just telling me of your…arrangement.” Louise sniffed in displeasure. She could be stodgier than an old barnacle and Henrik didn’t want to subject Lily to that, not when she’d agreed to help him at his request.

“Louise is a mother hen,” Henrik interjected, stepping between the two women. “And the dinner you had sent up was satisfactory.” Truth be told, he’d loved every bite of the cuisine she’d ordered, but he couldn’t give her that much, not when he was bothered she hadn’t brought the tray up personally as he’d wanted her to. He would give Lily a talking-to about his request that she bring his meals. He’d wanted time to talk to her before going out tonight.

“Interesting,” Louise said from behind him, making him turn to face her. “I seem to recall you devoured every bite, moaning over how delectable it all was.”

“Traitor,” he mumbled.

Lily smiled at the exchange, though he could tell she wasn’t sure if she should or not. Henrik bade Louise goodnight and closed the hotel door behind him and then it was just him and Lily.

“You don’t want me to know you liked the meal I selected?” she asked as they proceeded into the elevator and down to the lobby.

---