Page 15 of Lily and the Billionaire Prince

Lily clasped her hands behind her back. “And who is Lady Eden?”

Their steps took up the lag in the conversation for a moment. Henrik filed through about a dozen things he could say that would describe Lady Eden, but none of them were very nice. “The woman my parents think I should marry,” he finally said.

Lily stopped on the sidewalk. Henrik noted the lack of scuffing feet and joined her. Her full mouth was turned down into a pout with just the right amount of lip gloss.

“Look, Your Majesty,” she began.

“Henrik. Please, call me Henrik.”

This didn’t seem to ease her all that much. She kept her tight tone. “Okay, then, Henrik. I have no desire to get caught in any kind of disagreement between you and your family or to be held accountable because of my part in helping you find someone else to marry when it sounds like they have plans for you already. I have enough trouble of my own, and I can’t—”

“Stop there, if you please,” he said, realizing at once how his admission about Lady Eden’s identity had come across and why it would set Lily into a tangle. “Let me put you at ease. You needn’t worry about anything of the sort. I am here in America with my father’s permission, to find a bride of my choosing, again with my father’s permission. Your part in helping me do that will never be held against you in any way.”

“Will you agree to as much in writing?” she asked.

He met her gaze and with the sunset as her backdrop, and the pleading light in her green eyes, he was momentarily captivated. He shook the sensation off. “Is that necessary?” he asked. He supposed he did give her a rather enormous amount of money earlier. He counted that as all they needed to proceed with their arrangement of receiving her help in return, though he supposed she may be right about this for both their sakes. Louise had told him to be careful. He did tend to act impulsively around beautiful women. When he’d told her he wasn’t interested in her earlier that had been a complete lie meant to put her at ease. The truth was, he’d been taken with her from the start and the condition only worsened the more time passed.

“I’d feel better about having something written up,” Lily said. “That outlines the amount of money you gave me and that if I somehow fail to help you find a bride, you won’t demand repayment, which I can’t do.” Her cheeks were turning pinker by the minute. Was she that bothered by this?

“Yes,” he said, hurrying to mollify her. “We can have something drawn up if you’d like. Maybe for tonight, for safety reasons, you should be on your way.”

Her brows knitted. “You want me to leave?”

He indicated his indifference with a single shoulder. “Only if you’re feeling uncomfortable.” He wasn’t usually this down-to-earth on a first date, but this wasn’t a date. As she was pointing out, as he should have considered but had been too flirty and flighty to think of at the time, he needed to put her mind at ease. She didn’t seem like the type of woman to take the money he’d given her and not carry out her end.

“I made you a deal,” she said.

“And you got me out of the hotel without being noticed,” he argued. “You kept your end.”

“And helping you find a bride?”

“Did you have a specific woman besides your boss’s married daughter for me to meet tonight?”

There was that pink tinge in her cheeks again. The color was lovely in combination with her vibrant hair and pouty lips. “Not exactly. I’m not the best at things when it comes to dating, Your Maj—Henrik. I’d probably suggest you find someone else to help you if you hadn’t already done me such a solid favor.”

That was twice she’d put herself down. Hearing her say she wasn’t good at things went against the impression she’d given him thus far. Why had she said it?

“Very well. Do you have other plans tonight?” he asked.

She glanced up at the hotel towering across the street from them. Cars swept past on the street, spitting their exhaust and filling the air with a pungent, gasoline smell. “No,” she said.

“Then I see no reason for us not to continue on our current venture,” he said. “We’ll dance and mingle. Without any notice. I’ll stay off the front pages and be able to enjoy myself and you can do the same.”

“You—you want me to go to the rave with you?”

“Of course.” He started walking again in the direction they’d been headed. It was a risk, but she kept pace with him, thankfully. “I paid you for helping me. How can I know about any of these American women without your help?”

Lily laughed and Henrik puffed his chest a little more. “You have a joyful laugh,” he said, needing to raise his voice over the increasingly louder sound of heavy beats and techno music. The restaurant and smoothie stand Lily had mentioned came into view. Several tall metal beams were placed around a platform in the sand, casting light over a crowd of moshing people.

She blinked at him as though she’d never been paid a compliment before. “Whatever you say,” she replied. “Here we are.” She made for the ticket line next to the smoothie stand. The line moved quickly, and soon she removed a card from her wallet and told the girl she wanted two passes.

“Whoa, whoa, a gentleman never lets a lady pay his way,” Henrik said, interrupting the transaction.

“You already did so much for me.” She nodded to the girl to swipe her card. Before Henrik could do much else, the deed was done, and Lily was handed two flimsy tickets. The girl stamped each of their hands and they moved toward the stand of lights flashing around a crashing crowd.

The music was so loud Henrik could barely hear himself think. Though he had fun thrashing around with the best of them to the infectious music, striking up conversations would be nearly impossible with such pounding. He attempted to dance for a while and found himself surrounded by several good-looking women, but his attempts to talk to them were overridden every time.

Tired of the whole thing, Henrik found Lily sitting alone and looking miserable at one of the umbrella tables by the smoothie stand. Her hand propped up her head, as though she’d rather be anywhere but there.

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