Page 11 of The Billionaire's Royal Secret

A laugh escaped him. “No. Are you joking?”

“I am not,” she said as she studied the item again.

“Don’t they have hot dogs in England?” he asked.

“Uhhh,” she murmured, choosing to go along with the lie about her former place of residence, “certainly, but my parents were strict about my diet.”

“Hmm, well, you may not like it.”

“I will never know unless I try it.” Without any further hesitation, she bit into it. The salty meat, doughy bun, and sharp tang of the yellow mustard mixed in her mouth.

“Wow, you just went for it. I’m impressed,” he said as she chewed. “Well?”

She swallowed, licking her lips as she glanced down at the hot dog again. “It’s not bad. I think I like it.”

“Well, good. I’m glad to hear that. I would have hated for our first date to have been ruined.”

She swallowed the next bite as she flicked her gaze to him. “Is that what this is? A date?”

He hesitated, his expression tentative. “That depends.”

“On?”

“Whether or not you’d like it to be.”

“I see,” she said as she took a sip from her soda. “Well, I suppose that would be quite fine with me.”

He grinned at her. “Then it’s a date.”

She matched his expression before she returned to her hot dog. “So, has your day improved?”

“What?” he asked before he ate his last bite.

“Earlier today, you said you were having a bad day. Has it gotten any better?” She focused on him, noting an unidentifiable emotion clouding his eyes.

“Yes, it has. Thank you for asking.”

“Of course,” she said with a smile, finishing her hot dog before she sucked the last of her soda from the cup. “I’m glad to hear it has improved.”

“Want to walk?”

She nodded and rose as he did, following him down the path through the park.

“So, tell me more about you, Ellie.”

She hoped he didn’t catch the color rising in her cheeks in the dusky light. “There really isn’t anything interesting to tell. I’m just an average girl who has just moved to Sterling City.”

“That doesn’t seem even remotely possible for a beautiful woman like you.”

She shrugged, keeping her eyes trained on the path. “Well, it is. I’m just average Ellie. Nothing special here.” She hesitated before she flicked her gaze to him. “What about you?”

“Oh, umm, I’m afraid I’m even less interesting than you. I…am just an average guy. Although, I’ve lived in Sterling City all my life.”

“I see. So, what does average guy, Nathan…oh, what is your last name?”

He seemed to hesitate before he rubbedhis chin. “Parker.”

“Right, Nathan Parker. What does an average guy named Nathan Parker do to keep busy in Sterling City?”

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