Page 88 of The Billionaire's Royal Secret

In large strides, she crossed the lobby and flitted out the door, down the stairs, and raced the short distance to the park.

As she hurried up the aisle toward their seats, she tried to steady her breathing. She slid into the seat next to him, keeping her breaths shallow to cover her exertion.

“Hello,” she whispered.

He kissed her cheek and slid an arm around her. “Hi. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. Sorry to be late.” She sucked in a deep breath as her heart rate finally settled back to normal.

“You didn’t have to run. I survived, see?” He grinned at her.

“I see. I’m so glad. But I did hurry as I did not want to see you fall to pieces.” She covered with a grin.

He matched her expression, his eyes narrowing slightly. She shifted her attention to the stage, hoping nothing was amiss with her outfit.

She waited through almost the entire set before she glanced at her watch. She needed to move quickly back to the gala. “Excuse me for a moment, I’ll be right back.”

Before he could answer, she rose from her seat. As she twisted, she spotted the concerned expression settling on his face. She shot him a broad grin, hoping it covered whatever misgivings he had.

He nodded. “Okay.”

She hurried down the grassy aisle. As she hit the sidewalk, she broke into a jog, setting a hard pace back to the museum. She raced up the stairs and slipped into the bathroom, grabbing a handful of paper towels from the dispenser to dry the beads of sweat on her brow.

“You’re a bit late,” Caroline chided as she unzipped her dress while Elena removed her earrings.

“Sorry, I lost track of time.” She slid the evening dress up around her and fastened her dangly emerald earrings as Caroline zipped the dress before fastening the necklace.

She stepped toward the door when she tripped over the hem.

“Shoes,” Caroline reminded.”

Elena lifted the skirt and kicked off her flats, then slipped into her heels. Caroline threw the wrap around her shoulders and swapped out her handbags.

With a deep breath, Elena slipped from the ladies’ room and made her way back to the event room.

After twenty minutes of hobnobbing with the people at the event, she slipped from the room back to the bathroom for another quick change. After switching her formal dress for her casual one and exchanging shoes, she hurried from the stall.

“Wait!” Caroline called. “Jewelry.”

“Oh,” Elena said, adding a curse under her breath as she ripped the earrings from her ears. Caroline unfastened the necklace and handed her the hoops. “I’ll fasten them as I go.”

She jetted from the bathroom, still sliding the silver hoops into her pierced ears. She made it halfway to the park when she glanced down at the bag she clutched in her hand. Another curse escaped her. She’d forgotten to switch her evening bag for her wristlet.

There was no time to switch it. She’d have to hope Nate didn’t notice. She continued to the park,plopping into her seat with a louder huff than she’d hoped. She tried to slow her breathing, but she gasped for air. “Terribly sorry, the line for the ladies’ is outrageous.”

She set her bag on her lap as she focused on the stage.

“It’s okay,” he said, “I’m sure you could hear them from there.”

“Oh, yes. They were quite good.” She hoped he agreed.

He nodded as he slipped an arm around her shoulders as they enjoyed the next set. She tapped her fingers on her thigh. She had two more changes to pull off, and she’d have done it.

The moment the music crescendoed, she leapt from her seat. “Intermission! I’ll grab us a snack. You wait here.”

He called after her, but she ignored him, hoping he didn’t follow. A quick glance behind her showed no one following. She could pull it off. Just two more swaps.

She raced back to the museum and pushed into the ladies’ room. “We forgot the handbag last time.”

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