Page 39 of Beauty Sleep

Prince hesitates, watching me with a small, guarded frown. “Did I? Or did I pull the wool over them?”

I wince, but I nod anyway. “Yeah. I know what I want now.”

The hope on Prince’s face is almost painful to witness. He bites his lip and shoves his hands in his pockets. But even mybrave prince can’t bring himself to ask. I think he’s too afraid of what I might say.

If I didn’t already know my answer, that would be my biggest clue… but I think my heart knew all along.

“I want you, Prince. I didn’t have to see you to know that. Finding out who you were… it didn’t change that.”

I can see the breath rushing out of Prince’s lungs as his shoulders slump with relief. He reaches out to take my mask from my hand, tucks it into his back pocket… and then he drops to his knees in front of me.

Holy shit.

My cheeks burn as I look around quickly, trying to see who might be watching us. I mean, I didn’t think we were done this conversation. And we’re right in public! Should we be picking up where we left off?—

Prince laughs loudly as he takes both my hands. From the grin on his face, he knows exactly what I was thinking.

Oh. I leapt to conclusions again, didn’t I?

“I owe you an apology,” Prince tells me, raising his voice and speaking a little slower to make sure I can hear him over the music. His lips pull down into a ragged, sorrowful frown. “Hiding the truth was wrong. I’m sorry, Beauty. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

My chest goes tight and warm and fuzzy all at once. I lean down to wrap my arms around his shoulders, pressing my face into his hair to let him know that he’s forgiven.

Then I tug him to his feet and wrap my arms properly around his waist, breathing in the sweat and faded cologne—the smell of Vibes, I know now.

“I just want to know why,” I tell him as I press my face into his shoulder, swaying gently with him despite the pounding beat.

Prince goes still, and I pull away enough that I can see his face. And the look I see there… it makes me stop on the spot, too.

I just want to hug him until all the pain goes away.

“I… I’m used to getting rejected. With a face like this, you know…?”

My jaw slowly drops.

Fuck. Really? I never would have guessed that he felt insecure that way.

No wonder it hurt so much when I didn’t stand up for him in the bar—or just now, at home.

I happen to think his face is suited perfectly to his soul. Maybe it’s not conventionally beautiful, all artificial and smooth and perfect… but it’s intense in exactly the right way. Every wrinkle and line is its own story.

As far as I’m concerned, he’s fucking gorgeous.

“You—what? No. What?” Prince gives me a sheepish smile, but I’m not going to let him cut me off yet. “No,” I tell him again, poking a finger into his chest. “I don’t know what made you hold yourself back, but you’re not allowed to use that excuse again.”

He blinks at me like he’s startled, and then he slowly frowns. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right. It was something else…” he muses, rubbing a hand over his chin.

I think I know what it is, too.

Prince is easily among the hottest men in this room… so long as his face is this open and vulnerable. But I’ve just spent hours watching him look like a man hiding in the spotlight, keeping everyone happy but miles and miles away from him.

Maybe he’s only been letting people see his walls, the dryness and sarcasm and distance. I saw flashes of it the first time we met at the bar. But I saw a lot more than that, too. And my heart aches for all the pain I didn’t know about while we were in the dark.

“Listen,” I tell Prince firmly, and he glances at me like he’s surprised to hear so much resolve in my voice. “I want you. I don’t want to hide you away in the dark. I want everyone to know that I want you—even my friends, when they’re being overprotective jerks.”

Prince manages a shaky smile at that.

It’s my turn to try to sink to my knees.

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