Page 64 of Broken Prince

I sighed, looking at the clock on the wall. I had already passed the ten-minute mark. “I won’t say anything… Don’t make me regret it.”

“You won’t.”

I shook my head. “Tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow.”

“Fine.”

“Also you look absolutely stunning!” he shouted after me as I went down the stairs.

When I made it to the car breathless, I could see that Luca was not in as good of a mood as he had been before the call.

As soon as I sat back in the car, Luca knocked on the partition and the car drove off again.

“Sorry it took me longer than it should have,” I offered as he scowled out the window.

He turned toward me and let out a sigh. “No, Cassie, it has nothing to do with you.” He let out a small smile which looked strained but he tried. “It’s just Matteo being Matteo.” He waved his hand dismissively.

“Okay… So, tell me about this masquerade?” I tried to make conversation and convince myself I was doing the right thing by hiding Dom’s secret.

He rolled his eyes. “It’s an ostentatious over-the-top look-at-me birthday party.”

“Oh.” I didn’t expect him to be so blasé about it. “You know if you don’t want to go—”

He shook his head. “No, I do, if only to see you in this dress but—” He sighed, leaning back in his seat. “I let go of this side of my life over two years ago and I’m not so eager to go back. But…” He raised his hand, knowing I would offer to turn back. “It had to be done, today or tomorrow… My time was up.” He was so cryptic, I wanted to push, ask him why his time was up but it was not my place.

“I’ve rarely been to the city, you know.” I smiled, remembering my last trip there. “I took Jude there just a couple of weeks before our lives went down in flames. It was the best day ever. He is crazy about musicals but our parents didn’t think it fit the idea of a boy and you know.” I waved my hand dismissively. “It was too much trouble than we were worth. So I organized a surprise day for this birthday. We took the train to the city and we went to an afternoon performance ofThe Wizard of Oz.I then took him to the Donuts Palace where I'm sure he ate his body weight in donuts and he slept off his sugar coma on the trip back.” I smiled brightly at the memory of his little snoozy head lolling on my shoulder.

“You’ve never visited the city?”

I shook my head. “Not really, no.”

He rubbed his chin as he was doing every time he was thinking. “I’ll show it to you one day.”

I nodded and looked away as my cheeks reddened with pleasure at the idea of him taking me on a trip.

We stayed in comfortable silence for a while and I perked up as I saw the lights of the city on the horizon.

“Almost there,” Luca confirmed but his voice carried a wariness I didn’t fully understand but could empathize with.

“You have not shown me your mask yet.” I pointed at the box, trying to get him out of his own head.

He smiled, seeing right through me but played along. “Ah, yes, I think it’s very fitting.” He got it out of the box and put it in front of his face.

The mask was terrifying and I had to do my best to keep my face smooth. The mask was in the shape of a skull and designed to be a stand-out statement piece for a masquerade ball. The face of the mask was painted in white and gold leaves, and crystals were giving it a distressed effect to achieve a look of antiquity. The only things I could see were his dark eyes, his sensual mouth, and strong chin.

“It’s ademone,” he said, removing it.

“It is terrifying,” I agreed.

“Just like me.”

I shrugged. “Maybe to others but not to me.”

He shook his head. “No, not to you…never to you.”

I wanted to ask what he meant by that but the car stopped and I realized we were in front of a majestic house. There were a few people dressed in evening attire going up the stairs.

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