Page 8 of The Prince

Melodia rushed through her bedtime routine, not even meditating. She grabbed her laptop and climbed into bed. She was tempted to giggle. Then she opened up Google and typed in, “Daniel Valdez.”

She thought she would pull up all the latest tabloid speculation about his women, because that’s what she wanted to know. Who was he seeing, if anyone? But instead, a full page of images filled her screen, beautiful artistic photographs. She clicked on the first page. It was a full exhibit of his photography at a show in Italy. A stunning tanned, dark-haired model with brilliant blue eyes appeared in most of the shots. Melodia had seen her before. She usually took jobs from the higher end designers, the type of shows Melodia would no longer be attending according to her agent. Well, no matter. She stopped her thoughts. Dare she even express her hopes? For most of her life, she had desired only to model, to become famous and wealthy in the industry. And she had done it, to a degree. And promptly realized no matter how famous or how wealthy, someone will always be more so.

But could she give it all up? And if she did… She stopped again. She couldn’t bear to think the next worry. She clicked on the next link. Image after image scrolled across her screen as she swiped up her thumb pad. So much emotion. Every image evoked something from her, spoke to her. She pulled up the shots he took of her. For the twentieth time at least, her eyes welled up. He could never know that he had captured the moment in her life when she had finally been brave enough to ask, what if?

Her phone rang. Startled, she breathed twice before answering the unknown number. “Hello?”

“Melodia. Hey! This is Daniel.”

The pause that followed was thick with anticipation. She swallowed. “Hi Daniel.” He called her! Why was he calling? She looked at her watch. 8:30 PM. She was in bed early. What if he asked her what she was doing?Oh nothing, just googling you.

“In light of our new, start over, policy…”

She laughed. “Oh right, yes?”

“I want to pick you up and show you something.”

“What? Like right now?”

“Well, sure. You busy?”

No, she wasn’t busy, but she was in her pajamas with her hair up and no makeup on. What would he think if he saw her like that?Stop. She told herself. She would never know what people valued in her if she kept only showing them her beauty. “Um, not at all. I was just considering going to bed early.”

“We can’t have that, not on a night like tonight.”

“Oooh, mysterious. I like it. What time should I meet you?”

“I’ll come get you. Thirty minutes.”

As soon as she hung up, she leapt from her bed and ran for the bathroom. But before she got there, she stopped herself.No.If she wanted people to appreciate her for more than her beauty, she would need to let that side of herself shine.

What if he didn’t like anything else about her?

She shuddered at the thought. Then took a deep breath. She turned around and made her way to her closet. She had already packed up for her stay at the palace. She grabbed her favorite pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt. But she couldn’t put it on. So she traded it for a nicer sweatshirt in her favorite color. Just as she finished brushing her teeth, her doorbell rang.

She whipped open the door and a whiff of exotic cologne teased her senses.MMM. “Hey Daniel.”

He seemed frozen, staring. Was she that different looking? Did she look bad? She wanted to hide her face under a bag. When the pause grew almost awkward, he smiled and held out his hand. “You ready?”

“I think so. You haven’t told me where we’re going, remember?”

His grin melted her insides. “All will be revealed in good time.”

He motioned to a tan jeep, thick roll bars, no doors, leather seats. “Hop in!”

Suddenly feeling carefree, she jumped into the passenger seat. “Excellent!” And strapped on her seatbelt.

He climbed in the driver’s seat and they drove through the city. It was a warm night and he kept their speed slow. The balmy air tickled her neck, and she leaned back to look at the star-filled sky. “This is lovely.”

He reached over and picked up her hand in his.

She thrilled at his touch, sparks flying up her arms and warming her insides. A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. She looked out the window, wondering what was happening. Could he be interested in her? Obviously he thought her beautiful. His obsession with taking her picture before he even knew her proved that. But was he able to see past that?

“You’re beautiful.” His low voice again sent tremors through her. But a familiar disappointment and inner battle stole some of her happiness. Great relief that she still seemed beautiful even though she had no make-up on and had done nothing to get ready for the date battled with her desire to be seen as more than a great beauty.

“I have little to do with it, but thank you.”

They drove further and she recognized their direction. “Are we going to the park?”

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