Page 107 of The Princess and the Fraud

And maybe that was why it bothered me so much, watching Aaron pursue Fiona when she had no idea of his true intentions. All along, I’d seen myself in him in ways I hadn’t wanted to admit to. Aaron and I had always been cut from the same cloth.

After the silence stretched on too long, I ducked my head, brushing past Grant and leaving him behind, returning to work.

The first thing I saw was Aaron standing in front of a man and a woman, nodding along as they spoke. It was the same man and woman from the last table I’d dropped food off at. The woman who narrowed her eyes at me.

And then I noticed Caroline at his side, pressed right up against it, her hand resting delicately on his chest. They looked like a couple in a way that had me stumbling.Caroline has fun sabotaging things.Yeah, no kidding.

Almost as if he could sense me, Aaron looked over at that moment, finding where I stood. And then, lifting his hand into the air, he beckoned me over.

At first, I didn’t move. And then he waved again. Caroline and the couple all turned, searching for the person Aaron was flagging down, but only Caroline knew it was me. Even from here, I could see the way her expression hardened.

I hesitated further before stepping up to the group. Whoever these two were, they were obviously important. They both wore Malstoni, the man in a suit and the woman in an elegant dress. They both looked like they were in their mid-fifties or sixties, with pepper hair and smile lines. The man was tall, with black glasses framing his light eyes. The woman was only a few inches shorter than him, slim, with her makeup beautifully done.

I fought the urge to reach up and make sure no hairs had escaped my professional bun.

“This is Lovisa Hahn,” Aaron introduced warmly. “Lovisa, this is Alfred Vaughn and Mirabelle Serkin. They’re on the acquisitions committee for Rhythms of Hope.”

Sonota couple. I was glad I didn’t put my foot in my mouth. “Nice to meet you,” I offered with all the grace Alderton-Du Ponte taught me.

I didn’t think they’d want to shake my hand—I was clearly dressed in catering attire, after all, not glitz and glamour—but Alfred stretched his palm out first. “Lovisa,” he echoed. “A beautiful name, Ms. Hahn.”

Mirabelle took my hand in both of hers next. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”

“Finally?” I echoed.

Mirabelle gave me a knowing smile. “This might sound strange, but I was on the cello faculty at Juilliard for many years, and I found your YouTube channel when you were still young, and followed your progress ever since. Lovely Little Virtuoso.” Her eyes reflected the warmth in her expression. “You always played with such fire. Brilliant display of emotion, especially for your age. I was hoping to see your résumé come to us one day.”

My jaw practically fell open, knees turning rubbery.Someone at Julliard knew me?“O-Oh, that’s—” I fumbled over my words. “I’m honored.”And freaking out.

Caroline let out a little breath that sounded like a scoff.

“I was hoping you’d make it tonight, Mirabelle.” Aaron caught my eye. “I was hoping to get the chance to introduce you.”

“Lovey, you should play something for us tonight.” Caroline’s saccharine voice was thick as she leaned even further into Aaron’s side. He stiffened, but didn’t draw away from her. “Or—since you haven’t played in so long, are you out of practice?”

“Oh, we’d be honored to hear you perform,” Alfred mused, reaching up to adjust his dark glasses. “We’ve been hoping for years that you’d return to your YouTube channel. What a treat it’d be to hear you play something live.”

I looked to Aaron, rattled.

Before he had a chance to say anything, mic feedback cut through the ballroom, causing everyone to wince. “—will now proceed to the Du Ponte Music Hall for the second half of our celebration,” Mrs. Conan’s voice scratched out over the speakers, and I turned to where she stood at the front of the room. “Please follow the walkway as we make our way through the club.”

“Caroline, would you mind escorting Mirabelle and Alfred?” Aaron asked her, reaching down and picking her hand off him. He eased it down to her side. “We’ll be with you in a moment, once I excuse Lovisa from her manager.”

Once he excused—ha. No way. No way did he mean what I thought he meant. I actually could’ve laughed aloud, and would’ve, if it weren’t for Mirabelle looking at me so excitedly. Aaron was going to have to march up to them later and apologize, because this was so—this wasso?—

Insane.

The ballroom began filtering out into the hall, ignoring the cater waiter and heir standing at the back of the room. “No,” I said immediately when Aaron turned his attention on me, pulling my hands back as he tried to reach for them. “No, no?—”

“Lovisa—”

“No. Are you—are youcrazy?” My lungs burned as I raked in breath after breath, feeling like I wasn’t getting enough oxygen. “I’m not getting up on that stage all by myself and?—”

“Play with me, then,” he insisted, this time effectively capturing my wrists in his hands. He brought them between us, words softening. “You and me. We’ll perform together.”

Terror lit its way through me now, because he seemed so convinced. “Aaron, Ican’t. I’m not prepared, I—I don’t have sheet music, I?—”

“Play Elgar’s Concerto, then. You nailed it last night, and you didn’t have sheet music then.”

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