Page 61 of The Princess and the Fraud

He’d barely gotten a few steps into the lobby before Fiona pounced. “Aaron!” her voice was a shrill call, causing him to jerk in surprise. I watched him, and how, in a split second, he wiped away any trace of the concentration on his face. In that second, he tugged on a mask of charm, allowing it to spark his eyes. If no one had been looking for it, they would’ve missed his trickery entirely.

“Fiona, darling,” Aaron said grandly, leaving one hand in his pocket while the other reached up to smooth his hair from his eyes. “Here for a spin around the workout studio?”

Fiona shifted the bouquet to the side to expose more of her sports bra. “Thank goodness I ran into youbeforePilates,” she murmured. “I would’ve been too embarrassed to see you all sweaty.”

His eyes shifted to the flowers in her grip. “Well, aren’t those beautiful?”

“You have amazing taste, Aaron,” one girl gushed before her friends pulled her back by the arm with a giggle.

“Yes, amazing taste,” Fiona murmured, lowering her register and slipping into a more seductive tone. It caused Annalise to scoff ever so slightly beside me, but she disguised it by pretending to cough.

Much like my brow had, Aaron’s furrowed.Confusion.He hadn’t ordered the flowers. “They reminded me of you,” Aaron replied slowly, though his tone wasn’t as sickly sweet as hers.

Fiona scratched at her neck. “I don’t see a card with them. I was hoping it might’ve had—oh, I don’t know—a dinner invitation attached?”

“It must’ve fallen off, because there should’ve been a card.” He flashed her a smile. “I’m ready to take you up on that sunset dinner on your yacht.”

“I’ve convinced you, huh?” She went as far as to bite her lip. “You’re in luck, because?—”

“Fiona, are—are you okay?” One of her friends cupped Fiona’s shoulder, turning her ever so slightly. “You’re—you’resplotchy.”

Fiona, who’d been rubbing at her neck, froze. “Splotchy?”

And she was. In the few moments since she’d picked up the flowers to now, pink blotches began popping up on her body, the redness worsening as she scratched. They polka-dotted their way along her neck and chest, and since all she wore was a sports bra, there was no shielding the hives.

“It looks like you’re having an allergic reaction or something.” The girl in yellow fished around in her purse before pulling out her phone. “Look.”

Fiona snatched it out of her hands, holding it up to examine her skin through the camera. She gasped, and it was almost like the second she saw the hives forming, she’d begun to really itch. “Aaron,” she said with a voice that seemed brimming on a freakout. “Is—is there baby’s breath in this?”

One of the girls began digging around in the roses while Aaron hesitated. “I?—”

“There is!” the girl said, prying the flowers apart until the bouquet nearly unraveled. “It’s hidden at the bottom!”

Fiona thrust the flowers into the girl’s arms, and with both hands free, she clawed at her neck. Annalise put a hand over her mouth, but whether it was out of horror or to stifle a laugh, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t look over to check. I, for one, watched, horrified. Trisha rushed around with a bottle of water, as if that’d do anything.

“I—I thought I told you,” Fiona mumbled to Aaron. “About my allergy. You must’ve forgotten?”

Even from here, I could see the panic flash over Aaron’s face.

I moved on autopilot. Before I could think it through, I rushed forward. “I’mso sorry,” I said as I hurried over to them, clasping my hands to my chest. “Trisha. There’s a first aid kit in the bottom drawer. It should have Benadryl.”

“You’re sorry?” one of Fiona’s friends asked, frowning. “Did you do this?”

Before I could get another step, Aaron grabbed my upper arm, pulling me back. His voice was a low hiss in my ear. “What are you?—”

“Aaron asked me to order Fiona flowers.” I turned to the girl mid-allergic reaction. “He told me about your allergy, but I—I must’ve forgotten to tell the florist. I’m so sorry, Fiona. This is my fault, not Aaron’s.”

“Youforgot?” Fiona’s eyes bugged wide. Trisha came up with the bottle of Benadryl as one of Fiona’s friends uncapped the water. “You could’ve killed me because youforgot?”

“Come on, Fiona.” Annalise cut in then, strolling over. “Your hives aren’t that serious. Take the Benadryl and stop being dramatic.”

Her nostrils flared as she sucked in a breath, but instead of glaring at Annalise, she focused on me. “You ordered the flowers?”

“She didn’t.” Aaron turned and narrowed his eyes at me.Stop talking, his expression said.

Fiona wasn’t appeased. “So you’re just lying?”

“Fiona,” one of her friends whispered, but it was still loud enough for everyone to hear. “In front of Aaron, you look…”

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