Page 28 of How to Date a Prince

“What we do is wait.” I glance at Thomas, lifting my eyebrows at him.

“What, that’s it? Don’t you chase them out or hunt them or something?”

“Badgers are a protected species here.”

“What is this,Wind in the Willows?” Thomas protests. “Come on.”

“Yes.” I give a solemn nod.

“So the badger gets the full run of the kitchen?”

“It’ll go out again. After all, it found its way in,” I reason.

“How long doesthattake?” He frowns, thoroughly aggrieved.

I shrug expansively, nodding at the badger, who shows no sign of leaving yet. “Till it’s had enough. They’re meant to be nocturnal, so if it’s out in the day, it’s got to be very hungry.”

“I should have just left when the others did.” Thomas groans, shaking his head.

“You’re stuck with a badger and a prince for company now, I’m afraid.”

“God.”

“Church and state are another matter, I hate to tell you.”

His eyes, I discover with great fascination, are green. We lock gazes, and time suspends as the warm afternoon sun falls through the tall pane windows. For a moment, it’s just him and me and the distinct snuffling and scratching of a badger.

Thomas clears his throat at last. He speaks slowly, considering me, bemused. “Dave, you acted like a complete, utter jerk at the club.”

“I’m really very sorry. And I’m horribly embarrassed. It was rotten of me. You didn’t deserve that.” My face instantly burns. “I, err, didn’t want to be recognized.”

Or outed, but I keep my mouth shut. Though he has an Instagram girlfriend.

“See how that worked out for you?Prince Auggie in Tabloid Shock with Girlfriend.” He recites a headline from memory. Which tells me he must have seen the headlines too, and not only on Travis’ phone.

I bite my lip, thinking of how terribly I treated and used Katie. I must call her again on my way back to London. I’ve been trying every day. She has to answer sometime. And yet, I can’t bring myself to tell him Katie’s not my girlfriend as far as he’s concerned. “I was a complete arse in the club,” I confirm, drooping slightly, my arms relaxed around my bent legs. “And for the record, I’m very sorry.”

We fall back to looking at each other uncertainly, our poses mirrored. At least he seems a little calmer now. Thomas nods slowly. I’m so close I feel his warmth, see the fullness of his lips, the way the sunlight shines on his dark hair. He opens his mouth to say something, stops, and tries again.

“There’s definitely something wrong with you, for the record. Even if you do have incredible badger skills.”

“It’s true. I’m exceptionally good with badgers. But humans?—”

Then, there’s the sound of laughter as the crew comes parading in through the back door from their break. And then reality comes back.

“Did you see the badger that just ran out of the kitchen?” Rose, one of the crew, marvels. “Oh, Prince Auggie, we didn’t realize?—”

Thomas sighs with relief at the acknowledgment the badger’s gone. He glances around to be certain. I hop down.

“I guess you were right after all. About the badger finding its way out.” Thomas gazes at me.

I can’t tear my eyes away from him in that moment if I wanted to. Which I don’t. Not really. Even if his politics are dreadful. “There weren’t any éclairs left for it to stay long, remember?”

His mouth twitches, and he glances away.

Then I smile at the crew. “Please, no formalities here. We just watched a badger roll through, after all.”

“Must have been hungry,” Rose marvels. “At least it came to the right place.”

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