Page 61 of Royal Fling
“Oh dear Lord have mercy. You look divine,” August said, walking up behind me and putting his hands on my shoulders.
His eyes glimmered as he took me in, and I stilled against his touch.
“Yes, I think I made the right decision to wait. You fucking me in this suit will be…” he kissed his fingers, and his eyes slitted with mischief.
“Yep, as I said. I’m a bad influence,” I confirmed, pursing my lips and turning around to take him in.
I almost forgot how to breathe or speak.
He was wearing a suit similar to mine. In fact, the material seemed to be the same, only his was fully in black, even his shirt.
He did have a tie on that was black except for the tip that was striped with a navy blue and gold, the Elysian national colors.
And to top it all off, he was wearing a yellow ribbon around his neck, a necklet with a white-enameled cross hanging off the end and a gold figure in the middle of it. On his right lapel was a similar badge, only this one was shaped like a star.
The golden figure in the middle, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a bird with its wings spread out.
“What is this?” I asked him, holding the badge under two fingers.
“It's the star of the Order of the Phoenix. And this is the Grand Cross,” he replied.
I cocked my head to the side and smirked.
“Are you trying to tell me you’re a wizard, Harry?”
He chuckled.
“Well, maybe I am a wizard, too.”
“Wait a minute, you’ve never watched Big or any of the other movies I’ve talked to you about, but this reference you get?”
He shrugged.
“What can I say? I read more than watch stuff. Although I’ve gone off Harry Potter.”
“Ever since the author came out as a transphobic piece of trash? Yeah, same as all of us,” I agreed. “So, what exactly is this?”
Now that I looked at the bird again, I could tell it was a phoenix, and there were engraved flames along the bottom.
“It’s an Order of Greece and Elysia. It’s usually awarded to citizens who excel in their field, but the royal family of Elysia is awarded the honor for raising the profile of both countries with our volunteer and charity work around the globe.”
My jaw hung open at the explanation and the accompanying recognition—again—that I was dating… a prince. Of an actual country.
For some reason, it hadn’t feltrealreal until this very moment.
As did the feelings of worthlessness inside me. We were so different. We were from two completely different worlds.
He came from a world of privilege, honor, and silver spoons, and I came from a world that could shoot me dead just because of the color of my skin.
If it wasn’t clear that this thing between us had an expiration date before, it was crystal clear now.
What the hell was I putting myself through?
“Should we go?” I asked.
August smiled, took my hand, and we walked out the front door.
Nikolas was there waiting for us, and he drove us to another mansion in the area. The car ride only took fifteen minutes or so, and when we got there, I was surprised to find a whole red carpet, uplighters at the entrance that illuminated the darkening sky, and a lot of bulky men with earpieces and an attitude not to be messed with.
