Page 24 of A Girl and HER Prince
A dimple showed deep in his cheek; so strange that she was so familiar with it when he didn’t know her at all. “Luv fits you more,” he muttered, more to himself really. In fact, Livvy wasn’t sure if she was supposed to hear that at all. He cleared his throat. Amazingly, eagerness had taken over his amusement from earlier. “So what are we supposed to do now?” he asked. “Eat this dinner?”
“No!” She was mortified. If he still thought she was behind this, she’d die of shame. “That wasn’t me.”
He stilled and then burst out into a laugh. “Uh huh.”
She didn’t miss the sarcasm in his voice. How could she convince him that she was innocent? Just as she clutched at the sleeves of her swimsuit wrap, she caught his eyes dancing with humor.
So, that’s what he was doing? Teasing her.
Livvy threw her hands over her flustered face. Her brothers always thought she was fun to tease because she never figured out the joke in time—the shock of the moment, the embarrassment made her face go hot. She was so appalled, so humiliated, and so…just relax already!
She sighed in surrender and dropped down on the chair set in front of the elegant, al fresco meal. “What’s on the menu?” The savory scent of lamb under the covered serving dish made her stomach growl… much to her further humiliation.
“Me too,” he said, talking back to her stomach with a smirk. “I’m starving.” He sat across from her and picked up the lid. Steam released to show the elegant lamb delicacy cooked in tomato sauce and eggplant. His brows rose. “Not bad. Moussaka. My favorite actually.”
Of course Deedee had done everything to catch the prince in her trap. Providing a favorite meal was one thing, locking the door was quite another. Deedee deserved for them to eat all of this without her! And if anything else happened? Well, itwouldn’t!
“Opa!” Livvy said through clenched teeth.
Chapter Nine
Venice kept stealing glances at the angel sitting across from him at the table. The misty green foam of the sea fell from her shoulders in the form of her filmy swimsuit wrap, like a mermaid… an innocent that had no idea the power she held, and one who was forced to endure his presence.
Or was she more of a siren?
This was more her fault than his! What did she expect would happen after setting up a trap for him with his ex? Her halo was a bit tarnished. He knew she’d be trouble, and now he was freefalling from a plane without a parachute, and he couldn’t find it in himself to care.
That made this even worse!
She certainly refused to meet his eyes. She dug into the food with a certain defiance, though her fork steadfastly ignored the eggplant.
He’d gotten the feeling she was one of those politely finicky eaters. He wondered what else she was picky about? Bad boys? Men who’d broken her best friend’s heart? Princes?
A scarlet blush had stolen over her neck and cheek in her embarrassment at their predicament.
It was super cute, and nothing he was used to at all. Everything about her intrigued him.
The red straps of her swimsuit made a crisscross against her back and ran over strong shoulders to make up a sweetheart collar against her flawlessly pale skin. And yet, she was far more covered up than any of the women on this ship. Not that her suit had done much to hide her curves from him when she’d run into him earlier.
He swallowed at the memory. She’d been desperate to leave the scene of the crime.
It was all he could do to force the feel of her softness out of his mind—he was a prince, after all. He didn’t harbor secret desires for women who tried to entrap him… so why was he plotting more ways to get her in his arms again?
Then again, after aiding and abetting Deedee, Luvvy deserved what she got. No…Livvy. Was that short for something? Already, Venice knew Livvy had been adorably flustered at the mix-up with her name. He couldn’t wait to get that delightful confusion to take over her face again. “Aren’t you going to try the eggplant, Luvvy?” he asked her.
Her blue eyes snapped to his over the food where they should’ve been all along.That’s more like it.Face the man you’re doing your best to ruin.
“Luvvy again, huh?” Her voice was smooth and feminine, just like her long neck, her pink arms; basically every part of her. What was he, an animal? He was hyperaware of everything about her right now.
His fingers tightened over his plate. Strangely, he was desperate to get another reaction from her. “I think you should at least consider it.”
Her eyes flashed. “The eggplant?”
And her reaction gave away that she knew exactly what he was saying. “Luvvy,” he said. “You should consider that your new nickname.”
Laughing nervously, she swallowed another piece of lamb dripping in béchamel sauce. “Sorry, I can’t imagine anything worse.”
One thing was certain: she was fun to tease. “Why not?” he asked. “It can be our special thing.”
