Page 32 of Fake Dating Mr. Prince
“Thank you.” Daddy always said if you believed in something hard enough, you could make it come true.
“Were you and your mom close?”
“Not really. She died when I was little.”
“I’m sorry. I can only imagine how difficult that must have been.”
I shrugged and decided to change the topic. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as everything that happened this morning came rushing back at me. Not wanting him to see that, I forced the emotion back. “Is there something you haven’t done that you’d like to do?”
He tilted his head to stare at me.
“What? Do I have something on me?” Just in case, I glanced down at my shirt to double-check there wasn’t a weird stain on it.
“Not at all.” He looked at me a moment longer, and his smile tugged at my heart. “It’s just no one’s usually interested in what I want.”
I had a hard time believing that. “Well, that’s no good. Not even your parents?”
“Except them. They want me to have everything, and I guess they assume I’ll ask for what I want. But there is one place I’d love to go, the ice hotel in Quebec.”
“The what?” His answer stunned me. I’d thought for sure he’d say a castle in Ireland or something grand.
“A while ago, I’d read about this hotel they create out of ice that people can stay in. I thought it sounded cool.” He grinned, pausing to see if I noticed his pun.
I shivered. Ice. Extreme cold. I know we lived in New England, but that was not my thing to do at all, but to each his own. “Haha. Why haven’t you done it?”
“No time. The people I’ve dated don’t exactly see being in the freezing cold as fun. They prefer the beach.” He shrugged.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why?” He stared at me, clearly confused.
“Because you should have someone who would give up their comfort to do the one thing you really want to do.”
I ducked my head at his intense stare. To avoid looking at him, I busied myself and packed up my supplies.
Ignoring our conversation proved to be impossible. I couldn’t stop my mind from wondering what it would be like to be in a relationship with him. To be the one to show him that the good ones were a partnership. That it wasn’t all about the needs of one and instead a give and take.
Finally, I spared him a glance and a small smile. “Have a good night.”
I made it out of there with my heart and my head still intact. I just hoped I could continue to keep up this charade because each little interaction with Dean was making me like him more.
