Page 56 of Mistaken as His Royal Bride

A solid weight settled in Maddi’s belly.

She wiped Hannah’s tears and said, ‘You’re a romantic.’

The girl looked at Maddi and said, so defiantly that Maddi laughed, ‘Yes, I am—and I’m not ashamed of it.’

She took Hannah by the shoulders and said, ‘Good for you. Don’t ever lose it.’

But her conscience mocked her. Who was she to advise someone to keep on believing in romance when she was so busy suppressing her own emotions and deepest fantasies that she had a constant ache in her gut.

What she was doing was making a mockery of Hannah’s beautiful, innocent romanticism, but also making a mockery of herself—because she was getting caught up on a flight of fancy too, and the higher it went, the harder the fall would be.

But Hannah was helping her out of her dress now, and into the new clothes. The silk shirt settled around Maddi’s shoulders like air. And as she was fastening the buttons, Hannah was undoing her hair and letting it fall down.

She pulled on the jeans and the sneakers. And then Hannah led her back out of the suite and in the opposite direction from the one they usually went. They came out near the palace kitchen garden. In another courtyard.

And there... Maddi’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head... Ari was waiting, beside a massive motorbike. Wearing jeans and a T-shirt under a well-loved leather jacket.

She nearly melted on the spot into a pool of lust and longing. He looked so unlike the man who had stepped out of his car that day in the desert in his suit. This man looked wild and young...and so sexy he took her breath away.

He held out a helmet and Maddi walked forward. She didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t envisaged this at all when she’d told him she wanted to go on a date. She was speechless.

She took the helmet and put it on her head. Then he put on his own helmet and swung his leg over the bike, sitting in the middle.

He held out a hand. ‘Use me to balance, stand on the little step and jump on.’

Maddi had never been on a motorbike in her life. She sat on the bike and slid almost naturally into the dip behind Ari.

He said over his shoulder, ‘Put your arms around me.’

She needed no encouragement.

Maddi slid her arms around his lean torso and then he straightened the bike. With a downward push of his foot the machine roared to life and throbbed powerfully under Maddi’s body.

They left the palace, and Maddi was aware of the ever-present security following them at a distance in a car. They wound their way down the mountain, passing through small villages where people were sitting outside small cafés, children running around.

They approached the outskirts of the city. The tall, gleaming financial district. And then moved into the older part, where the streets buzzed and hummed with activity on this weekend night. It was cool, but still warm enough for people to be outside, strolling around with just a light coat.

Ari pulled up in the middle of a parking area and turned off the bike. Maddi reluctantly disengaged and sat up straight. Ari took off his helmet and she took off hers too, and handed it to him.

‘You get off first,’ he told her.

She did, and her legs felt wobbly. Then Ari stepped off and stowed their helmets. He handed her a baseball cap and put one on himself. She put it on.

Then he surprised her by taking her hand to lead her out of the quiet square. She stopped and he looked back.

She said, ‘I thought we weren’t meant to do this.’

He said, ‘We’re incognito.’

Maddi snorted. ‘I might be able to be that, but no one is not going to recognise you.’

‘Wait and see—we won’t be bothered.’

They emerged onto one of the main streets, busy with evening strollers and people window-shopping the luxurious boutiques. They got a few glances, and Maddi saw some stop and stare, but Ari was right—no one approached.

They wandered up and down the busy streets and Maddi tugged Ari in the direction of the more touristy area. Here there were shops selling stuff for the beach and postcards. She felt a pang. She’d like to send a postcard to her mother, but she couldn’t, of course—she had no idea what was going on. She assumed Maddi was in Isla’Rosa.

Then Ari led her down a quiet street from where they emerged into a hidden square. Maddi gasped. The houses were obviously old, some a little higgledy-piggledy. Restaurants lined one side of the square, with tables and chairs spilling outside, and the entirety of the square was strung overhead with fairy lights. There was a low hum of people talking and music. It was magical.

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