Chapter l365

Chapter 0365

Jane would never be able to hurt us again.

A soft knock sounded on the door. Then the guard calls through, “It’s Prince Julian.”

“Let him in,” I call back. I brushed a few hairs back from Elva’s face, gave her another quick k*ss, then went to face my destiny.

Maybe that was too dramatic. For now, I was only facing Julian.

Even I could admit he looked handsome in his dark tuxedo. His bowtie was the same pastel yellow that made up the majority of my dress. This was part of our ploy as a couple – matching outfits.

“You look beautiful,” he said as I came close.

“The dress is gorgeous,” I agreed.

“I’m not just talking about the dress,” Julian said.

I rolled my eyes because he had to be kidding me.

“Though…” he said, then trailed off.

“What?”

He had a puzzled expression on his face. He held my gaze for a long moment, then his eyes started drifting down./

“Did you put the cuff in your bra?” he asked.

I smacked him playfully on the shoulder. He laughed.

But then I looked down, suddenly nervous. “Is it obvious? How could you tell?”

“I guessed,” he said.

I wasn’t entirely sure I believed that, but it also seemed unlikely that Julian would attempt to foil our mission. If the cuff was obvious, he would let me know.

Maybe he really did guess.

“Where else would you put it?” he asked, then waggled his eyebrows.

I gave him another playful smack, and he laughed again.

“Come on, lovely. Our ball awaits!“`

He led me out into the hallway. I expected his charm to dim, now that we were

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seemed bound and determined to keep the mood light.

“You didn’t tell me how great I look in my tuxedo,” Julian said.

“You look fine,” I said. It was an obvious lie. We both knew it.

“It’s okay,” Julian said. “I don’t need validation. I know I look good enough to eat.”

I knew what he was doing: attempting to distract me from my own fears with light–hearted flirtation and humor. It was ridiculous. But also… incredibly helpful. Despite myself, I couldn’t help but feel grateful.

I was still scared, my heart racing, but at least my hands weren’t shaking

anymore.

“We look like quite the pair together,” Julian said. “We’ll be the talk of the event for sure. Romeo and his golden sunshine personified.”

“You mean Romeo and Juliet,” I said.

“Nah,” he replied. “That story is much too sad. I prefer a version where Romeo falls for the morning light instead. It’s much easier than loving a woman.

“If you look at the sun, you’ll go blind,” I said.

“So he loves something he can’t have,” Julian said. “That’s not so uncommon.”

This was a ridiculous conversation. It made me wonder if Julian had even read Shakespeare.

But then, as we neared the ballroom, I saw Nicholas.

E

He was standing alone. He wore a similar suit to Julian, but on Nicholas, stretched across his muscles, he looked devastatingly handsome. My mouth

watered on instinct.

H

If we were together, I would have pulled him away just to admire that suit privately. And then take it off of him.

But we weren’t together.

And more, we were here tonight for a purpose.

Nicholas looked up and saw me. His eyes went a little wide as he took me in. When his gaze met mine, and mine his, we stared at each other for a long

moment.

My heart raced.

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The admiration was so clear in his eyes, it was nearly overwhelming. Finally, I had to lower my gaze for fear I would go blind.