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Miles looks over atover his brow, and his eyes are particularly green thisMaybe Glynnis chose the park to make him look his most handsome Who can say?

"I assu broadly for the photographers

"Ball?" I repeat, giving hirin, complete with a head tilt This is soe I haven’t shown this es

"We’re headed up north day after tomorrow," he replies, complete with a little chuckle as he reaches out to cover my hand for just a second with his own "To Baird House There’s going to be a ball for Eleanor and Alex, and if Glynnis doesn’t make us sell this there, I’ll eat this saddle"

"Oooh, you ht choke, and that would be so fun to watch!" I say, tossing h, and I swear there’s genuine warmth in his eyes now It al before

There’s a sudden flurry of barking off toI’d spotted earlier suddenly tearing across the park, filled with bloodlust for a flock of birds on the path right in front of us

It’s a pretty nonthreatening dog, but Livingston doesn’t see it that way Suddenly, entle and super-chill horse shudders, hooves pawing the earth, and then, as the dog gets closer,a panicked whinny and lifting her front hooves off the ground

Shrieking, I panic, and instead of grabbing the reins I sinkon for dear life, , , "FUTURE PRINCESS’S SISTER KILLED IN FREAK HORSEBACK ACCIDENT WHILE ON FAKE DATE!"

And then Livingston lowers her hooves back to the ground, still pawing and shuddering, and I see a long-fingered hand shoot out and grab her reins

Miles

His horse is right next to ston under control, and I rip on the horse’sto hold on to the reins, the saddle, anything

I want off this horse now

And suddenly, I a arm wraps around my waist, and I’ painfully with the saddle

Startled, I stare up at hi on his shoulders I’ into my hip, and holy crap, did he just yank me off my horse and onto his?

He did

Which is some real next-level romance novel stuff, and I have no idea how to feel about it

Miles still has one ar his own horse’s reins, and then he leans over to take up Livingston’s reins

"All right, then?" he asks, like he didn’t just pull souess that’s enough for him, because he turns both horses and leads us back toward the palace stables

I’, really--and behind hiraphers, can practically hear the clicks as they snap shot after shot of me perched on the front of Miles’s horse,up at his chin, I study the little glints of golden stubble there and try to think of soainst ht be a little more than that