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“This doesn’t have to change anything,” she said softly “I feel you tensing up, and a h your head, and you said a lot of stuff, but that’s all it was It was just pretty words, and a sex That’s it”

And just like that, he remembered why he swore not to take her earlier Because he’d known if he did, she would iht at the nightclub In his grief, he’d given her the excuse to do so on a silver platter He’d known she wasn’t ready, and that she didn’t want to want him

He’d had a game plan He hadn’t played by those rules

And now he’d pay the price

“If you say so,” hehis best to stay calm

“I do” She played with his chest hair “I mean, it onderful, and you’ll always be…special…tonow, and with that comes responsibilities, and I don’t fit…I’o back to America, and you’ll stay here and marry Princess whatever her na to be”

“You’ve got it all figured out already, haven’t you?” he asked, his voice hard because the way she su him what he felt for her pissed him the hell off “You kno it all ends?”

“Well, yeah” She rose on her elbow and stared at hiuarded blue eyes He’d give anything to understand what the hell it was that ran through her s like this “We both knohat this was”

“Oh?” He flexed his jaw, staring at the red spot on her neck where he’d nipped her a little too hard “And what, exactly, is that?”

“I was trying to make you feel better To co a path on the blue comforter “When my father died, I needed that, too Comfort I wanted to do that for you, for old time’s sake”

In other words…

Tonightto her

And neither did he

Sing hard, he shut his eyes, his father’s disapproving frown floating in front of his eyes like a reminder of all the ways he’d failed He could have been in Greece with his father, spending ti all those princesses his father had spoken of Maybe he could have helped in some way, and his father would still be alive But he’d been too busy chasing after Alicia…

Who clearly didn’t want to be caught