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“Huh?” I exclaim stupidly. Theo shakes his head, laughing.

“I thought you knew?” He spreads his hands and shrugs. “Did you truly think we have spent the last few months as friends only?”

“I…well…yes!” I splutter, springing to my feet. My blanket slips, and I fumble to pull it back up. Theo, still laughing, stands up to help me. He gently tugs it back over my shoulders before letting his hands rest there.

“My apologies.” He smiles remorsefully. “I thought I had made my intentions clear, but…I admit, I do not have much experience.”

“Oh. Well…I suppose neither do I.” I think back to the men who had propositioned themselves to me in varying degrees of crudeness and shudder at the memories. I think of Eoin.

There was never the pretence of a courtship with Eoin. Sex, attraction, and intimacy are not always one and the same, I learned. I could not force romantic feelings, though I tried for a time, thinking if sex and attraction were there, the rest would follow. But it never did.

This feels different. This is the missing piece that allowed me to be so bold with Eoin and so bashful with the prince. Why a tumble with Eoin made no mark on the rest of my day, but merely locking eyes with the prince is enough to suck the air from my lungs.

Intimacy.

“Then I would like to make it clear now.” He reaches up to brush his thumb across my cheek. Instinctively, I lean into his touch. “I feel very strongly for you, Shivani. To be candid, I dothink of you as a friend—myclosestfriend. But not just that. You are special to me.”

His hands move down to mine and grasp them. He brings them up to his lips and plants a kiss on my knuckles. I shiver with delight. When he looks at me, his eyes are bright and clear.

“I feel the same,” I breathe. I am relieved and terrified all at once at finally verbalising what I have been harbouring. The fear of rejection and the sorrow at unreciprocated feelings melt away. I look up at him, tall and broad but gentle and sweet, and we smile at each other like fools.

“Would you join me for dinner tonight?” Theo asks, rubbing his thumbs across the back of my hand. “Not as mere friends?”

“Yes. Of course.” I nod dumbly, trying to ignore the blood rushing in my ears, my cheeks aching from the size of my grin.

“Then, I look forward to it.” He beams at me, and my heart has never felt so full.

Chapter 23

Ispend the day sitting down, standing up, and sitting down again in quick succession. My brow will not stop sweating, and I wring my hands just to feel like I have something to do.

Inez is patient with me, listening to my anxieties as I spew them at her in an incoherent mess.

“I did tell you the prince was smitten with you, miss,” she teases.

“Well, in hindsight, yes…I suppose it was obvious.” I give a sheepish smile as she works on my hair, pinning it in place.

As soon as I told her I was to dine alone with the prince dinner, that we were officially courting, she was all abuzz and pulled out a series of beautiful dresses. She has truly outdone herself this time—my hair is arranged in an ornate pattern, half-pinned up but with some of my dark curls falling down each side of my face. She has washed and run oils through my hair soit is sleek and shiny, catching the light when I turn.

The dress she chose is dark purple, studded with jewels and ran through with intricate lace. The bodice hugs my figure in a flattering cut, clinging to the curves of my body before flaring into a floor-length skirt. She has dusted my dark skin with a powder that makes my cheeks glow gold. I stare at my reflection, dazzled that I could look like this.

“I should like to dress this way more often.” I smile, turning my head this way and that to admire the glow of my cheekbones.

“For another dinner?”

“No, just…for no particular reason,” I say. “Other than for my enjoyment.”

“That sounds like a fine idea, miss.” Inez nods agreeably and re-adjusts one of my curls.

“And I would like you to join me.” I turn to her.

“Me?”

“You.” I grin. “I admit, the whole routine seemed farcical to me, even insulting that I should be prettied up like a package for the prince. And, I suppose, that was the king’s intention. But with you, I have realised there is a beauty to it…like a ritual, careful and peaceful, moving from each step to the next. I would like to share this with you—if you will let me?”

Inez smiles bashfully before nodding.

“That sounds lovely, miss,” she repliesbefore stepping back. “Truthfully, I enjoy the ritual of it as well. My mother would often teach me how to dust my cheeks just so or to plait my hair into these beautiful designs. She had a magic to it…”