Page 3

PART III

Time seemed to move at the speed of light after William ended the phone call. The fashion designer who'd come in was all business wrapped up in a graceful figure.

The gowns she pulled out of the rolling cases looked like curtains to him, but that wasn't his ball of wax.

There were fittings where he turned his back and then a makeup and hair duo that came in and left, leaving behind the scent of powder and hair products.

From that point, he remained outside the room.

It was easier to worry about keeping his eyes safely off of Selene.

It wasn't easy when he was in the room .

No, not easy... impossible.

He may not listen to her music, but coming face to face with her was eye opening.

Standing outside the room, listening to the controlled chaos on the other side, gave him time to ponder what was going on inside his head.

How many times had he rolled his eyes or put on a brave face when his sister had turned on the stereo and danced around the room, singing Selene's songs?

And found himself tapping his foot to the rhythms and listening to her songs.

Maybe, just maybe, he hummed along with some of the hooks.

What a story.

He had to smile to himself.

He'd joked about his sister’s taste in music, but he hadn't really listened to it, just seen the effect of the music on Mary.

Maybe, he grinned, he'll have to give it a listen when he got back to his base.

His phone chimed in his pocket, and he drew it out.

The alarm was set to let him know that they had thirty minutes until the car would arrive to take them to the Capitol building.

Turning to the door, he drew in a breath and knocked on it.

The noise on the other side of the door quieted down and moments later, the lock clicked, and the door opened.

Cali gave him a big grin. "May I help you, soldier?"

"Uh, I just wanted to let Selene know that our car is arriving in thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes..." She copied his tone. "You sound so formal!"

"It's thirty minutes from now."

Cali socked him in the shoulder. "Ow!" She shook out her hand. "Did you just break my hand?"

"Did I?" He was worried. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt anyone unknowingly. If he hurt Cali, that was going to strain things.

She stopped mid-shake and gaped at him. "No! Gosh, you are too easy."

William sighed and gave her a curious look. He just couldn't seem to get a line on Cali.

"Next time, try thirty minutes." She gave him a shrug. "It sounds more... human."

"Cali! Are you annoying William?"

"I don't know." Cali flared her eyebrows at him. " Am I annoying you?"

He drew in a breath. "Not in the least."

"Good for you, soldier." She jerked a finger over her shoulder. "Come on in."

He stepped forward, only to have Cali push her fingers into his chest.

William looked down at her with a frown .

Cali leaned in and, while her fingers eased up on his chest, she didn't pull them back.

"What you see in there is going to knock your socks off. I just need you to remember that when you're out and about with my best friend in the world, you're going to focus on protecting her and not how unbelievably beautiful she is. Got it?"

William focused his attention on Cali. In the short time that he'd known her, he'd seen her flirty and he'd seen her catty. But for the moment, she was one hundred percent serious.

In a strange way, it made sense. He and his buddies could go from raucous, ridiculous laughter in one second and dead serious the next.

It was a way to keep things compartmentalized. Doable.

Being the best friend of an International singing star couldn't be easy. There had to be incredible amounts of pressure and with Cali trying to keep things light and still protect her friend? It had to be a constant juggling act.

Maybe they had something in common.

Cali looked up at him with a raised brow. "Got it?"

He nodded and gave her a real smile. "Got it."

Cali lifted her hand in a fist and held it out between them.

William gave her a look. "Are you going to hit me again?"

She moved her fist an inch or so close. "Come on, Prince William." Cali smirked at him. "Fist bump. Show me you can hang."

Hang?

Oh boy.

William lifted his hand in a mirror of her own gesture and bumped knuckles with Cali.

"Not bad." She gave him a wink. "Now," she tilted her head further into the room, "come on in and be dazzled!"

William could almost hear some kind of fanfare as Selene turned to look at him.

He had a feeling that Cali was making the noise, but he couldn't really hear it. What he could make out was the rush of blood in his ears.

Cali's warning hadn't done much to prepare him for the vision in front of him, but it kept his jaw in place.

"You look..."

He stood there, trying to push a word out of his mouth.

And there it was... nowhere. Nothing.

He knew the basics of women's clothing. Long. Short. Tight. Loose. He'd never really thought about the actual names for fabrics or styles, but everything else he'd ever seen on a woman. The dress that Selene wore was...

"Wow."

Cali sighed out loud. "Basic vocabulary, but he's so pretty. Who cares! Right? "

William was fine with quiet. Talking would distract him. And while they were still safely in the White House and guarded by a whole slew of other Marines and Secret Service, he could take a few moments to drink in the sight of Selene.

She looked like-

She was so beautiful that she-

Maybe Cali was right that he wasn't all that smart or easy with pretty words, but standing there in front of Selene looking at the navy-blue skirt and coat that she was wearing, it was enough just to soak in the sight of her.

Selene spoke, and the rest of the room faded away for him. "It's the most amazing wool. I'll be warm and toasty out there on the platform. You won't have to worry about me grabbing onto your hand or arm for heat."

Not a selling point in his mind.

He would have no problem providing her warmth as well as his protection.

She certainly would make an impression on the world.

"I think," he surprised himself by speaking to her, "I think you're going to open a lot of eyes today."

Her eyes widened and her instinctual smile dimmed a little. "In a good way, I hope."

"Absolutely." Goodness knows he'd certainly had his eyes opened by the sight in front of him. "What is it my sister says..." He narrowed his eyes and searched for the words. "She told me that you've got so much talent and someday the world was going to see that you can sing anything and be amazing doing it."

He saw Selene's eyes mist over and he reached into his pocket for his handkerchief and walked forward to hand it to her.

She took it in her bare hands and carefully lifted it to her eyes to blot away the tears.

He heard a soft whistle. "We should hire his sister to do our PR." Cali's voice didn't sound mocking. She actually sounded impressed.

"My sister," he could have turned to talk to Cali, but he kept his gaze on Selene, "I'm not kidding when I say she's your biggest fan. She even talked her teacher into letting her write her poetry analysis paper on your first album."

"Talking him into it?" Selene smiled at him, her hands lowering the handkerchief down.

"Well, I think my mom described it as a debate and my father... he called it browbeating."

Selene shook with laughter. "I wonder if she'd let me read her paper."

William held up his hands in surrender. "She'll send you a copy. She was really proud of the A grade on it. Especially since her teacher told her that she'd have to turn in something really impressive to justify him bending his rule like that. "

His phone chimed again, and he didn't have to look at it to know what the alarm was for.

"Fifteen minutes until the car arrives in the roundabout under the portico."

"Gloves!"

William turned to look at the designer who was standing by with delicate woolen gloves in her hand. "Those are lovely."

Maya Lin, a bright new star in the fashion world, according to his quick search on Google, smiled at him. "My mother and her sister are masters of embroidery. They chose a star motif mixed in with curved lines like the flag waving in the breeze."

He looked at Selene and managed to draw in a steadying breath. "And the neckline of the jacket."

Maya held out her hands in a sweeping motion. "Yes! I hoped that people would see it, but it wasn't going to be the traditional Red, White, & Blue. It's still winter and I wanted the season to be the focus."

"It really looks good on her."

The room went quiet, and even Cali was silent for a moment.

"Can I-"

Maya held out her hand and her assistant handed her a cell phone.

"Can I get a few pictures before Selene goes downstairs?"

"We have time." William nodded. And stepped to the side .

Cali pulled out her phone and between her phone and the designer's, they likely took almost fifty photos. Maybe more.

A few minutes later, his phone rang and with a smile he answered the call. "Miss Schiffrin? We'll be heading down to the portico in a minute."

"Excellent." She answered back. "Are you sure you're not a fine Swiss timepiece?"

"Funny." He was almost laughing when he said it but trying to keep his composure. "We'll see you in a few."

The phone call ended, and his eyes sought out Selene.

Her smile was gentle and when his eyes settled on the crown of braids styled around her head, she looked even more angelic than she had moments before.

William walked up beside her and held out his arm for her to take hold of it. "Selene?"

She wrapped her arm around his and took the gloves from Maya in her free hand.

Selene gave the designer a gentle, easy smile. "Thank you for everything."

Maya gestured at the room. "We'll be watching the live broadcast and we'll be ready to help you change for the ball."

Selene met William's gaze. "Last chance to back out of this. "

He shook his head. "Not a chance. This is the best duty I've ever been given."

They started for the door and when William opened it, he looked out into the hallway to check before he moved from the doorway.

No surprises in the hall.

Just as he turned around to guide Selene through the door, he heard Cali call her friend's name.

Selene turned and smiled for one more round of pictures, and then they were on their way.