My goodness, the man dazzles.
“I wonder what it would be like to fall in love with a royal,” Inez says on a sigh.
“Not all it’s cracked up to be, I’m sure,” Anton says with adorable self-deprecation.
“It is.” The words tumble from my mouth before I can stop them, like a child’s block tower knocked over with a chubby, baby arm.
“Oh, do tell.” Noli has a Cheshire grin on her face. “Can you speak from experience?”
Anton’s gaze has snapped to mine, and he’s not taking his eyes off me. It’s like he’s a magnet, and I’m a collection of pencil shavings. Every part of me is flying toward him on a collision course. Everyone else is eyeing me with interest too. Great.
I scramble for something—anything—to say to appease the group, and to save face.
“I just mean that we shouldn’t sell royals short.”
Poppy rolls her eyes. “We’re not selling them short, Rose. Everyone knows that with money and a title comes privileges. That’s an added bonus.”
I frown. “That’s not really what I mean, though.”
“Oh? What did you mean, hon?” Willow, bless her, is giving me an innocent look. Little does she know she’s putting me on the hot seat.
I make an active effort not to look at Anton as I formulate my response. “Royals are regular people underneath their title,” I begin carefully. “With anybody, royal or not, if the person is right, then dating them would just click. Take the title away from Augustine,” I say, bringing us back to the book and hoping it takes some of the focus off of me, “and he’s still the same person Gianna fell in love with. She likes him for him. Not for his title or the perks that come with it. And vice versa. Augustine fell for Gianna not because of what she could give him but because of who she is as a person.”
“Well said.” Mia nods. “On that note, we’re almost out of time for this evening. But please grab an extra treat on your way out. We’ll email out details about next month’s book, so watch your inboxes for that.”
I slump into my seat, letting out a breath of relief as the book club members stand and stretch, breaking off into small groups to continue the discussion or make small talk.
Anton gets swept up in a conversation with Abner and Kelsey, and I take advantage of the distraction to put some distance between myself and our resident prince.
Poppy and Noli are waiting for me by the cider.
“Good discussion, huh?” I speak first in an effort to head off any smart comments.
My efforts are in vain.
“It was delightful,” Poppy agrees. “But let’s not ignore the elephant in the room.”
“What elephant?” I make a show of scanning the stacks and craning my neck this way and that. “I see no elephant.”
“How about the prince in the room, then?” Noli deadpans. “Seriously, Rosie. What is your deal? Why are you not jumping his bones?”
“Hey now. No need to gothatfar,“ Poppy protests. “But the sentiment remains,” she adds. “You two obviously have feelings for each other.”
“Obviously? Who is that obvious to?”
“The entire room here, for starters,” Noli scoffs. “He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you the entire time we were discussing the book. The fact that he’s even here should tell you all you need to know.”
“That he likes romance novels?”
Noli sticks out her tongue at me, but Poppy tips her head to the side. “Wouldn’t that be a point in his favor?”
She’s got me there.
“That. And you know what I meant,” Noli says sternly. “He’s here for you. He wants to spend time with you. I know we don’t know your history with him, but I’m telling you this because I love you, Rosie, and because I can speak from experience. Don’t let what happened in the past dictate your present or future happiness. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.”
I bite my lip, chancing a quick glance at where Abner and Kelsey are saying goodbye to Anton.
“You really think he likes me?” I hate how small I sound, how much I need to hear my sisters build me up. “Because I wasn’t the greatest to him in Mobile.”
