Her Accidental Prince_A Married by Mistake Romance by Holly Rayner

Author:Holly Rayner [Rayner, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-30T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Poppy

My heart is beating too fast.

This can’t be right. A human heartbeat shouldn’t match the pace of a hummingbird’s.

Max’s palm is at the base of my back, but I can barely feel it as we walk from the cottage to the car. Everything around me is surreal, from the thick hedges to Henrik’s face.

We get into the backseat, and I think sitting down will calm me some, but it doesn’t. The car starts moving, and a wave of nausea hits.

I glance at Max. He’s too busy looking out the window, brow furrowed, to notice my silent freak-out.

How am I going to do this? It’s bad enough that I’m not royalty, but the fanciest dinner I ever attended before tonight took place at a community center. Max’s family is going to tear me to pieces.

I cast my gaze out the window, desperate for something to distract me. I need to stop thinking and focus on the motions of tonight. If I’m polite and doing everything with a smile, it could be I have a chance.

It’s still light out, though the grounds have that hazy orange glow about them. We pass by the trees lining the drive and take a left, going toward the palace.

A glimpse of the gardens makes me sit up straighter. They’re gorgeous, with bushes clipped into different-sized cylinders and cones, and cobblestone paths carving the way around fountains and statues of women and angels.

“Wow.” I breathe out and almost whistle.

“Yes?” Max asks.

“Those gardens are amazing.” I nod my head at them. They’re giant, too. We’re still driving past them.

“I agree. They are lovely.”

“You know, my brother calls himself the landscaping king of New Jersey,” I say on a laugh.

Max’s lips twitch into a smile, and he lets out a low chuckle. “Is that so? Funny.”

“Yeah. I bet he’d trade all his current clients for a chance to landscape these gardens.”

“It is hard work, I am sure. There is a staff of five working full-time to maintain it.”

“I bet.”

I smile at him, and he smiles back. The stress and worry dissipate.

A second later, though, and it returns.

We’re pulling up to the palace, where yellow lights are letting off their first glow in the windows that are too many to count. I press my hand to my stomach and take a deep breath.

Henrik takes the circular drive up to the giant front doors. I’m seconds away from either pulling off the greatest sham of my life or falling flat on my face.

Henrik opens the door on my side, and, heart in my throat, I exit. I hear Max coming out of the car behind me, but I’m too nervous to look into his face.

Two men dressed in black suits come out of the doors. Almost in unison, they bow.

“Your Highness,” the gray-haired one purrs. “Welcome.”

“Thank you very much.”

Max puts his hand on my lower back, and this time not only do I feel it, but it brings me a bit of comfort. What’s about to happen might be terrifying, but at least we’re in it together.

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