Royal Security (The Hidden Kingdom Romances Book 2) by Cami Checketts

Author:Cami Checketts [Checketts, Cami]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Birch River Publishing
Published: 2021-06-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Addie was semi-nervous that night as she put on one of her favorite dresses for the dance. It was a pale pink and draped prettily on her frame. She’d put on light makeup and done her hair in long, smooth curls. A rap came at her door as she was sliding into her silver high heels.

“Coming,” she called.

She hurried to swing the door wide, excited to be on Malik’s arm this evening. There were some huge benefits to pretend-dating. If only it could be real. Swimming and laughing together in the ocean had felt real. When he touched her or smiled at her, it felt real. If only she dared ask if it felt real for him too.

“Ma …” She trailed off and put a hand to her throat. “Stuart?”

The American had a broad smile on his face. His gaze swept over her and his smile widened. “You are truly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Who knew princesses were prettier in real life than in the movies?” His voice was almost reverent, a direct contradiction to the gleam in his eye. It was more competitive than romantic. She got the sense that everything was a competition for this guy.

“Only the privileged few who’ve met a real princess,” she managed to sass.

He chuckled. “That’s why I like you.”

She smiled but didn’t quite know what to say. Malik would hate that he’d shown up at her door. “I am—”

“One of the privileged few who get escorted to dinner by a studly Army Ranger?” Stuart winked and extended his arm. He looked handsome in a dark blue suit with a pale blue tie, but he wasn’t Malik. No one could compare to Malik, and if Malik was right about Stuart, she should be very leery of being alone with him. But he wasn’t trying to shove her back into her room or anything; he was offering his elbow like a gentleman to escort her to dinner. An over-confident gentleman, but still. Her family and her cousins all had suites near hers and would be going to dinner as well, so any second now there’d be voices and footsteps and they wouldn’t be alone in the hall.

“Please.” His voice was low and smooth. “You’ll make this a perfect trip for me if I can escort the most beautiful princess in the world to the ball.”

Addie didn’t waste any more time hesitating. It was smarter to step out of her room and take his arm. Going to dinner would be safe. She had assumed that Malik would come for her, but they hadn’t made any plans. He’d been busy helping Bodi and Joe carry the lounge chairs back to storage when she’d returned to the castle with the other ladies to prepare for dinner.

She threaded her arm through Stuart’s and he grinned. They started down the hall and she heard footsteps coming the other way. That was good. She didn’t sense Stuart was a threat, but she didn’t want to be alone with him.

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