The Prince's Matchmaker by Lacy Williams

Author:Lacy Williams [Williams, Lacy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lacy Williams Books LLC

* * *

Some time after Crystal's brothers left, Valentin found himself lying flat on his back on the floor, staring up at her ceiling. There was a plaster patch in one corner, he thought. At some point, there'd been a leak there.

She'd shooed him out of the kitchen when he'd volunteered to help clean up. So he'd come in here and now listened to her rattling around as she washed up. He just basked in the sunshine.

"Who is Harry?" he called out to her.

He'd overheard Michael murmur to her as the two men had been leaving the apartment. I like him much so much better than Harry.

And for some reason, he felt a burning need to know who Harry was. A friend? An ex-husband?

He heard the tinking of dishes. She didn't answer, and he wondered if maybe she hadn't heard.

And then she did answer, hesitatingly. "Harry was my ex-boyfriend."

"Ah." What was the twisty, uncomfortable feeling in his gut? It couldn't be jealousy. He had no claim on her. They were friends.

"Are you dating anyone now?" That was a friendly thing to ask, wasn't it?

More swishing. More clinking. "No. Things didn't... end well with Harry. It's made me a little gun shy."

Join the club.

"What happened?"

She didn't answer.

"Sorry. Too personal," he called out. Though he was dying to know.

There was a clatter as if she'd dumped a bunch of silverware into her dishwasher, and then the thing started with a soft hum and glug.

"It's okay. I've pried into your personal life, haven't I?"

He caught movement from the corner of his eye, as if she was moving around the kitchen now. Wiping down the counters, maybe.

She sighed. "He wanted me to be someone I'm not. His mom didn't like my job, thought I should go to university for something else. I thought he respected what I do, but... he wanted a society wife. And I'm definitely not that."

Her brothers had joked about it during breakfast. Had their quips hurt her feelings? Or was that just normal interplay within a functional family? He’d never questioned whether his mother loved him, but the crown demanded much of her time. There was not a lot of time for teasing or horseplay within the royal family.

So what if she didn't want to give up her job to meet the expectations of some jerk's mother? That made her independent. From what he'd gathered, she was helping fund her brothers' tuition. If she'd given up her matchmaking gig, who would've helped them?

"I'll get back out there eventually," she said. "I've just been... busy."

The truth or an excuse? He didn't know.

At least she was courageous enough to try again. Not like him. He was determined to stay out of the game. He'd agreed to give her four dates, but he didn't plan on falling in love.

No thanks.

She appeared in his field of vision, looking down at him. Time to go?

"Do you need me to leave?” he asked. “I can call Conrad." He made the offer but it was halfhearted.

"You can stay, your orneriness.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.