Chapter 290

When our lovemaking was done, Nicholas held me in his arms under the covers of the bed. Despite the bliss running through my veins, now that the deed was done, I also felt a wave of… guilt.

I didn’t know if Nicholas and Bridget were together. Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t. But I probably should have clarified that before I jumped into bed with him like some kind of thirsty harlot.

My moral compass seemed to fly out the window when it came to Nicholas. I’d pretty much do anything to keep him in my life.

“You’re quiet,” Nicholas said. He combed his fingers lazily through my hair as I laid, half-draped, over his chest.

“I was just thinking…” I began, but lost my nerve to say more.

“About what?” Nicholas prompted.

I should have known he wouldn’t let this go so easily. “About you…” I said. A pause. Then I added, “And Bridget.”

Nicholas sighed.

“She warned me that the two of you are together,” I said. I wasn’t able to stop the words, now that the dam had been broken. “She said it would be for the best if I stayed away from you.”

Nicholas’s hand stilled. It had just passed through my hair and was now sitting on the edge of my shoulder. “She said that to you?”

“Yes.” I lifted my head, to look him in the eye. “Was she telling the truth?”

“I haven’t made any decisions,” Nicholas said.

He held my gaze so I knew that was the truth, but I also could tell there was much more to the story than simply that. I waited patiently for him to continue. I wasn’t waiting long.

“My parents are convinced Bridget is the best choice for my Luna,” Nicholas said. “They are being very insistent. They even talking to Bridget about it, which is why she’s so confident.”

He sighed again, and this time it came out harsher. I could sense his frustration.

“So many people think they have a right to decide everything for me. It was bad enough when it was just my parents. But now to have Bridget in the mix? She is my friend. She always has been, but she is suddenly demanding more of me. She wants promises I’m not ready to make.”

Not ready, he said. That didn’t mean he was outright refusing her or outright refusing any of it. He just needed more time to think about it.

It wasn’t the dismissal of Bridget that I wanted, but… I always knew that Nicholas would choose the crown before anyone or anything else, including me. That he would need to think carefully was no shock. And that he wouldn’t want to immediately dismiss Bridget when she was such a promising candidate wasn’t shocking either.

It still stung, though. Somedays I half-wished Nicholas would throw it all aside and choose me over everything else, but that was an entirely selfish notion. And Nicholas was too good of a man to do that.

So, for now, I clung onto what I could of him, and tried to enjoy him for as long as I could have him.

Which led my thoughts to this trip.

“Nicholas,” I began.

“Hm?” That showed he was listening.

“What if, since we are on vacation, we… pretended to be different people?”

He considered the words a moment. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe what we both really need is a break. A break from worries and responsibilities. We’re on vacation. We don’t need to worry so much here. Why don’t we try being other people? People who aren’t a prince and a commoner.”

He laughed a little, and I knew I was winning him over.

“Who would we be?” he asked.

“Just two regular people on equal footing,” I said. “Without any cares. Two people who just want to drink boat drinks and watch the waves hit the sand.”

He smiled down at me, then leaned down to press that smile against my lips.

We kisses lightly, and he said, “I’d like that.”

Of course, we still had to be careful around the others. If Nicholas and I were suddenly all lovey dovey around Bridget or Jessica, the two might spread rumors and have more questions than we had answers to give.

But in private, in moments like this, we could just be a couple, enjoying each other and the beach.

This wouldn’t fix things between Nicholas and I. By now, our issues had piled high between us. The minute we returned to the palace, it would all likely topple back onto us.

But for now, we could pretend we were okay. And that would have to be enough.

One problem remained, however. “Uh. I still don’t have any clothes.”

There weren’t exactly stores on this small private island. With a runway, someone could run out, I guessed, but it was already getting pretty late.

“We’ll have something flown in,” Nicholas said. “But that doesn’t cover you for dinner tonight.” He hummed as he gazed across the room. “I have an idea.”

We both slowly rose from the bed. Nicholas crossed the room to his own dresser and removed a pair of loose-fitting linen pants and a thin white t-shirt. He held them out for me.

I blinked at him, and at the clothes in his hands. No way he could mean for me to wear this? His clothes?

He shook them as he held them out for me and I quickly realized that yeah, that was exactly what he wanted me to do with them.

“Uh, thanks,” I said. I snatched them from his hand and then hurried into the bathroom, realizing only after I closed the door how ridiculous that was. We’d both been naked as the day we were born. Why would I need privacy to put on clothes?

I didn’t know. It felt more intimate somehow, the fact that I was putting on his clothes for the first time. I kind of wanted to see how it would look before I showed it to him.

I kicked my legs into the pants. Fortunately it had a tie-waist so I could pull it tight until it fit me around the middle. But with Nicholas’s height, the leg length was far too long for me. Bending down I rolled the pant legs up and up and up. The roll was a bit bulky by the time my feet showed, but it was good in a pinch.

The shirt fit over my head well enough. It left the rest of me a bit shapeless, but the only person I really cared about seeing my shape was Nicholas. And he already was well-aware of what I looked like under this shirt.

I checked myself in the mirror. My hair was a mess from our lovemaking so I straightened it out as best I could without a comb. My toiletries, fortunately, weren’t harmed with the paint bomb, but they were still far away, downstairs in my luggage.

Once I felt I looked mildly presentable, I took a breath to prepare myself, and opened the bathroom door again.

Nicholas had changed too, and now wore khaki shorts and a stripped t-shirt of a similar style to the white one I wore.

“How did it… work…?” His question faded as he turned toward me. The minute his eyes landed on my body, they added heat.

I swallowed hard as his wandering gaze left fire on my skin. It was like he didn’t know where to stop looking.

Was this because I was wearing his clothes?

“Nick?”

“We might be late for dinner,” he said, and strode toward me.

I laughed until he kissed my breath away.