Page 78 of Royally Matched
How can a woman as stunningly beautiful as Sofia not appreciate how hot and sexy she is, with her womanly curves, long thick hair that falls softly across her shoulders, and the most deliciously pillowy lips?
I know I appreciate every inch of her. And if she were mine, I would tell her to eat whatever she wants, every day of her life, whatever it take to make sure she’s happy.
Although I would like it to be me who’s the main source of her happiness.
The waitress arrives slapping the check on the table, punctuating our moment. It’s just as well. As much as I feel for her, as much as I like her, as much as I want her, she and I are not to be.
We leave our surly waitress an embarrassingly large tip and head back to the car.
“Would you like to drive?” she asks.
I widen my eyes at her. “Seriously?” She nods, holding the keys out. “You have made my day!” I reach for the keys, but she snatches them back.
“You do have your driver’s license, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. Why would you think I wouldn’t?”
“Because you’ve been off having grand adventures around the world all these years. I wasn’t sure you had found the time.”
“I got my license along with my friends in high school, so you don’t need to worry.”
Her features relax and she holds out the keys for me once more.
Once in the driver’s seat, I turn to her and say, “Just checking that left is the accelerator and right is the brake.”
Her eyes widen to the size of the car’s wheels before my smile gives away that I’m only teasing.
“You’re a comedian. But if you drive us off themotorway and into some ditch, I promise I will never speak to you again.”
“I’ll be sure to avoid all ditches. You have my word.” I turn the ignition and instantly the car begins to purr. I can’t resist pumping the accelerator a few times, and as I do so I waggle my eyebrows at her to the rhythm of the revs.
“You’re making me nervous,” she says, but she doesn’t look nervous. In fact, she looks… happy. Happy, relaxed, enjoying her day out with me, well fed and brimming with enthusiasm. It’s a side to her I don’t think anyone knew existed, least of all me, but it’s a side I’m finding impossible not to fall for more and more each day.
Without overthinking it, I turn to her and place my hand on her bare forearm, ready to tell her how much I’m enjoying myself with her. Her skin is soft and warm beneath my touch, and it sets my heart beating faster.
She looks at me in surprise, her body instantly tensing.
I snatch my hand away. “I… err… sorry.”
She swallows hard, her throat moving visibly as she clasps her hands in her lap, looking straight ahead. “It’s fine.”
“It won’t happen again. You have my word,” I say.
“Thank you,” she murmurs, her body as rigid as a marble statue in the Royal Ledonian Museum.
I clear my throat, not sure what to say next. I mean, her message to me was as clear as a summer’s day. As much as I enjoy her company, as often as I may find myself thinking about her, wanting to be with her, knowing how much she has come to mean to me, she doesn’t feel the same.
And why would she, anyway? I’m not her Mr. Perfect-on-Paper, the man with the most checked boxes on her spreadsheet. There’s no way she would ever consider aman like me. Maybe for a flirtation, a fun adventure to a village in the mountains. But for someone she could be serious about? Someone she could love?
I reverse the car out of the parking space and set a course for Monteluce.
I can never be that man for a woman like Princess Sofia, a woman out of my league. And as much as I enjoy being with her, as much as my heart tells me how much I want her to be mine, I know she never can be.
Chapter 21
Sofia
All I can say is thank goodness Marco drives as well as he teases me. His competence behind the wheel has allowed my shoulders to drop from the tension I was holding when he first pulled the car out of the parking lot, and now that we’ve been whizzing along the motorway for some time, I lean back in my seat and concentrate on admiring the natural beauty around us.