Page 54 of That Prince is Mine
“Three hours?” Michel croaked. “Why wasn’t I informed of this? If the king—”
“Michel.” Sophie spoke over him as Emma tried to remember whether Rouleme was a monarchy. “Perhaps you two should have this conversation in private.”
“What? This is private.” Gabriel sounded confused. “And like I said, this can’t wait.”
Emma sighed, shoulders drooping in disappointment. It didn’t sound like Michel’s guests were going to leave anytime soon. And she couldn’t hide out in the dining room forever, listening to what was meant to be a private conversation. So, after running her hands down her hair and making sure all her clothes were in order, she stepped out into the living room.
She cleared her throat to alert them to her presence. Michel spun around to face her as though he’d forgotten she was there. Not very flattering, considering where they’d left things, but he still wore a panicked expression. This Aunt Celine must be a force of nature to shake him up so much. Emma forgot about her frustration at the interruption. She wanted to pull him into her arms to ease his anxiety about whatever was happening.
“You know my mother will…” The tall, raven-haired man trailed off as his green eyes landed on Emma and widened. She stared right back. He was ridiculously attractive. “That is… she…”
Silence descended in the room as everyone collectively scratched their heads as though they had no idea what to make of her. Awkward.
“Hi, I’m Emma.” As she took an uncertain step toward the trio, the gorgeous newcomer blinked awake and a warm smile spread across his face.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.” He walked the rest of the way to her and held out his hand. “I’m Gabriel.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” Emma shook his hand, feeling a bit dazed by the brilliant flash of his white teeth and the piercing green of his eyes.
“He’s my cousin.” Michel came to stand beside her and planted a hand on her lower back. Gabriel noticed his possessive touch, and his grin broadened. With mischief glinting in his eyes, he held on to her hand a second longer than necessary until Michel continued in a clipped tone, “He’s also a professor at USC. He teaches philosophy.”
“Wait, you’re not… Are you Professor Gabriel Laurent?” Emma gaped at him. Michel shot her a surprised glance. “You’re the… Sphinx?”
“You know who I am?” His cousin’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“My friend Sarah Bae is your TA.” Maybe she shouldn’t have called him the Sphinx to his face, considering her friend was the source of that information. “She… she speaks very highly of you.”
“Is that so?” Gabriel said with a bemused twist of his lips.
“Uh-huh.” Emma nodded enthusiastically, hoping to smooth over her faux pas. “She said she was learning so much from you. Sarah loves being your TA.”
“Hmm.” The Sphinx didn’t seem sold.
“Don’t mind him. He isn’t all that petty,” Michel said in a stage whisper. “He just likes to speak in impossible riddles.”
“That will be all, wanker,” Gabriel retorted with an imperious wave of his hand. “Now, leave me in peace to get to know the lovely Miss Emma.”
Michel shook his head in feigned disgust, even as a smile tugged at his lips. An incredulous laugh huffed out of Emma. With their wry humor and irreverence, she could tell the two men would be trouble together. It was yet another side of Michel that she was discovering for the first time. She should probably be worried that she liked each new side of him better than the last, but she couldn’t stop the affection stealing into her heart.
“I’m surprised you have time to flirt, Gabriel.” Something sharp lined Sophie’s voice, and her poker face took on a hard edge. “I thought you had an urgent matter to discuss with the… with Michel.”
“It’s called avoidance.” Gabriel winked at Sophie, which made her narrow her eyes into slits. Emma had the good sense to be terrified, but his smile only grew wider. “Knowing my mother, she won’t be up for another hour. I’ll call her then and have a heart-to-heart with her. For now, I’d like to have a nice visit with Emma.”
“Thank you so much for the dessert, Sophie,” Emma blurted, desperate to disperse the tension in the room. “Speaking of which, why don’t we go have some now? There’s plenty for all of us.”
“I don’t want to intrude,” the other woman said stiffly.
“Come now, Sophie. What’s the harm in having dessert with us?” Gabriel’s voice was a velvety purr. “I promise I won’t bite.”
“No, you won’t”—her hands fisted at her sides—“because I’ll knock every one of your pretty teeth out if you do.”
Gabriel didn’t even flinch. “Are they?”
“Are they what?” Sophie spat.
“My teeth. Are they pretty?” He practically fluttered his eyelashes. Growling in disgust, Sophie spun on her heels to leave, but he caught her arm and said in an abruptly subdued voice, “Don’t leave. I’ll behave.”
Sophie looked poised to shake his hand off and walk away, but she heaved a deep breath and turned around instead. Not looking at Gabriel, she headed for the dining room and announced to no one in particular, “I’m staying for the crème brûlée.”
