Page 41 of That Prince is Mine
While Michel rounded the front of her car to get into the driver’s seat, she pulled up the directions on her cell. She rolled down the window and shared it with Sophie. With one last bemused look at Michel—which he studiously avoided—his bodyguard went to retrieve his car parked a few spaces away.
“Shall we?” he asked after adjusting the seat and the mirrors to fit his much taller frame.
“Sure.” She wasn’t anywhere close to sure. “I’ll be your navigator.”
Michel backed out of the parking spot in a smooth arc and maneuvered her car out into the street. She guided him through a few turns until they were headed in the right direction. He couldn’t seem to stop grinning. While he drove a bit on the fast side, it was with enough confidence that Emma soon relaxed her death grip on her armrest. If he wasn’t so well mannered, he would be sticking his head out the window and whooping up a storm.
“I hope you’re not regretting this.” He glanced at her, then quickly turned his gaze back to the road.
“Not at all.” Emma couldn’t stop smiling back at him. “You really are an excellent driver.”
“Thank you.” He reached for her hand and gently squeezed it. “We make a good team.”
“We do,” she murmured, squeezing his hand back. “Have you visited LA before?”
“Yes, on a few occasions.” He peered at the directions on her cell phone, which she’d stuck on the magnetic mount on her dashboard.
“We still have a few miles to go before our exit.” She hadn’t forgotten about her navigator duties. “Did you do much sightseeing when you were last here?”
“Unfortunately, no.” He shrugged. “I came here for… business, so there wasn’t much time for anything else.”
“I had a feeling that might be the case.” She snuck a peek at Michel’s profile but quickly turned away before she lost her train of thought. He was much too gorgeous for her to stare at him and talk at the same time. “Let’s do the LA version of ‘What haven’t you done before?’”
“As sad as it sounds, I don’t even know what I’ve been missing out on.” His low chuckle made goose bumps prickle across her arms. “Why don’t you tell me some of your favorite things to do in Los Angeles, and I’ll tell you whether I’ve done them or not.”
Michel looked at the rearview mirror and frowned. Emma turned to look outside the rear window and said, “She’s two cars behind us. Oh, she’s making a lane change… Damn, did she just cut that car off? And… she’s right behind us now.”
“That’s Sophie for you.” He shook his head but couldn’t keep the fond smile off his face.
Not for the first time, Emma noticed that their rapport didn’t seem purely professional. “You guys seem close.”
“We are,” he said. “We grew up together.”
She wasn’t exactly jealous. Emma felt… envious that Sophie had known Michel for so much longer than she had—so much longer than she would ever know him. She doggedly pushed the thought away.
“Okay. Back to things to do in LA.” She cleared her throat and adjusted her seat belt. “Have you ever been to the Griffith Observatory?”
“No, I haven’t,” he said without hesitation.
She tapped her chin with her index finger. “How about the Hollywood Bowl?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“No? Hmm. Let’s see.” She pursed her lips. This was almost too easy. She might have to bind the list into a book at this rate. “You must’ve been to the beach.”
“I’ve been to the French Riviera, which is known for their pristine beaches.” He paused. “But I haven’t actually been to the beach in the traditional sense.”
“What’s the traditional way to go to the beach?” Her eyebrows drew together.
“Probably to walk on the sand. Maybe even go in the water?”
“Wait.” She put her hand on his arm. “I was actually talking about LA beaches. Are you telling me you’ve never been to a single beach?”
“Like I said, not in the traditional sense.” He sounded aggravatingly nonchalant about never having experienced the joy of going to the beach. “I believe I’ve had drinks or perhaps even dined at beachside restaurants or residences.”
“There’s only one way to go to the beach,” she nearly shouted. “To actually go to the beach.”
“Then, no. I’ve never been.” He glanced at the navigation. “We get off at the next exit?”
