Page 414 of Bad Prince
My brows go up.
“I’m sorry, do I need committee approval now?”
“Yes,” she says. “Apparently you do. And romance. That girl deserves all the romance.”
Leo is grinning openly now.
“She has a point.”
“Traitor.”
“I’m being objective.”
Jade shakes her head and keeps going.
“You can’t make this feel like the prize is finally getting her physically,” she says. “Not first. Not after everything. She has to feel chosen, Tristan. In public. On purpose. Like you actually understand what was broken.”
That shuts me up. Even Leo stops smiling.
Jade softens her tone just a little. “You bring it back to the start,” she says. “You make it romantic before you make it anything else.”
I look at her.
“To the start how?”
She tips her head.
“That dance this weekend.”
My mind goes still.
I know exactly which one she means.
It takes me right back before I want it to—dim lights, music, Stella in that dress, too young and too beautiful and looking at me like I was something worth risking herself for.
I say nothing.
Leo sees it click.
“There it is,” he says.
Jade leans in.
“You take her to the dance. You show up. You ask her right. You remind her this isn’t just about finally getting to touch her. It’s about choosing her where people can see it.”
I look over at the dark hotel window.
The idea blooms fast.
Too fast.
Because the second it forms, it feels right.
Then practicality slams into it.
“She’s in playoffs,” I say. “I’ve got practice, film, travel. My season’s live. Her schedule’s insane. Mine is too.”
Leo waves a hand like scheduling is for civilians.
