Page 5 of Tabloid Princess

I shut the door behind me but couldn’t turn to face the room.

Were there rules against hurling in front of the future king?

“You okay there?”

God, his voice. I shivered down to my toes. Having a voice like that was illegal and honestly dangerous. I mean what if you had to operate heavy machinery in front of him and cut your leg off because you lost focus?

“Yes.” I cringed at my formal response. I needed to pull myself together. If I fucked this up, we might lose our royal patron—the royal patron who had only just remembered we existed.

This helped sober me up and I turned towards the desk where he was standing. His face was beautifully still, a portrait in perfection—apart from the twitching of his lips at the corner.

“Don’t laugh at me.”

He chuckled which instantly made my back straighten. “I’m not. Sorry, it’s just.” He waved a large hand towards me, slender and long fingers dancing in my direction. “You look like I’m going to bite.”

“Well, do you?” I forced a smile which felt borderline hysterical.

“Generally, not on first meetings.” His warm and delectable voice did something funny to my insides, but it was the flashing smile that all but stopped my heart.

This is a dream, I chanted in my head. I’m going to wake up now.

I didn’t though. It just kept on coming.

He reached past me and pulled out a chair, waiting with an expectant expression for me to sit.

“Uh. Thanks. That’s very chivalrous of you.” Please stop talking.

“One day I’ll be king, it’s bad form to not be chivalrous.”

I nodded slowly, no words forming in my brain.

“Also, someone will tell the papers and the next thing I’ll be ‘Oliver the Arsehole Prince’, again.”

More nodding. I was officially mute.

He waited for me to respond, his long fingers linking together. When he realised it wasn’t going to happen, he slouched back in his seat and beamed me the widest grin I’d ever seen. “So, Leia.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” There was no way to say that without sounding like a twat.

“Oliver, please.”

“Yes,” I squeaked.

“So, I’ve been talking to Janine, discussing ways we can maybe try to push the visibility of the charity up to the next level. You do good work here; it’s a surprise no one knows more about it.”

My lips pursed together while I evaluated his casual pose. “Can I ask why you are here?”

“I’m sorry?” He sat a little straighter.

“Why are you here? How long have you been the patron of this charity and why is this the first time you’ve ‘stopped by’ to visit?” My fingers did the air quote thing, but I ignored it as best I could.

A small frown chiselled its way along his forehead. “I don’t normally get questioned when I turn up at places.”

“So, this is a thing you do often?”

His green eyes landed on my face, and he looked for all the world like he was trying to read me but didn’t understand the language. “I try.”

I nodded but it was obvious I wasn’t buying it.