First time I saw your face
My heart just erased
All the guys I knew before
You walked into my life
I was the type to never want for nothing
Each and every day, I try to make some sense of this
What you mean to me, I know it could be serious
Each and every nite, I dream about just holding you
Loving you like this, what is a girl supposed to do
I love you
I want you
You’re the one that I live for
And I can’t take it any more
I love you
I need you
What can I do to make you see
You’re the only one for me
The secret was out, well at least between the two of them, their shared feelings finally exposed. Maybe staying would work out for her in the end. She had wanted to pull out and leave when she told Liam she would never be his, but he pleaded with her to stay, worried about the scandal that could erupt if one of the top suitors suddenly left in the middle of the social season. She promised to stay, it was hard—she fell hard for the head of his royal guard and had been counting down the days until she could finally leave with her heart intact—scared her feelings would never be reciprocated.
Now the social season was coming to a close, Liam would soon announce who would be his queen and she would be free to go home to New York. Did she still want to leave? Knowing he felt the same way, would she be able to leave Cordonia and go back to New York like none of it had ever happened? Would she be able to pretend she hadn’t left her heart in Cordonia?
If she was honest with herself she didn’t want to leave and go home anymore, she wanted to stay—with him. Only problem was no one knew, maybe that was her fault, waiting so long to let him in on the secret she hadn’t realized they shared. She felt like a fool for keeping her secret for so long, all the time they could have spent together wasted. If she stayed what excuse would she use to explain? Would he even want her to stay?
Harlow felt stupid for ever worrying about him feeling the same about her, but what if it wasn’t enough? What if while he had feelings for her it was temporary, just for the remainder of the social season? What if he never wanted to be with her past the social season? There she went with her fears once again, letting herself worry over something she wasn’t even sure she had to.
Harlow never felt quiet like this before, the feelings he incited in her. The intensity of her feelings both scared her and thrilled her all at once. She wanted nothing more than to be his, she was unsure how they could make it work, Liam had been afraid of a scandal before—wouldn’t this be worse? She couldn’t hurt him like that—yet she knew she needed to follow her heart.
Her heart, these weren’t simple feelings—that kiss, she could still feel his lips on hers when she closed her eyes. The way her body reacted, her skin lighting on fire from a few simple kisses becoming a vivid memory forever imprinted in her mind. Her body yearned for more, the memory of the kiss inciting wildly vivid dreams. Her body had been disappointed when he stopped her and left, her mind and heart falling deeper knowing he wanted to take her out.
The anticipation of their date kept her entire body on edge, she wasn’t sure what to expect—what could they do, where could they do that wouldn’t draw attention to them? Were they ready for everyone to know the reason she essentially pulled out of the social season? She stayed but no longer cared about winning each event.
The thought of what their date might lead to made her heart rate speed up and her breath catch in her throat. Her stomach was a bundle of nerves, it felt like it was filled with a million butterflies flapping their wings all at once. She stood before her mirror her brown hair falling around her face in beach waves, she took in a deep breath as she smoothed down the black lace top trying to calm her nerves. Just breathe, it’ll be fine. She tried to reassure herself, tried to settle her nerves, she wasn’t usually so nervous about a first date—but she never had feelings like these before either. She looked again at her appearance in the full length mirror, she tried to dress nice but not too dressy, black lace high necked top with a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, topped off with a pair of black flats. She checked her makeup, making sure she didn’t need to touch it up, she had gone with a smokey eye, and nude matte lipstick, naturally highlighting her cheekbones. She wanted to look effortless even if she felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest.
Harlow glanced at the time, grabbed her purse and headed out to meet Bastien by his car. She slowed when she saw him leaning against the dark SUV waiting for her. Her breath hitched when she took him in, he was dressed in dark wash jeans, and a crisp black button down shirt, his grey eyes shining brightly, his raven hair slicked back perfectly. She had never seen him in anything other than his grey royal guard suit, even after she’d backed out of the competition she’d only seen him in an official capacity. While he always looked good she thought this look suited him more.
Bastien pushed himself off the car when he spotted her coming towards him, his smile growing as she came closer. He felt his pulse quicken at the sight of her, she filled him with such happiness he’d never felt before. His stomach twisted in knots as he started to question the plans he had for their date.
A wide smile spread across Harlow’s face as she closed the distance between them as she greeted him with a smile. Her heart raced at their close proximity, stomach in knots once again, she mentally worked to calm herself.
“I thought maybe we could go back to my place and I could cook you dinner,” he started, obviously nervous, “I would—“
“That sounds perfect Bas.” She replied smiling, seeing him as nervous as she was helped put her at ease.
As he helped her in the car she couldn’t help but smile at how sweet his plan for their date was, something private and personal, where they wouldn’t have to worry about anyone spotting them. The short ride to Bastien’s home they slowly felt their nerves ebb away as they fell into an easy conversation.
They pulled up to a small two story Rustic home, nestled in a small wooded area off the beaten path. The mixture of wood and stone working perfectly together and seemed to suit him well. The inside of the home was minimalist while still being warm and comforting. His living room opened onto his kitchen, a nice plush couch facing a flatscreen tv. The kitchen was outfitted with all stainless steel appliances, plenty of workspace and a round table in the middle.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like so I thought I’d make a simple spaghetti.” He stated as he moved around the kitchen with ease.
“That sounds perfect. Do you need any help?” She asked smiling.
“You can open the wine.” He replied gesturing to the wine and corkscrew with his free hand.
Harlow went about opening the wine and they slipped back into an easy conversation. Before she knew it they were sitting down to eat. The delightful smells of homemade pasta sauce engulfing her senses. She took a bite and let out a satisfied hum as the flavors exploded over her tongue. “This is delicious.” She stated while twirling a second bite.
Conversation continued to flow easily throughout dinner. They cleared the table and moved to the couch.
Harlow who had felt at ease all through dinner, started to feel the butterflies fluttering in her stomach once again. She never felt so nervous with someone she liked before, but she knew this wasn’t like anything she felt before. Her heart raced, why can’t things just be easy? She longed for the ease they had developed back. She decided to let her nerves go and go for it. She leaned in pressing her lips to his. His hand came up to tangle in her hair as he kissed her back. She rested her hand against his chest as she deepened the kiss. Their tongues danced together, she felt heat pool in her core as electricity flowed through her veins. She moaned into the kiss shifting closer until their bodies were as close as possible.
A loud banging on the door broke them apart, Bastien let out a sigh as he got up to get the door. Harlow flopped back on the couch letting out an exasperated breath as she watched him walk to the door.
Bastien opened the door, “Drake, what are you doing here?” He asked, surprised to see the younger man at his door.
“They’ve been calling you know, where the hell have you been?” Drake questioned, his voice raised as he ran his hand through his chestnut locks.
“Drake,” Bastien stated in warning, reminding him he raised him. “It’s my night off my phone is on silent, why are you here?” He repeated his previous question.
“The king collapsed, they have to move up the coronation and they need the head of the royal guard to help do that.” Drake explained, clearly agitated. He looked past Bastien and spotted Harlow sitting on the couch, trying desperately to make it look less like they were caught in a heavy make out session. “Williams?” He asked clearly confused as to why she would be at Bastien’s.
Harlow felt her cheeks flush, tinging a deep pink. Her heart pounded in her chest, knowing there would be questions coming. She raised her hand in a small wave, “Hi Drake.”
