His steadfast gaze gave her strength, and the tension in her body gradually loosened. “Most men wouldn’t be able to…”
“But you are not in love with any of those men, Spencer.”
Oh.
“You are in love with me, and I am not the type to let the past dictate my present.” It was the truth, but it was also a lie.
“If I…if I…” She swallowed hard, finding it difficult to speak. “Let’s say I did want to pretend it never happened, and that I never want to talk about it. If I just wanted to completely forget—”
“Do you?”
“W-Will you?”
“If it is what you wanted.” He held her gaze then, asking quietly, “Is it?”
Spencer slowly nodded.
“Then it will be as you wish. From here on, I am the only lover you had, and you will never think about any other man except me.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Good morning, Ms. de Vries.” Anderson paused. “Forgive me, miss. I meant, good afternoon.”
“Very, very funny.” Since the man was sharp as a tack, his “mistake” was definitely a dig at the very shameful fact that she had woken up at half past noon.
“Your breakfast—” Anderson paused again. “My apologies, miss. I meant lunch—” The little growl the mademoiselle emitted had the butler permitting himself a smile. While he had always enjoyed working for the prince, it was indubitably more enjoyable these days, with how easy it was to rile up the little miss.
“It’s not a crime to sleep late.”
“Of course, miss.”
“Etienne was the one who insisted I take the day off—” But she was the one who had said yes, Spencer thought guiltily, and now, everyone at the office probably thought she was the type to take advantage of the fact she was dating the boss.
“I’m screwed,” she said out loud. “Aren’t I?”
“I’m sorry, miss. It is not my business to comment on other people’s screwing—”
“Anderson!”
The butler decided it was high time to change the subject. “May I take you to the dining room, miss? The chef has taken great pains to prepare all your favorites.”
Despite Spencer’s protests and grumbling, Anderson refused to let her eat in the kitchen like she used to do and went as far as insisting on pulling her chair out for her.
“Overkill,” she grumbled under her breath.
Anderson pretended not to hear this, saying, “The master left this for you, miss.”
Spencer didn’t know whether to laugh or groan out loud when Anderson actually served Etienne’s note to her on a silver tray rather than just handing it to her. It was moments like this that made her occasionally want to pinch herself, just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming and all of this was real.
Etienne’s bold handwriting had her lips curving as she unfolded his note, but her pleasure quickly gave way to embarrassment as she read his message.
Just as you foresaw, last night had immensely positive results, but unfortunately, this also meant losing the luxury of being next to you when you wake up. I will be out in a meeting with Caros all day, and as I doubt I’ll be able to keep my hands off you tonight, I suggest you rest while I’m gone.
P.S. I would like to visit your grandmother with you one of these days. Let me know when it is most convenient for you both.
P.P.S. If you are uninclined to rest, you might want to do a Google news search on your name to keep yourself entertained.
A Google news search? That didn’t sound good at all, and Spencer tried to prepare herself for the worst as she typed her name in the search box. A moment later, and the first page of results loaded in her screen, and she choked.
Oh my God.
There were photos and videos of her pole-dancing, and even of Etienne lifting her up in his arms and kissing her. But the worst thing were the headlines that came with them, most of which were complete fabrications. One tabloid claimed she was a hooker in the past; another tabloid painted her as a former drug addict. And those were the nicest ones at that.
She called her grandmother right away, worried about how her grandmother would take the news of her sudden shot to infamy, but the moment Maura came to the phone, she realized she had become anxious for nothing.
“I told you, didn’t I?” the older woman said smugly. “The first time I saw you together, I told you that he finds you attractive. Remember?”
Spencer didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. “Gran…”
“He called me, you know.”
Spencer shot up in her seat. “What?”
“Just this morning,” Maura confirmed. “He wanted to assure me that he was serious about you, and that he hopes to come visit as soon as possible.”
“Oh.”
“Is that really all you can say?” Maura asked dryly. “You may be my flesh and blood, but I’m not blind, my dear. He could have any woman in this world—”