67.4
He leans in close to me and puts his finger under my chin, tilting my head up to meet his. “I love you, you know,” he says. “And I’m going to love the hell out of you as long as you’ll let me.”
“That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” I say, with a laugh. I hear a whoop behind us, but everyone fades into a blur as Kev brings his lips down hard on mine. He kisses me like it’s been forever since he last touched me, even though it’s only been days, and I feel myself melting against him.
Like he’s where I belong.
Because that’s the truth. I belong with him.
When he pulls away, he grabs one side of the box as it starts to fall. “Don’t lose that, luv,” he says. “Wouldn’t want the press getting that photo.”
“I can’t believe I’m in love with someone who brings this as a grand gesture,” I say, my hand firmly on the lid of the box.
“And you thought princes were classy,” he says.
“I was misled by the fairy tales.”
“Are we going to stand here all night watching the two of you talk?” Alex shouts.
So Kev kisses me again, his arm wrapping around my lower back and pulling me tightly against him as I try to balance the box in one hand, nearly failing. I push him away, laughing.
“Are you scared?” Kev whispers. “Everyone is watching us, you know.”
“Terrified,” I say, as he grabs my hand.
That’s only partly true. I’m terrified and excited and content, all at the same time.
“That’s that prince,” I hear a woman call through the crowd. “And his stepsister!”
His hand on mine, he turns with me to face the restaurant. “I apologize for interrupting everyone’s dinner,” he says, squeezing my hand. “But I hope that picking up your dinner tabs will make up for the inconvenience.”
Several guys in the back of the restaurant hold up their beers and whoop loudly, before the room erupts in applause. Camera flashes go off, and I can see some diners holding up their phones to record. Normally, all of the attention would make me want to crawl into a hole and hide, but right now, I’m practically floating on a cloud.
Kev holds up his hand, and the room goes quiet. “I just ask for one more minute of your time,” he says. “You may or may not know who I am –“
“Yeah, you’re that fucking prince,” an obviously drunk man in the restaurant yells, and Kev chuckles.
“That’s me,” he says, amid laughter from the crowd. “That fucking prince, in some circles. I’ve been in the news recently. Well, we’ve been in the headlines, recently, Isabel and I. We’ve caused quite a scandal.”
Now, the room goes quiet, everyone’s attention on Kev.
“And I have something to say about that scandal,” he says. “This is Isabel. You might not know her, because she’s not the attention whore that I’ve been. In fact, for the last two years, she hasn’t even been on this continent. But I hope that she’ll let the public get to know her, in the future. She’s brilliant, and funny, and the kindest person I’ve ever met. And for some bizarre reason, she likes me.”
“Loves you,” I correct.
“She loves me,” Kev says. “And I married her. In the United States. We got married in Las Vegas the night we met.”
“By an Elvis impersonator,” I add, laughing.
“By Elvis,” Kev says. “And we were…well, let’s just say there were a lot of tequila shots involved.”
“A lot,” I say.
“And then she ran away,” he says, looking at me. “And I thought I’d never see her again. I shouldn’t have seen her again. Except I did – because, as it turned out, Isabel was – is -- the daughter of my father’s fiancé.”
A few people in the crowd murmur, but I ignore the chatter, listening to Kev tell the thoroughly fucked up story of how we met.
This is our fucked up fairy tale.
And it’s fucking perfect.
“Scandalous, I know,” Kev says, holding up his hand again. “At least, that’s what the tabloid magazines would have you believe. But I think that you love who you love. And when you find love, you hold onto it and you don’t let it go. And this is the woman I love. I have no intention of letting her go, no matter what the cost.”
Then he turns to me, bringing his lips down on mine softly, and even though it’s the gentlest kiss, it takes my breath away. When he pulls away, the crowd bursts into thunderous applause.
“Ever heard the fairy tale about the princess and her stepbrother?” I whisper.
Kev laughs. “We’ll write our own fucking fairy tale, luv.”
