“There’s no need to apologize,” Luke stated as she took her seat across him. As for the prince, he had seated himself without waiting for his fiancée. The impatience of a man who was used to having his every whim handed over to him in a silver platter surfacing. At least, he was able to withhold himself from starting without her. “I did cancel the interview ahead of time, but the queen would not have it. Let her production bear the consequences.” Luke shrugged, freeing the garlicky aroma of his meal from its glass enclosure. His stomach yearned for the starchy carbohydrates in the strands of those linguini, while his taste buds craved for the taste of the creamy lobster meat.

However, her mention of their “impromptu date” made him tense. He instantly shot a warning glare at his fiancée. Surely, he was clear enough about keeping his secret getaway a secret. Should she mention even a hint of it during her interview – because after admitting that they were spending a hypothetical quality time with each other, the interviewer would surely be curious where a crown prince would take his fiancée on a romantic afternoon date – Luke would find it extremely difficult to even pretend to trust her. But it was already said, and the diligent image manager had already keyed in the contents of her apology to the broadcast host. He wanted to call-off the message on the account that neither him nor his future bride would issue an apology, but he believed in how the misleading imagery would work to their advantage. Specifically, less work for him. So long as she would keep his secret place to herself, they would be fine.

Therefore, he kept his lips sealed and instead attacked the soup, which was unfortunately a little cold for his liking. It was his stomach protesting that made him think twice about rejecting the bowls. Instead, he let the reminiscent of heat chase away the cold in his gut, while he watched Rhiane smiling as the aroma of her perfectly cooked meat wafted. There was something rather fascinating in observing a woman pleased with simple things such as a sandwich. Perhaps it was because of her having nothing to lose poverty thing that a box of cannoli and a sandwich was enough to earn a smile that came from deep within her soul, not at all the fake ones that she so easily tossed around.

Luke only realized that he was staring when she spoke up, and he dipped his spoon into the thick tomato soup just for the sake of doing something else. “We have to assume that she will not consider disabling it.” He took another sip, avoiding eye contact. The queen knew her first born enough to know that Luke would take the opportunity to fly away in the middle of the night and possibly get himself into another scandal. “It will be better, for now, if you will ask your belongings to be transferred to my room. I don’t think anybody will question it. I have asked for a change of clothes to be brought to your room as well. If you don’t mind I would like to shower befo--”

Luke lifted his eyes just in time to witness one of the most savage manner a woman had bitten into a sandwich. Granted that the women he had the pleasure of dining with were conscious about gaining weight and normally shy away from a monster of a sandwich, but Rhiane made him speechless. Unreasonable as it may seem, he felt a little bit proud and a little bit amused at how she had attacked her food. Cally would gasp, the queen would immediately require the princess elect to be tutored in proper dining etiquette, but Luke was glad to have dined with a woman who placed the food at higher regard than her poise.

“Goodness!” He faked a gasp, imitated his little sister, but the prince was smiling cheekily at her. “You must be really hungry.” By that time, they had the attention of the other occupants of the room, although perhaps they were trying to be discrete about it. Luke stabbed a chunk of lobster meat, then twirled the pasta around his fork. “Your name should have been Godzilla. I should have asked for two sandwiches, or an extra steak. Here, try this.” He brought the fork with the pasta close enough to her lips, but not too close for her to decline the offer should she want to. “If you like the taste, we can ask the kitchen for another serving after the interview.”

Without him noticing, the image manager’s mobile camera was pointed to their direction, freely snapping candid images of the couple to be sent to the interviewer for a juicier scoop.