Anelle’s winged eyes slid to Rhiane. Her red wavy hair cascaded past one shoulder, covering the corner of one eye, but not its intensity as Anelle sized up her rival. Back straight, chin held high, and eyes that judged every imperfection on the subject’s face and manners – the quintessence of a noblewoman’s stare was aimed at the farmer. In Anelle’s point of view, Rhiane was not even worthy to be in the same room as the crown prince. She was an impurity in their midst that they had to bear with until the tradition of their ancestors was satisfied. 

The contempt in her features, if it ever showed, vanished like a passing breeze. The pale-skinned noble’s face broke into a kind smile though she did step towards where Luke had built his workstation, then placed a hand casually on his shoulder. “Prince Alessandro arranged to squeeze in a few days visit to your hometown, Ms. Black. Did he forget to tell you?” Her fingertips ran the length of his arm, teasing, testing for any reaction.

“Anelle --”

The woman ignored him. “He does that sometimes,” she added as if implying that the prince was hers first, that she knew more about him that Rhiane. 

“Some other time,” Luke suggested, pulling his arm away from her touch while giving Rhiane a pointed look. The queen would have it otherwise, but it was not a secret how the crown prince ruthlessly toyed with women sometimes without regard as to how they felt. Anelle was one of those who he was rumored to date in the past. Those rumors were true. Luke and the Count’s daughter were together for a summer or was it fall, but just like every other dalliance he had in the past, it ended bitterly for the woman. 

Anelle straightened herself. If she was insulted by the coldness of Luke’s reaction, it did not show on her face. She even leaned her hip against the edge of his desk, watching her former lover shrug his broad shoulders when she suggested, “Perhaps over a bottle of wine?” A shrug was more than what she expected from Luke. His arrogance was on point and he often did not tolerate people wasting his time. That he did not blatantly ask her to quickly speak what had to be spoken and then leave kindled hope that she had a chance to get to his head and pants once again. Nevertheless, the woman did not push her luck at flirting. Before the prince lost his cool, she detailed the itinerary after they land. As always, there was no time to rest. 

The day was Rhiane’s as it was her hometown that would be featured. Anelle asked the farmer to write down highlights of her life and then pin it to a location they would visit – her childhood hiding place, where she used to play, her school, the best restaurant in town, the best bar in town, where she first fell in love, the farm, etc. Following the success of the previous day’s broadcast, the general public would be treated to get to know more about their princess elect. It was a chance to glimpse at her life before the title, the designer clothes, and her fiance. Of course, Anelle told the couple that they would film the first meeting of Luke and Rhiane’s family. When asked if he was even slightly nervous, he answered with a simple, “No” before returning to his work. 

As soon as she was done, though, Anelle wished the couple good luck, then left the room, but not without a meaningful look at the crown prince. 

Luke took advantage of the privacy and picked up a box on the desk. It was Rhiane’s communication device. The technology was similar to his and it should adjust its fit on her wrist. Because of the argument they had the day before, he forgot that the device existed until Tobias reminded him that morning before leaving the spa.

He sat beside her, guessing what was on her mind after her pointed statement at Anelle’s flirting. “You will not let me hear the end of it if I told you that I plan to visit your family.” She had implied that they were not in good terms, maybe not even in speaking terms, but paying them a visit was better than ordering the arrest of Sebastian and forcing him to speak. In his mind, keeping a little secret from her was a lesser evil than flexing his military authority right in front of her eyes. 

“Here.” Luke presented the black box to her, hoping it would distract her from Anelle and the sudden change of plans. “In case we get separated. It’s the same model as mine. It can connect to a lot of home and vehicle systems, except maybe the security override.” He looked thoughtful for a moment, unsure with what he said about the security override. “I’m on your top contact list. Call me if you find yourself in any kind of trouble.”