âI know when a man has kissed me,â
she said to Duke Prescott. But Princess Meredith Elizabeth Penwyck wasnât sure. Not at all. For all she knew, she might have imagined that returned pressure of his lips. That sense that he was kissing her back, feeling some semblance of the madness that had stricken her. Imagination? Wishful thinking?
His head lowered an inch and she barely kept herself from taking an unthinkable step away from him. âWhen I do kiss you, Your Royal Highness, I assure you that youâll know it.â
She locked her knees to keep them from wobbling. âWhen?â
âIf.â
âItâs not like you to retreat, Colonel. Or misspeak.â
âOf course.â His expression was once again frustratingly inscrutable. âGood morning, then, Your Royal Highness.â
Meredith watched him leave.
When he kissed her?
If only.
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âI am going to dance with him.â Meredithâs voice was soft, but filled with certainty. She smoothed her hands down the sides of her ball gown. It was the first time sheâd been allowed to wear a strapless gown, and the pale, shimmering green fabric clung to her seventeen-year-old curves.
Her sister Anastasia made a skeptical noise beside her. âThen go ask him,â she goaded with the tormenting disgust of a sister three years younger. âIf you are so certain.â
âBe quiet, Ana,â hushed Megan, often the voice of reason between her focused, intelligent older sister and her passionately opinionated younger sister. âMeredith, you have every male in this place under thirty years of age practically desperate to dance with you. Iâm sure that Lieutenant Prescott feels the same.â
âHeâs old enough to be her father. And he is on duty,â Anastasia reminded them sarcastically. âRemember?â
âThe guards are allowed breaks,â Megan countered soothingly.
âFrankly, I canât imagine what the appeal is,â Anastasia muttered.
âKeep your voice down, Ana,â Meredith warned softly. âOr perhaps youâd like your comments to be printed in tomorrowâs papers.â And the Lieutenant is seven years older than I am, she added silently with a mental, So there.
âExactly,â Megan murmured. âThe three sisters of Penwyck. Meredith the horny, Megan the boring and Ana the loudmouth.â
All three of them giggled, which they quickly curtailed when their mother sent them a long, telling look. They were supposed to be listening with dignified grace to their father while he gave his annual welcome to the Royal Spring Ball, not whispering and giggling. Even the boys, Owen and Dylan, despite being only twelve, were behaving more appropriately than the girls.
Meredith leaned over to Megan, who was a few inches shorter. âYouâre not boring, idiot, and you know it.â
âBut you do want to dance with Lieutenant Prescott,â Megan replied, her pretty green eyes laughing. âIs he the one who is going to give you your first kiss?â
Meredith felt her cheeks flush and looked guiltily toward the uniformed officer standing at attention near the open terrace doors.
He wore his formal army uniform, all gleaming black and gold buttons. The black beret with the gold trim set upon his head at a serious angle only added to his appeal, as far as Meredith was concerned. His chestnut-colored hair was cut militarily short, yet her fingertips still tingled from fantasizing about the feel of it. She easily imagined the steady weight of his gaze, even though she didnât have a clue where exactly he was looking. The distance from where she stood with her family on the dais at the head of the grand ballroom to where he stood at attention near one of the sets of doors opening onto the starlit terrace was too great.
Silvery-green, she thought with a little sigh. Whether she could see them up close now or not, she knew exactly the shade of his silvery-green eyes. Almost exactly the shade of her gown. âHe already did kiss me,â she murmured, and then laughed soundlessly at Meganâs gasp. âWhen I was ten, remember? The school did a summer project to rehabilitate that old mill up in the Aronleigh Mountains. His mother coordinated it through her school. I slammed my thumb with a hammer, and he kissed it better.â Of course, heâd done that with a great amount of sarcasm because sheâd been very much on her royal high horse, but at this moment, she chose to ignore that.