A Muse Her

Chapter 29

It was late afternoon by the time they finally got out of bed and emerged from Maia's home to spend what was left of the day in the city. They ate a decadent dinner at Maia's favorite fondue restaurant, Het Karbeel, and now they were strolling down a street of row houses and boutiques with displays of handmade crafts and art pieces.

Mateo looked down at Maia's bouncy curls framing her face and the smile tugging at her mauve lacquered lips. He brought her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss against her skin. "You look beautiful."

Maia giggled, looking up at him with her eyes full of amusement. "Are you going to say that every time I put clothes and a bit of makeup on, now?"

"Yes." He grinned, leaning down to her ear. "But I prefer saying it when you're naked."

"Yes, I know," she said, curling her arm around his. "That's why it took us so long to leave the house, ya fiend."

Mateo raised an eyebrow. "That wasn't all me and you know it."

"Shut up," she said, laughing as she nudged his side. "It was mostly you."

"Mm-hm, whatever makes you feel better," he murmured. "And where are you taking me now, liefje?"

"We're going to a show and Demetri's leaving party at the art gallery where I used to work."

"That sounds nice. So, I get to meet more of your friends?"

"Yes," she said, smiling up at him. "You said you wanted to see my world."

"I do and you said it wasn't so different from mine, but your secret room is the only evidence I've seen of that."

Her smile grew brighter. "That's because, unlike you, I've reigned in my public escapades years ago. Now I mostly keep them confined to my room and my friends respect that about me."

"That's good." He nodded. "They sound like mine, but just in case, should I warn Willem that we might be caught in a scandal tonight?"

"No, there'll be no scandals tonight. Demetri doesn't stand for that shit at his parties," she said, shaking her head. "He's got a reputation to keep intact too. The most scandalous thing we'll do is be late getting on the plane tomorrow."

"Ah," Mateo said, tugging his phone from his pocket. "Our guards are used to that, but I'll keep them on alert anyway."

"Yeah, it's always better to be safe than sorry."

"Too right, liefje," he said, sending a message to Willem before he tucked his phone back in his pocket and grinned. "I'm excited to see your world, mijn prinses."

And Maia's world was filled with an eccentric mix of free spirited creatives who were happy to welcome him into their group without a care for his royal status or his smutty past. They were just overjoyed that Maia was happy and she'd finally moved on from Sven.

Everyone except for her friend, Noa, who was skeptical about their engagement and wasn't shy about making her feelings known. Mateo stood by the bar in the private lounge above the art gallery below and eyed Maia and the tall, pixie haired brunette speaking in hushed heated tones in the corner of the room.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Demetri said, sliding up next to him with a drink in hand. "This is a pretty mild party, but I didn't want it to be too extra before we left in the morning and I'm so glad you and Maia came."

"Yeah, I'm glad to be here. You're an interesting bunch," Mateo said, keeping his eyes on Maia and Noa. "But should I be worried about them? Maia's never mentioned Noa and it doesn't look like that conversation is about anything good."