The moment Alicia left the ball, Ailine must have sensed the issue and chased after her because it wasn't even a minute later that the two were standing face to face in the middle of the gardens.
"Go enjoy the party, Ailine."
"But..."
"Please? I'm just tired. I'll meet you out in the limo, okay?"
It took several attempts to convince Ailine to return to the party, but she had reluctantly left in the end, leaving Alicia to wander the gardens carrying her shoes and her purse. The fan Ailine had given her earlier dangled from her wrist by a small string as she wandered through the gardens, taking in the dimly lit flowers and statues. Finally she stopped to sit on a bench shielded from the palace by a tall hedge. The light dusting of water coming off the nearby fountain stung her skin where it landed, but she allowed her head to fall back and closed her eyes. This wasn't what was supposed to happen.
Her fingers ached as she slid her frozen feet back into her shoes. The limousine would offer far fewer distractions than the gardens, but the weather would not allow her any other choices. I'm not going back into the palace, she reasoned with herself, though it would definitely be warm.
She reluctantly shuffled her way down the winding path until she found Ailine's driver and slid into the backseat of the car. With a bottle of water and her phone as company, she tried to occupy herself with phone games to keep her mind off everything. But her mind had no intention of doing as it was told.
The bubbles popped as she matched them together on her phone game, and the door to the limousine flung open as if a tornado had selectively picked up only the door. Alicia found herself huddled in the back corner of the limousine, hoping she wouldn't be snatched off with the door.
"Alicia!" Ailine whisper-shouted as she barrelled into the backseat and landed in Alicia's lap. "You and... he... and then you... I cannot believe this," she panted between the words, pushing up off Alicia's lap and sitting down, fanning herself. "You... AH!"
"I what, Ailine? Are you okay?" Alicia searched the back of the vehicle for a water bottle to give Ailine. "What happened?"
"You have to come with me!" Ailine reached for Alicia's hand. "Put your mask back on and come with me. Just hurry, please!"
"Okay, okay," Alicia relented, knowing that fighting with Ailine when she was like this would be futile. "Ailine, you'd better not be dragging me back there just because you want me to try the dessert or something." Alicia secured the ties of her mask behind her head as she followed her friend across the ground and onto a small stone path.
"I swear I'm... Oh, hello," she said with an exaggerated curtsey as they rounded the corner.
Alicia stopped dead in her tracks. There was no mistaking the piercing brown eyes of the man standing before her. And Ailine had curtseyed. Oh no. I cannot be right. I just can't.
Alicia forced herself into a curtsey, despite the fact that everything in her wanted to turn and run.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," he said, slightly out of breath. "Could we maybe talk?"
A short, barking laugh escaped Alicia's mouth despite herself. There is no way this is for real. Maybe Ailine set it up? But one look at Ailine said that was impossible. Her friend's face was simultaneously serious and giddy.
So there it was.
The man she had somehow found herself drawn to. The one she had danced with. The first person to make her want to give romance a try. Standing before her in the dimly lit courtyard, offering his hand. The man whose words and face wouldn't leave her thoughts.
And also the Crown Prince of the entire country.
Do I run? That would be rude. Maybe I'll stay and then I could... what, exactly? I wasn't supposed to find someone here. And I certainly wasn't supposed to fall for the prince! This is just... impossible.
He interrupted her thoughts. "Please." His small whisper was an explosion in that quiet garden. "Please, give me a chance. That's all I ask."
A chance to what?
Without thinking, Alicia nodded and placed her hand in his. "Okay," she croaked. "Okay. That sounds fair." The nerves bundled in her stomach and her lungs struggled to find air as she followed him down a path toward the nearest wall. Keep it together. You can figure this out.
"This is not how I want to do this," he said, running his hand through his hair. "And please know that I want you to take your time and think about things. This whole ball thing and the rules make it, well, hard to do things how I'd like but—"
"It can't be easy getting to know someone in one night," Alicia allowed her eyes to meet his and a small smile slipped onto her face. She almost forgot it was hard to breathe. "I imagine you have people who will check us all out with background checks or something."
"I don't," he admitted. "But my mother probably does, if I'm being honest."
"Mothers, right? Royal or not, they're the same everywhere." They finally stopped walking and sat down on a wooden bench tucked into an alcove. "So how does this work, then? The part after you leave your own ball to chase me down?"
"I'm hoping — really hoping — that you'll be willing to give me a chance to get to know you. I know it's all really fast and everything about tonight is rushed and exciting and I want to respect that for you. I want to give you time to get to know me, but my hands are kinda tied."
"By which you mean?"
"After much groveling and debate, my mother has allowed me a week to decide instead of a day."
"A week" she whispered.
"I know." He inched toward her ever so slightly and held out his hand for her to take. His eyes seemed in earnest and Alicia hesitated but slowly raised her hand to rest in his.
He released a small breath and smiled. "I know it isn't long and I don't want you to promise me how it will end. I'm just asking if you'd be willing to spend some time getting to know me. Letting me know you."
"And if I decide it's not for me?" Alicia tried to keep the fear behind her eyes, but it was spilling out loud as the dam broke.
"Then you leave as you are with nothing but my gratitude and admiration. I'm sure my mother has many backup plans lined up after this evening."
"And if you should decide I'm not for you?" Who am I? I don't let out these thoughts. Something about the mask.
"Impossible," he breathed, kissing the back of her hand.
Alicia knew it was anything but impossible, so she raised her eyebrow and frowned.
He sighed as her hand fell away. "I genuinely can't see it happening. But if it does, I suppose you'll have spent a week getting to know me and can sell a nice tell-all book after my coronation."
It didn't really fix her worry, but something about the way he said it made her laugh.
"And what happens after that week?" she asked, her hand absently floating to play with a curl that touched her neck.
"Can we talk about that then?" There was an intensity in his eyes that drew her in. Something about this night is too much to handle. She shook her head and took a small step toward him.
"Yes, we can talk about it then. But there is the slight problem of my job."
"Your job?"
Oh, poor child, do you not know what those are? "Yes. The way I get money and pay to live."
"I know what a job is! I just wonder how your job will be a problem."
He's serious, isn't he? The band began an upbeat song from inside the ballroom and as it grew louder, it floated across the breeze and swirled around Alicia's gown.
"I won't have a lot of time to spend with you, and a week isn't very long. Is it even worth it?"
"Yes," he said without hesitation. "Yes."
Alicia weighed the options. He had a good point about the tell-all book. That could set them up for life. Plus, the food at the palace was really good. And it was only a week. What could go wrong?
As soon as she thought it, she knew she shouldn't have, but she answered him. "All right then."
"How do I find you?" he asked as Alicia turned to leave. "I don't even know your name."
But I know yours.
"It's Alicia," she said. "And I suppose you could call."
Before she had time to search for a scrap of paper from her clutch, Alejandro was standing next to her with a small book he'd pulled out of his breast pocket and a pen that looked like it was worth an entire year of her income.
She flipped a few pages and found them empty. Stopping on the fourth page, she swirled her own name in cursive on the top and wrote her number neatly beneath. "That's a very empty book for someone who's supposed to find a wife in a week," she said when she handed it back.
"Not empty anymore," he commented. "I'll call you."
But Alicia had heard that before.