Courting Royal

Chapter Twelve

After I've very carefully made my way down the two flights of stairs from my apartment to the ground floor, I take a deep breath before opening the door.

Outside, there's a sleek black limo and Thad is standing by the back door wearing a tux.

"Wow," he says. "You look fantastic."

"You look very nice yourself," I say. "Different tux from the last gala?"

He laughs and says, "No, it's the same. But I assure you, it has been dry cleaned."

I smile and he says, "Shall we?"

"Let's do this."

He opens the door and I do my best to gracefully get into the backseat, then try to arrange myself in a way that won't wrinkle my dress. That is definitely something I'll need to work on. How Emilia does it seamlessly every time, I'll never know.

Once we're both in and settled, the driver heads away from my apartment, toward Manhattan.

"How've you been?" Thad asks, as he grabs a bottle of Champagne and two flutes. Because this is the type of limo that has Champagne.

"Crazy," I say.

"I can imagine," Thad says, pouring a glass and handing it to me. "That article you wrote about the UN gala was everywhere."

I can't help but smile at that. "Yeah, I was a bit shocked by how viral it went. My editor told me it was their most read lifestyle article of the week, which is nuts."

"I'm guessing it's translated to your website as well?"

"I've definitely seen a significant boost."

"That's really great," he says. "Congrats."

"Thank you," I say. "How are things with your company since going public?"

"At first it was really insane, in a good way, but things have calmed down a bit since then. Which is nice because it means I can actually do work instead of being interviewed or photographed for business and tech magazines."

I give him a look and he says, "I know, I know, tough life. But I actually really enjoy working and I love the tech products my company makes."

"Sounds like you're living your best life, then."

"Cheers to that," he says, raising his glass. I do the same and we clink before both taking a drink of the bubbly.

"So," I say. "Do you actually enjoy ballet, or just going because of your board member?"

"I must confess I am not well-versed in ballet," he says. "I remember seeing the Nutcracker with my family as a kid, but that's probably the only professional performance I've ever seen."

I nod and he says, "What about you? Big ballet enthusiast?"

"I wouldn't call myself an enthusiast, but I quite like ballet. I'm excited for the gala."

"I've heard they're debuting a piece from a new choreographer tonight," Thad says in a gossipy tone.

"Oh, are they?" I ask, playing along.

He shrugs and says, "It's what my board member told me. I honestly have no idea."

"That's alright," I say.

As we cross the bridge into the city, I can't help but lean forward to look at the skyline looming over us. Though I've lived here for years now, seeing the Manhattan skyline is something I don't think will ever not give me goosebumps.