Aisha and the Prince of Wales

Chapter VIII: A Brazilian Footballer and a Birthday Invite

A week had gone by since the date, and Aisha found herself thinking of Nick more often than she'd like to admit.

She was determined not to get all starry-eyed and silly. It was just one date. He'd probably dated loads of people.

So Aisha threw herself into her work with gusto, being her most charming self with her fabulously wealthy and influential customers, using her skills of tact and her dazzling smile to give them the best customer experience.

Nick had texted her goodnight after she had entered her building on the night of their date, and she had replied with a polite 'thank you.' They had texted on and off during the following week, mainly reacting to each other's statuses on WhatsApp, but nothing that hinted at a second date any time soon.

To be honest, Aisha was a little disappointed. Some tiny, romantic part of her had been hoping he would ask her out again, and they would have a fabulous time once more. She didn't dare think as far as dating exclusively- she didn't want to get her hopes up, only to have them rudely dashed.

Natalie and Rose had demanded a blow-by-blow account of the date, and had oohed and aahed at Aisha's description of Nick's flat. The pair of them were already spinning fantasies, all of which involved Aisha walking into Westminster Abbey in a flowing white dress with a long train.

Aisha laughed them off, and tried to squash the little part of her that always jumped when she received a text, hoping it was Nick.

That afternoon, she was busy with a new client- a world-famous Brazilian footballer, who was visiting London for a brand endorsement.

To say the man was eligible was an understatement.

Tall, ripped, and tanned, he oozed masculinity. His muscular, sports-honed body drew the eye of every passing woman, and some men, too. He had blond highlights in his brown hair, which was gelled to perfection. His crooked smile flashed regularly across the tabloids, and adorned the bedroom wall of many a teenage girl. He was also rumoured to be newly single.

And yet, Aisha felt zero attraction towards him.

It probably had something to do with how he had practically drenched himself in cologne, and how he flashed a smile and a wink at every woman who turned to look at him, even dour-faced Colette. The fellow seemed cocky, and was therefore of no interest to Aisha.

She preferred her men to be classy, sophisticated, subtle in their charm, like

Her phone buzzed. It was Nick.

"Hello?" asked Aisha nonchalantly, as if she hadn't looked at the caller ID. She normally didn't take calls in the middle of an appointment, but since it was Nick...

"Hello, Aisha," came his warm, yet somehow seductive voice at the end of the line, making goosebumps erupt over her skin, as if she were talking to her first crush in school.

"Oh, hi," she said casually, "What's up?"

"I hope I'm not interrupting something important?" he asked, ever the courteous royal.

"Oh, no," she said, selecting some shirts and handing them over to the footballer, "Just work, as usual."

Her client sauntered over to the floor-length mirror, and held one of the shirts up to his chest.

"You selected well, Aisha," he said appreciatively in heavily accented English, "I will look good in this. But between us, don't you think I look better shirtless?"

There was a beat of stunned silence at the end of the phone.

"Who did you say your client was, again?" asked Nick, his polite tone having a slight edge to it.

Aisha swallowed her laugh as she gave her client a thumbs up, indicating that he could try on the shirts, if he wished.

As he disappeared into the changing room, she said, "That was Samuel Mendes. The Brazilian footballer."

"Ah, I see," was all Nick said, but there was something clipped about his tone.

There was a pause.

"So, how come you called?" asked Aisha.

"I wanted to ask if you'd be my date to my sister's birthday get-together," said Nick, his tone still slightly guarded.

"Oh!" said Aisha, her eyes wide. From a casual first date at his flat to what was likely to be a super high-profile event for the second, she needed a moment to recalibrate.

"Yes, I would love to," she said, wondering what she was getting herself into.