The Royal's Obsession Read Online Free PDF Page B

from her as if he were suddenly embarrassed to be caught staring.
    “Look, there’s Apolo and Trinity. Let’s see what they’ve been up to.” His tone was completely serious and genuine, but there was something to it that made Anastasia wonder what was really going through his mind.
    Apolo and Trinity had found their own treasures, and the four of them made their way to a beautiful little tavern that didn’t look as if it had changed substantially over the last few hundred years. The wood was lovingly worn to a gorgeous polish, and from the rear wafted the scent of roasted meat. It made Anastasia’s mouth water.
    Their waiter was a narrow teenage boy with a wide grin and an easy manner. He flirted outrageously with Anastasia and Trinity, complimenting Apolo and Augustine on their great good taste.
    Apolo and Trinity took it in stride, but Augustine scowled.
    “He should keep his feet on the ground and his eyes away from women he doesn’t know,” he growled. “Not so long ago, he would be in a world of hurt if someone caught him talking like that about their wife or their sister.”
    “How lucky it is that he lives in this modern era,” said Trinity cheerfully. “I for one never grow tired of hearing how beautiful I am.”
    The food, when it came, was delicious. Lamb seasoned to perfection was served on a bed of greens with a pile of fresh-baked flat bread to one side. Anastasia had had Greek food before, of course; it was part of her legacy as a New Yorker. This was the first time she had had it so close to the source, however, and the revelation in taste was incredible.
    Anastasia knew that she would remember the meal for a very long time. The food was delicious, the company was dear to her, and once, just once, she caught Augustine glancing at her with a slight smile that warmed her from the bottom of her spirit.
    As she ate, she watched and listened to the easy play between Apolo and Trinity. Their story, once she heard it, was mind-boggling. Apolo had been signed up for a reality show, and rather than getting out of it and sacrificing more than he wanted to to the network, he had found himself a ready-made bride in Trinity, a struggling actress. From the lies that they told the press and the play-acting that had formed the start of their acquaintance had come something beautiful. When she looked at them now, she saw a couple deeply in love, where one person completed the other.
    “I wonder if I’ll ever have what you two have,” she remarked wistfully. “You are amazing together.”
    Trinity squeezed her friend’s hand gently.
    “Of course you will,” she said. “Love is a strange thing. It seems like it finds you when it finds you, and there will be no rushing it.”
    Apolo nodded his agreement.
    “It’s true. I wasn’t expecting love when I met Trinity. I wasn’t thinking about love at all. Then suddenly there she was, and it was dumped on my lap whether I wanted it or not. I chose to run with it, and after that, well, here we are.”
    Anastasia laughed a little. “That sounds amazing. I hope…that is, maybe someday something like that will happen to me.”
    “The odds are against it.”
    Anastasia felt as if she had been doused in cold water. Blinking with surprise, she turned to Augustine, who had finished his meal and was leaning back in his chair. He watched the rest of the table with a kind of sardonic humor, and suddenly she was reminded of the man who had shown her such scorn when she wandered into the solarium. This was not a man who cared about love or anything that went with it. He regarded her with a kind of amusement that made her feel as if she were about an inch tall.
    “What do you mean?” she couldn’t stop herself from asking. She knew that she should have laughed it off. Fashionable people did not talk about love and what they wanted in relationships in front of the public. However, she hadn’t thought that she was in public. She thought she was with her friends.
    He