Once Tess locked herself inside the museum’s powder room, she began pacing and ranting.

“Who does HE think he is?” She spoke to her reflection in the mirror. “What does HE know about me? I am a perfectly likable, sweet, funny, smart, caring, and endearing person. The prince would be lucky to find someone like me… Not his type… Ugh!”

Tess felt herself shaking with fury that Sebastian had made it sound like the mere idea of the prince falling for her was completely preposterous. It wasn’t that outlandish. It could happen, she reminded herself silently. Just because it hadn’t happened, didn’t mean that it was out of the realm of possibility.

“Not his type,” she blustered as she whirled on her heel to stalk across the small restroom again. “I am exactly the type of lady that deserves a prince.” Even though she refused to admit it aloud, she silently added that Mo was the one who wasn’t fit to be royalty.

Immediately feeling guilty about her wayward and mean thought, Tess justified it in her mind… Mo would be the first one to admit that she was unrefined and loud. She would never imagine herself with a prince. It wasn’t even something she wanted.

Pausing in her movement, Tess realized that is what hurt the most about this entire scenario. Having dreamed of marrying a prince since she was little, it was an extra bitter pill to swallow that the eligible bachelor prince they met in person chose Mo to dance with––even though Mo couldn’t have cared less about his social status.

It was entirely possibly that Mo’s lack of interest in his royal bloodline was exactly what had attracted him to her. Tess briefly considered pretending like she too was unimpressed by his station, but it was already too late for that.

The sharp rap on the door startled her out of her ruminating. “Just a moment,” she promised as she moved to the sink to splash chilly water on her arms. She decided that the literal attempt to cool off had worked to some degree as she used a towel to dab her arms dry.

Emerging from the bathroom, she was surprised to see Sebastian standing on the other side of the door. “Stalking me now?” she asked him in a snarky tone.

“Just making sure you’re okay. You were in there a while.” His smile was genuine and kind.

“I got overheated and needed to cool off,” she answered his unasked question, even as she wondered if he had heard her seething to the empty room while she was in there.

If he had heard her, he gave no indication. “Perhaps we should step outside for some fresh air,” he suggested.

Tess weighed her options. She didn’t really want to spend any additional time with the brutally honest steward. More than that, though, she didn’t want to go back to the ballroom to watch Mo dance with her prince. The decision was easy. Tess nodded before leading the way out to the balcony.

She could feel the heat from Sebastian’s hand on the small of her back as they walked outside. For some reason, she seemed to be hyper-aware of his touch. Although she didn’t care to admit it, the contact felt rather pleasant. When they reached the railing overlooking the museum steps, he dropped his hand, and she immediately missed its radiating warmth.

Without even realizing she did it, Tess shivered. Proving himself to be a gentleman, despite his annoying words to the contrary earlier, Sebastian removed his jacket and curved it around her shoulders.

Just when Tess was starting to think he might not be so bad after all, Sebastian said, “You seem jealous that Prince Pierce chose your friend over you.”

Tess winced at the harshness of his words. Even though she knew that was precisely the case, hearing it proclaimed so blatantly stung. “He doesn’t know me,” she bit back.

“Are you insinuating that once he gets to know you, he will decide he likes you, rather than your friend?” Sebastian looked utterly amused. Not waiting for her answer, he went on, “Because I can assure you that won’t happen.”

Deciding that this man was a little too honest––bordering on rude––for her liking, Tess said, “I should go get Mo because it’s getting late. We need to head home.”

“She’s having the time of her life,” Sebastian said. “You would ruin that for her?”

When he put it that way, Tess felt like a heel. Not wanting him to think she was a total jerk, she defended her previous statement. “You don’t know that she’s having fun. In fact, she probably isn’t. Mo doesn’t like going to fancy functions. I practically had to drag her here. She’s probably anxious for me to come rescue her.” Tess knew that last bit was taking it a bit far, but she felt desperate to prove that she had Mo’s best interest at heart.

Sebastian’s rich brown eyes sparkled with amusement. “You think so?” he asked as he took Tess’s hand and led her to the window.

When Tess looked inside, it didn’t take long to find Mo and the prince. They had taken a break from dancing, but were now sitting close together, chatting, and gazing at each other as if they were the only two people in the room.

“Well, of course, she has to pretend to be engrossed in their conversation… He IS a prince.” Tess didn’t know why she was still defending her theory that Mo didn’t care for the prince, when it was obvious that she actually liked him very much.

“Mo doesn’t strike me as the type of person to be disingenuous about anything––especially not something that important,” Sebastian weighed in.

Tess couldn’t explain the instant flare of jealousy. Did Sebastian like Mo too? Had they slipped into some alternate universe where every man was attracted to Mo?

Overwhelming guilt immediately followed the flash of envy. It wasn’t at all ridiculous to think that two men might be interested in Mo. She was a wonderful, funny, kind, and lovable person. Tess was simply used to most men gravitating towards her. This new pecking order where Mo was the hot commodity was going to take some getting used to. She certainly didn’t begrudge her friend the attention. She simply was unfamiliar with being second choice––or, more accurately––not chosen at all.

Swallowing her pride, Tess turned to Sebastian and said, “You’re right. Mo is honest, loyal, and an all-around amazing human being. I’m sorry the prince is ruining your shot with her. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Tess had already turned away and taken a step towards the doors to go back inside when Sebastian reached out and took her elbow to stop her. “Hold up a second, please.”

When Tess turned, she couldn’t keep the hope at bay that he was going to set the record straight and say he was actually interested in her, not Mo. Even though she knew it was by all rights Mo’s turn to have suitors chasing after her, Tess didn’t like being the odd woman out.

“Yes?” she asked as she turned back to face him. Her voice had taken on a mysterious husky quality that she hoped sounded sexy, not congested.

She was delighted to discover when Sebastian smiled down at her that he had an adorable dimple on his left cheek that she hadn’t noticed earlier. It made him look even more handsome. Her eyelashes fluttered at him of their own accord as she gave him her best flirty smile in return.

“Umm… my jacket?” Sebastian said, completely deflating her high hopes.

Tess yanked the suit coat off her shoulders and tossed it at him, hitting him square in the chest. With a frustrated huff of annoyance, she turned and flounced back inside the museum. As the door slowly closed behind her, she was almost certain that she heard him chuckling in amusement.