Using her spike of annoyance as fuel, Tess barged up to the table where Mo and the prince were canoodling. “Are you ready to go?” she asked the woman without preamble.

“What?... Go?...” Mo gave her a wide-eyed stare, obviously caught off-guard by her friend’s abruptness.

“Yes. I’m ready to leave. Are you?” Tess clarified, since Mo seemed to be lost in moony-eyed oblivion.

“Oh, umm, okay,” Mo looked crestfallen.

“Don’t leave yet. Please.” The prince pleaded with Mo.

Seeming torn about what to do, Mo looked up at Tess, who was hovering over them. “Maybe you could take the car, and I’ll grab a cab later,” she offered a compromise.

“Tess isn’t driving.” Sebastian’s voice startled Tess. She hadn’t realized that he had walked up behind her. “She’s had too much to drink,” he revealed to the others, making Tess’s cheeks flare red-hot with embarrassment.

“Oh, then no, you can’t drive,” Mo stared up at Tess, daring her to object. The two of them had always agreed to keep each other from driving under the influence.

Knowing that she had promised her best friend that she would never put herself in danger by driving drunk, Tess lamented. “I’ll grab a taxi. You stay here and have fun, then drive yourself home later in the car.” She wanted to make it clear that she expected Mo to leave alone, rather than joining the prince for a one-night stand that she would surely regret the next day.

“Fair enough,” Mo agreed, with a shy smile up at her friend.

Tess had never seen Mo be bashful about anything. She feared that her friend might be falling into insta-love with the prince, who would likely not return her feelings. The last thing she wanted was to see her friend get hurt by a cocky royal, but she wasn’t sure what she could do at this point to stop it.

After digging in her tiny, sparkly evening bag, Tess retrieved the car keys and tossed them to Mo. “Be safe,” she told her friend. She hoped that Mo understood she meant both physically and emotionally safe. Mo had never had a truly strong connection with a man, so Tess worried that the prince could easily break the woman’s heart.

“Will do,” Mo responded flippantly, and Tess knew that she hadn’t caught the deeper meaning of her words.

When the two of them stared up at her from their chairs, Tess didn’t see a viable alternative other than to leave. With a wave, she whirled around and slammed into Sebastian. She hadn’t realized he was standing so closely behind her.

“Oomph.” They were both startled by the collision, but Sebastian reacted quickly and grabbed Tess’s arm to steady her. Stunned, they stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment.

Breaking the spell, Tess snapped, “I didn’t know you were lurking right behind me.”

Ignoring her snippiness, Sebastian smoothly tucked her arm within his and led her out of the ballroom with their elbows locked together.

Even that formal connection felt marvelous, which made Tess nervous. Yanking her arm away a little too harshly, she said, “What is this the 1950s?”

She hated the tone of her voice, as well as the mean sentiment, but she couldn’t seem to control her outbursts toward Sebastian. Seeking an excuse for her ill-mannered behavior, she decided that she must be a mean drunk. That was perfectly fine with her because she didn’t like the floating dizzy feeling she was currently experiencing.

Seeming unaffected by her prickliness, Sebastian casually slung an arm around her shoulders as they walked outside. It was a good thing she didn’t brush him off this time because she stumbled on the first step outside the museum. He deftly caught her, securing her tightly against his body and keeping her from tumbling down the flight of concrete steps.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, silently admitting that it was a good thing he was there.

Taking advantage of the moment, Sebastian used his free hand to lift her chin. “Anytime,” he shined a dazzling smile down at her.

Tess refused to be charmed, but it was difficult to ignore the racing heartbeat and sweaty palms that accompanied being this near him. Pulling back from him, she chose instead to steady herself with the elaborately detailed, wrought iron stair railing.

Unwilling to be deterred, Sebastian remained by her side as Tess descended the steps. She assumed that he wanted to see her safely to the street, so the prince’s evening with Mo wouldn’t be disturbed by a visit to the hospital to check on her tipsy friend after a fall down the steps.

When they finally reached the street level, Tess craned her neck to look for a cab. Instead, Sebastian led her to a waiting limo.

“What do you think you’re doing? I’m not going home with you!” Tess was appalled that he would be willing to take advantage of her when she was inebriated. She might not be in her right mind, but she was still aware enough to know that she wasn’t spending the night with the prince’s lackey, whom she had just met.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to touch you tonight.” Sebastian had the gall to laugh as if the mere idea of it was ridiculous.

White-hot anger flared within Tess. It wasn’t that outrageous of an assumption. Most men would be happy to take advantage of her weak moment. It took a beat for the fact that he had said ‘tonight’ to dawn on her. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, that word intrigued her. She couldn’t help but latch on to it and wonder if he planned to touch her at a later date.

In a snit, she ignored that curiosity and said instead, “You got that right.”

The fact that he looked amused by her attitude only served to escalate her irritation.

“I would like to see you safely home in our car, if you’ll allow it. You have my word––as a gentleman––that I will not make a move on you,” Sebastian said.

Sincerity rang true in his voice and in the open, disarming gaze he gave her. She found it odd that he referred to the prince’s limo as ‘our car.’ Her guess was that the prince wouldn’t approve of his word choice.

She steadfastly refused to acknowledge the surge of disappointment that coursed through her when he promised not to make a move on her. Deciding that the alcohol in her system must be making her brain go haywire, she said, “Fine” and climbed into the back of the plush and shiny black limo.

With a mischievous glint in her eyes as she settled into the seat, she wondered if she might be able to get Sebastian to break his promise.