After Luke left his place, I fell back asleep for a little while longer. There was no rush for me to get out of bed when he was going to be at work for most of the day. I was no closer to writing a story about his family, especially when I was thousands of miles away from them. My initial research involved finding every article written about his family and him. I hadn’t left a stone unturned. Other than exposing this difficult time in Luke’s life with Erol’s illness, I had nothing that hadn’t already been reported on a hundred times.

While that should have bothered me, the silk sheets and comfortable mattress aided in me falling back asleep and forgetting all my worries.

When I woke again, it was an hour later. My stomach ached with hunger, and I reluctantly shoved the covers away and got out of bed. Wandering across the room to Luke’s walk-in closet, I stepped through the doorway, and the lights came on right away. Rows of suits hung on either side of me, along with a small collection of shiny leather shoes and several drawers of underwear and socks, neatly folded as if they were on display in a store.

While I didn’t care much for men’s clothing, in the back of my mind, I was searching for a woman’s touch. Our relationship had moved so quickly that neither of us had gotten into the nitty gritty of past relationships. I wasn’t blind to that fact that he must have had a girlfriend—or girlfriends—in his past.

After a thorough look, I didn’t see any hanging lingerie or perfume left from a previous relationship.

That made me perk up a bit.

I headed out into the central area of his place. The guest bedrooms—I counted three—were located down a small hallway off the open floorplan. Those were all boring and had no touch of Luke in them. They looked more like hotel rooms, with immaculately made beds and not a thing out of place. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see mints on the pillows.

It made me feel a little better to know that Luke didn’t have guests often, especially of the female variety.

I snapped a few selfies and sent them to Luke. I couldn’t help smiling at them as if I were looking at him and not a reflection of myself in the camera. Even in the short amount of time we were apart, I missed him terribly, but I wasn’t about to make him feel bad for leaving.

If it were up to him, he would have remained in Qatar with Erol. We were on borrowed time, and Luke didn’t need me to make him feel guilty.

Walking through the living room, I peered out at the spectacular view of the bridge in the distance. The unobstructed view of the city was breathtaking, and I wouldn’t mind waking up to it every morning.

Heading into the kitchen, tricked out with all the most expensive appliances, I made myself some coffee. Luke had different kinds on hand, enough for a post-coffee apocalypse. I picked the only one I recognized and set a filter into the machine before pouring the grounds. The act was so normal, but at the same time, so different. I was in a billionaire’s home, doing something as ordinary as making coffee.

Although to Luke, all of this was ordinary. I was getting a glimpse into how the “one percent” lived, and it wasn’t so different, other than having infinite money at your disposal.

After pouring a piping hot mug of coffee, I took it back to the living room and sat on one of the couches. While it looked pretty, it was quite stiff. I wasn’t sure if it was the style or if it went unused most of the time. I wondered if I could change that.

An erotic image of Luke and I making love on the couch with the view of the city behind us made my toes curl. I doubted he would have a problem with it if I suggested it.

I shivered and pushed the image out of my head. If I was going to experience it, I wanted Luke underneath me while I rode him to his climax.

Glancing at the mantle above the fireplace, Luke had stuffed it with shiny, expensive frames filled with photos of his family. I smiled. Even though he wanted to be as far away from them as he could, he brought them into his safe space and put them on display. He really cared about them.

My phone rang from the kitchen where it was charging, and I jumped up, nearly spilling my coffee on Luke’s expensive area rug.

I knew who was calling before I got to the phone. Matt had a specific ringtone. I had barely spoken to him through all of this, and I wanted to tell my best friend about my crazy adventures with my prince.

“Hey,” I said, picking up just before it went to voicemail.

“It’s nice to hear from you,” he said. “I was starting to get worried.”

“Sorry,” I said a little breathlessly. I had sprinted to get to the phone, and it was too much movement before finishing my coffee.

“Where are you now?” he asked. “I can’t keep track of you now that you’re a world traveler.”

“Be careful, or you might sound jealous.”

“Oh, I am,” Matt said, and I heard the smile in his voice.

“I’m in England,” I said. “At Luke’s place.”

“At Luke’s place,” he repeated. “How interesting.”

“Stop it,” I said, giggling. “You sound like a terrible reporter.”

“You would know,” he said.

“Ouch.”

He snorted and then burst out laughing. “Sophia, you know there’s this wonderful thing called the internet. You could have emailed me to tell me you were on a jaunt across the world again.”

“I know,” I said. I had only given Matt a few details when I left Dallas. I hadn’t been sure what to expect, so I didn’t want to get either of our hopes up. Then, once I saw Luke, thoughts of everyone else in my life disappeared. “I’m a terrible friend.”

“You can make up for it by telling me what the hell you’ve been up to,” he said.

Starting from the conversation with Mr. Fraser about me going to England, I told Matt everything. Well, not everything. I kept the erotic details out of the conversation. While Matt and I were close, he didn’t need to hear about my sexual encounters. Those were private between Luke and me.

“You’ve been on quite the adventure,” Matt said when I finished.

I glanced at my surroundings. “Yes, I have. Do you think I’m nuts for doing this? I like him.” I wasn’t about to say “love.” Matt would never let me hear the end of it. Besides, I wanted Luke to know before anyone else.

“You went there to do a story,” he said. “But it looks like you’ve already written it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You went to the UK and Qatar with a handsome prince who appears to be smitten with you,” he said. “Your personal love story is unfolding right in front of you. How can you not see it?”

“But I didn’t come here for that,” I said. “As much as I want to be with Luke, how can I keep my job at the Post too? I’m not the kind of girl who falls for her subject and then loses her job and my whole identity over a guy. What if it doesn’t work out? What will I have then?”

I hated to think like that, but Luke and my relationship was different from what I wanted for myself. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was going to become king, and where would that leave me? I couldn’t watch him marry someone else, someone who wanted to be queen and live for her people. Would I sit on the sidelines and watch the only man I ever truly loved be with someone else? I had no idea about being a queen, and it wasn’t fair for Luke to be with someone who wasn’t sure if she wanted the position to begin with.

“You can get a job anywhere,” Matt said. “Why do you want to jeopardize your happiness?”

“If I lose the job at the Post over this, I doubt I’ll be able to get a reporting job anywhere else.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re talented. Any outlet would be happy to have you.”

“I’d never get a recommendation,” I said. With Mr. Fraser’s clout in the business, I wouldn’t be able to get a mailroom job without his approval.

“That’s crap,” Matt said. “Any outlet would love to get the inside scoop on a competitor. Don’t let your boss bully you.”

“I suppose.”

“You suppose right.”

“What should I do about it now?” I asked, not wanting to entertain the idea of getting fired.

“Enjoy yourself,” Matt said.

I rolled my eyes. “That’s helpful.”

“When have you ever enjoyed yourself? You’ve worked like a dog for years, and you’re still not where you want to be. Then a prince comes along and sweeps you off your feet, and you’re debating the alternative? I thought you were a good reporter. It seems like you’re missing an opportunity for a good story.”

“What story? I can’t expose Luke to the media. He’ll never forgive me.”

“You’re story, dummy,” Matt teased. “Your life story. Here it is in a handsome package, with money and status to boot, and you’re about to throw it away for some job.”

“It’s not just a job; it’s my life.”

“And here is another part of your life, ready and waiting for you to accept it. True love is hard to find.”

“I never said I was in love,” I muttered.

“You didn’t have to, sweetie. I can hear it from thousands of miles away. Don’t be afraid of it. You’ll regret it later.”

I knew what regret felt like. I experienced it the first time I left England and Luke behind.

“I know it’s hard,” Matt said. “But looking at it from an outsider’s perspective, you’ve hit the lottery. Anyone would step into your shoes in a minute. Life’s too short to worry about the little things.”

I chewed on my lip. “But would I be giving up my dream just for a guy?” I was never that girl, but Luke made it easy to become her. I wasn’t materialistic or anything, but it was nice to rely on someone else for a change. The thought made my stomach churn, and it wasn’t just hunger.

“From the way you’ve described him, I think he likes that independent side of you. I’m sure he’d support you in whatever you wanted to do. Whether that was to become a queen or a superstar reporter.”

“I never said anything about being a queen.”

“I’m not an idiot, and neither are you. What if this goes further? His father can’t live forever.”

Little did Matt know that Luke’s father wasn’t going to live much longer. The decision was much closer than he realized. If Erol were healthy, Luke and I could see how our relationship developed without the pressure of him taking the throne. But we no longer had that luxury.

“Anyway,” he said. “It’s something to think about. You’re there, so take advantage. See where this takes you. And at the very least, if you do marry the guy, I’m sure Mr. Fraser’s threats won’t hold up against Luke’s connections. If there were any bad feelings, they would be buried under piles of money.”

“You seem to have this all figured out,” I said.

“I want to see you happy,” he said.

“Thanks.”

“Well, I’m off. I don’t want to take any more time away from your prince.”

We said our goodbyes and hung up. Matt left me with a lot to think about, though.

My phone rang again, but this time, there weren’t happy feelings attached to the particular ringtone. Mr. Fraser’s name came up on the screen. My finger hovered over the ANSWER button, but I couldn’t force myself to take the next step. Instead, I allowed it to ring until my voicemail answered for me.