The setting sun colored the horizon with an orange hue. Kristin turned off her car engine and stared into the clouds. Beautiful. As if anything was possible. Her gaze lowered from the sky to the black-tarred parking lot with yellow lines separating the many cars. Reality.

This was her normal life. If she said yes today she’d probably have a driver and wear designer clothes that would never touch the simple polyester that gave her skirt a little shine at the bottom of the black. And she wasn’t sure how a crown might feel on top of her head.

She parked and then went into her three-story apartment building that spread over a half-acre of concrete.

Green grass and trees were found a block away in a tiny park she sometimes walked around. Just like all the important things in her life, it was little and tucked away somewhere. Despite their issues with each other, her parents had loved her and provided for her until they died.

After getting her master’s degree, she’d moved to the city in search of a better life. But here everything was too crowded and made her existence seem even more isolated than the old farm.

She craved a change. Kristin walked into her corner building and passed her neighbor, Greg, the thirty-four-year-old scuba diver and accountant, who waved at her.

She nodded and ran up the stairs to the third floor, hoping Renee wouldn’t be mad that she was late.

The clank of dishes in the kitchen greeted her as she went inside. Renee called out, "Where were you? The later we order, the longer it takes for the pizza to arrive."

Kristin put her pocketbook on the lamp table by the door and kicked off her borrowed heels, then went to the counter where Renee was making a salad. "I had my job interview with the Royal Prince Antonio Aussa from Avce this afternoon."

Renee’s dark brown eyebrows arched with that quizzical expression she must give her students daily. I know there is more. It was how she cocked her eyebrow that made her expressive face so distinctive. "That was at three. You're late."

Kristin began to feel normal as she nodded. "I was driving around aimlessly."

Renee's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Kristin stiffened and hugged her waist to ease herself into believing Antonio Aussa was real and that the contract in her pocketbook was proof.

If she explained this, Renee would push her to say yes to Antonio. She’d say she was being silly for hesitating, but Kristin wouldn’t mention the contract or the lack of love promised. Her parents had been living proof that marrying based on feelings never lasted anyhow.

Maybe her father was wrong and that for once she shouldn’t be practical. Right. Perhaps she needed the push. She met her friend's stare. "Because he asked me to marry him."

Renee dropped the salad tongs into the huge blue plastic bowl she’d tossed romaine in. "Shut the door."

Kristin turned her head toward the front door. "I did."

“Slang. You have got to enter the 21^st century.” Renee reached out and took her hand. Kristin let her body relax. Renee's teasing reminded her why they were best friends. "Seriously? He asked you to marry him?"

"Yes." She couldn't quite meet Renee’s gaze. The contract wasn't part of this discussion. Her friend didn't need to know that part of it. No one should.

“I saw your application for secretary…did he take one look at you and fall in love?”

Kristin shook her head fast. “Not love. That doesn’t happen and never lasts anyhow.”

“That’s cynical and untrue—love can last a lifetime, but that’s for another day.” Renee squeezed her hands. "So what did you say?"

She tugged her arms free, but she kept her head down. "I needed time to think. Part of me was so mesmerized by him that I almost said yes, but my parents warned me all my life that work and security would bring me happiness. Marrying a prince I just met isn’t exactly practical.”

Renee laughed and said, "If a prince with billions of dollars knocked on my door and asked me to marry him, I'd say yes."

Right. Judgments weren't part of their friendship. She went to her pocketbook, dug out her phone and used the restaurant's app to order her usual pizza. "Just like that?"

"Absolutely." Renee picked up the salad tongs again.

The pizza would arrive in half an hour. Perfect. Kristin left her phone on the counter in the kitchen and went to the cabinet to get cups and plates. "No. No you wouldn't. You'd see through the BS, and wonder if there were any cameras taping you."

Renee walked out of the kitchen and put the salad bowl in the middle of the dining room table. "Oh, were you bamboozled in some awful prank I'll get to see on TV?"

"No." She followed her out with the plates, centering each on a placemat. "He asked me, for real. I just feel like I was being played, like maybe I’m missing something."

Renee leaned against the table and crossed her arms. "Why does he want to marry you? Did you ask that?"

"Yes." She went to the wine cooler. "He listed off my resume and personal information. It seemed like I would benefit from the deal. I should have insisted that a secretary application wasn’t a prescription for finding a wife. I feel so foolish now."

"Pour some wine for both of us and we'll talk all about how you should be a princess." Renee immediately held the two glasses as Kristin popped the cork. “And I can be a princess’s best friend.”

Once she was done pouring, she brought the bottle to the table. "Yeah, I've not been anyone's princess since my father walked out on my mother when I was eight. When he returned home six months later, neither one of them were ever happy. They never really conversed again. You have no idea what it’s like to grow up knowing your parents hate each other while they sit right next to you and speak through you."

Renee handed her a glass of wine and sipped her own. "Well, that was depressing. So let's lighten up, and you can tell me if he's as hot in real life as he is in your photos."

Kristin took a small drink and sat, her elbow on the table. "Renee, he's hotter. TV and photos...I don't know...make him somehow blander. He's sexy in such a raw powerful way that I was shaken up. I wasn’t kidding—I almost said yes to his marriage proposal on the spot."

Renee held her glass near her face but hadn't sipped. "What exactly made you say ‘you’d think about it?’"

Kristin gulped what was left in her glass. She’d applied for a secretarial position because it would pay off her debts and allow her to travel while getting out of the boring rut she was in. Marriage to a man that made her blood sizzle, while he insisted they couldn’t feel love, ever, was a different proposition. The money was tempting, but his kiss was more. Raw hunger for him raged through her still. Once she swallowed her wine she nodded. "Self-preservation kicked in."

"What are you talking about?" Renee asked.

The kiss earlier had been off the charts and the mesmerizing personality and good looks were part of the unbelievable person that claimed her lips in a tasty scoop of yumminess that didn't compare to anything, not even her favorite chardonnay—so how could she explain it? She lifted her chin. "Despite how attractive he is, I want love to be at least part of why I get married."

Renee scoffed. "Then marry Greg in our building. He's clearly in love with you, if that's what you want."

The blond, blue-eyed Russian immigrant was cute in a puppy dog fashion, but her heart never stirred at his smile. She reached for the bottle and topped off the wine glasses because the pizza would be here soon. "No, I'm not into him at all."

Just then the doorbell rang. She put the glass down. "That’s the pizza!" Where was her purse? "Can you get the door while I go find my pocketbook for the tip?"

She raced into the kitchen where she had left the phone and sure enough her pocketbook was there. Her heart stopped racing and she opened her wallet.

A moment later, she walked out with her debit card in hand and stared into the brown eyes with the green specks of Prince Antonio.

"You didn't tell me that the prince was..." Renee said.

"What?" Kristin vaguely heard her friend's voice, but she was mesmerized, again. Antonio was real and he was in her apartment.

"...coming." Renee finished and the last word was clear.

Electric bulbs sparked on at the same time in her chest. She couldn't move, so she averted her gaze in hopes to regain her sanity. "Your Highness, what are you doing here?"

He stepped closer to her and it felt like her body might melt. "Kristin, I hope I'm not intruding."

Renee's voice interrupted, "I'll give you a few minutes and head to my room."

Kristin understood she should tell her friend not to go because without Renee here, she'd be completely under the spell of Antonio. "No. Wait."

But she was too late. Renee’s bedroom door clicked closed. Her pulse zipped just because she was alone with him. She licked her lips and stared at his mouth. Earlier his kiss had been out of this world. She lowered her lashes. "Your Highness..."

"Antonio." He took another step closer.

All she had to do was reach out and she could feel the strength of his arm, his jaw. Her fingers ached to do what she wanted, but she instead held her elbow under her chest. "I don't feel comfortable calling you by your first name."

He traced his finger down her arm. "I thought all Americans liked calling everyone by their first names."

She glanced up at his strong, chiseled chin. "Not you. You're a prince."

His voice was deep and the vibration of his tone dug into her skin. "I wasn't always a prince."

Nothing about them was alike. She had read all about him months ago when she’d applied for the secretarial job and then every so often because he was fun to read about. To dream about. "Growing up exiled with all your family's money in a secure Swiss bank account and attending various prestigious British institutions is not exactly roughing it."

Her parents had expected her to make her own mac and cheese from the box when she’d come home from school. He’d probably never eaten anything out of a box.

His lips tightened as if he was surprised at how she surmised his childhood. He massaged her shoulders. "Are you upset about something?"

No. Yes. She swallowed. What bothered her was how much she wanted to take him to her bedroom. She was never this wanton, but she kept that thought to herself. She glanced at him and pretended her body didn't hum. "I thought you were going to give me twenty-four hours and that we'd meet tomorrow."

"I couldn't wait that long." His deep voice was a mere whisper.

In her mind she imagined shutting the door to her room and slowly disrobing, one article of clothes at a time. Would he like that? Would he do the same? She lowered her lashes. "I don't think we should..."

"My father is ill. I have to get back to Avce right away."

Oh, he wasn’t thinking about seduction at all. A cold shower every three minutes near him might remind her to be herself. She ignored the zips and zaps that coursed through her and squeezed his hand. "I understand. I'm sorry."

He placed her hand on his heart. "I was hoping you might accompany me. I'll give you a tour, take you to my favorite restaurant to get dinner. Show you my country."

"Can I come?" Renee's voice echoed through the apartment.

She hadn't heard her best friend open the door.

Neither of them moved, but Kristin called over his shoulder. "Renee, I thought you were giving us some privacy?"

Renee’s voice came down the hall, then she peeked into the kitchen and pointed to the counter. "I was looking for my headphones."

Ohh. Antonio dropped her hand from his heart and her skin ached to touch him again. She tugged on her ear and neck, wishing she’d worn her mother’s necklace today. The gold locket reminded her that she wasn’t alone.

Renee walked into the foyer area and grabbed her bag. "Your Highness, my friend Kristin gets scared of good things happening in her life. Her parents taught her to always look for security first. It robs her of spontaneity sometimes."

Wait. What? Kristin blinked. "No I don't."

Antonio stroked his chin. "Kristin, if it would make you happy, you and your friend, Renee, are welcome to join me in my private jet."

Renee nodded her head at her behind Antonio's shoulder, but left it up to her. She shifted from one bare foot to the other. If she saw his palace and enjoyed it there, would she ever want to leave? She was in danger of ignoring the “love” portion of that contract in her bag. She gazed at him again and her heart whispered to try. "Okay. Can we get ten minutes to pack?"

Antonio stepped back so he could speak to both of them. "Sure, but remember the royal palace has everything you might possibly need."

Renee gave the thumbs up sign. "I'll be back in ten. I've never ridden in a private jet to Europe."

At least her best friend had been to Europe. Kristin hadn't ever left the southern portion of the United States.

Renee ran down the hall and out of view, and again she heard the door click. Antonio's presence overwhelmed her and she instantly fell under his spell. He reached over and touched her. "Kristin?" She looked up as he wrapped his arms around her. "I wanted to know if that kiss earlier today was my imagination playing tricks with me."

"Me too," she managed to say. Then his lips claimed hers and she felt like she was being lifted into heaven itself. The world faded away. Antonio could actually be hers because right now the only thought that floated in her mind was that she was his. Her heart had already decided.

As he ended the kiss, he smiled and traced her lips with his thumb. "Definitely not my imagination."

At least they both agreed that between them, their kisses were explosive. The contract read cold, hard facts, but the man in her arms was hot. Right now she didn't need to decide anything else. They were going.