FreeNovel
Chapter 0358
For his date with Olivia, Nicholas had arranged a special two–person table in one of the sitting rooms,
where they would share their lunch together.
With Julian’s insistence we eat with them, that two person table was turned into a four person table by
adding two chairs and two more table settings. The new arrangement barely fit. Everything was
crammed on the table, with barely room to set down a water glass, let alone food.
As such the meals were hand delivered on platters by the servants, and each of us would scoop out
our portion, then the servants would return the food to the kitchens and wait to be summoned for the
next course, or perhaps, seconds.
What they had prepared was delicious, as always, so the four of us – Nicholas, Julian, Olivia, and me
ate in silence for a time, as we each enjoyed the meal. 1
The seating arrangement had another, more personal problem. Julian had chosen to sit beside
Nicholas, which placed me between Julian and Olivia. That would have been fine, except now, seating
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtacross from Nicholas, every time I raised my gaze, I would find myself looking directly at him.
He was the very last person I wanted to eat with at the moment, let alone look at.
The camera crews captured it all.
stolen
Remembering what Charlotte had said, that some of the viewers catalogued every glance and touch
Nicholas and I shared, I did my best to avoid looking at him too closely. Instead, I tried to focus my full
attention on Julian.
Julian seemed absolutely delighted by the change. He smiled brightly whenever our gazes met. More
than once, he nudged his hand against mine for no other reason than to gain my attention. Then he
would wink at me. 1
His winks always made me blush. They seemed so lewd somehow, even if it was just such a simple
gesture.
“Piper,” Julian said. “You have to try this.‘
“Try what?” I asked, looking up.
He held his fork out, a bit of food on the end. He smirked as he held it out for me to bite.
I really wanted to roll my eyes at his antics. But with the cameras watching, I had to play up the role of
the doting girlfriend.
So I did the best I could. I quickly said, “Thanks,” and snatched the food off the fork with my
mouth.
1/2
Julian hummed, pleased.
I chewed and swallowed. “That is good,” I said. I wasn’t surprised, exactly, Everything the chefs had
prepared was excellent. But for Julian to select something I would actually enjoy more than most was a
surprise to me.
A pleasant surprise.
“Thank you, Prince Julian,” I said, to properly convey my thanks, and not just for the
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
cameras.
“My pleasure,” he said.
On the other side of me, Olivia daintily clinked her fork down on her plate. “You haven’t touched your
food, Prince Nicholas,” she said. “Do you not feel well?”
I didn’t mean to look. Really, I didn’t.
But the thought of Nicholas being sick forced my gaze. Olivia was right. Nicholas’s plate was fully
covered in food, as if he hadn’t taken one bite.
“I feel fine,” Nicholas said. “I just lost my appetite all of the sudden.”
I glanced up at him and found him staring back at me. My heartbeat kicked into fast gear and
thundered in my ears.
His eyes were molten, liquid gold. I was trapped. I was melting…
“Is the food selection not to your liking?” Olivia asked. “We can request a different meal prepared…”
Nicholas dropped his gaze, then slid it over to Olivia. “Do not trouble the staff with that. The food was
excellent, as always. The fault is mine alone.”
Julian, who had just finished his own meal, stretched his arm out over the back of Such a pity, brother.
This was definitely a meal to savor. A pity you quit it so soon…”
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