The Luna Choosing Game

“Excuse me,” Nicholas said to Bridget and walked away from her. He met me at the base of the stairs.
Behind his back, Bridget narrowed her eyes slightly, but then shrugged and walked back into the kitchen. I still had no idea how
she could be so bright.
Maybe she’s slipped some liquor into her coffee to take the edge off. She didn’t seem drunk though.
Was it possible she just had a natural sunny disposition, even after drinking a whole bottle of wine? How unfair.
“I'm sorry about this, Piper,” Nicholas said. He nodded his head toward the front of the manor, and taking the
hint, I began walking beside him in the way he'd indicated.
He led us to a small sitting area near the front door of the mansion, where wicker furniture was arranged in a semi-circle. We
didn’t sit, though. We just stood there in the middle of it.
“I know this isn’t what you envisioned about this week,” Nicholas said. Softer, he added, “Me, either.” We'd recently talked about
playing out a fantasy. We had thought while we were here, we could pretend to be strangers and fall in love again. We knew
we’d have to hide it from Jessica and Bridget, but we had thought in the moments alone that maybe we could have our chance.
Now, it seemed, even our moments alone would be monitored.
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “You had no way of knowing your father would want the cameras here.” “I should have, though. He
cares about appearances. I should have known he wouldn't let us escape, even for such brief time.” I glanced to make sure no
one was looking, then I reached out and placed my hand on his arm.
“You can’t predict everything,” I told him.
He shook his head, unsatisfied.
Nicholas was always pushing himself to be the best. I always thought this quality would help make him a great king. He would
settle for nothing less than excellence in himself. Now, however, I’m a bit worried about his blood pressure going up.
The man needs to relax.
“Listen,” I started. “Maybe it won't be so bad? I mean, sure, we won't have as much privacy as we would have hoped, but that
doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun, right?” It was harder for him. Being a prince, on camera, he couldn’t show even a

modicum of weakness. Even showing he could have fun might reveal too much.
«I suppose,” he replied, but didn’t seem convinced. I guessed I couldn’t blame him.
What I could do was try to help him relax as much as possible however I could, in front of the cameras or not.
Yet before I could make an offer to help
him, the front door opened and we both instantly silenced.
Julian walked in, and new anxieties suddenly flooded my mind.
Julian had kissed me last night.
It wasn’t like I had forgotten. No one forgets getting kissed by a handsome prince, even if it isn’t the handsome prince you have
romantic feelings for. 1 had just put it into the back of my brain for now, filed it away for later.
Later, it seemed, was now.
When I saw Julian, my entire body went stiff. I hadn't told Nicholas about the kiss, hadn’t had the chance. I didn’t even know if I
should.
Julian had said it was a mistake. He had said they should forget it, never talk about it again. Telling Nicholas would
only paint it into his mind forever, potentially forming an even larger rift between the two brothers. &% I didn’t know what to do, or
what to say, or how to act. So I stood there like the universe’s most awkward statue, staring wide-eyed at the door.
Julian turned and spotted us.
“Morning,” he said with his typical smirk. He wasn’t quite as bright as Bridget. He winced at any over-loud noise like he had a
headache. But he didn’t seem too unusual either. He just nodded his head at us and walked away.