Free Ever After by Candace Sams Page B

played escort. Whether anyone noticed or stared, she no longer cared. Thoughts of what might come next slammed around in her head. All she had to do was throw the man a bone—some sign he couldn’t misconstrue.
    Things had changed so suddenly. The gentle flirtation of the evening was over. Something more profound had evolved. The relationship had gone beyond friendship and camaraderie. She wasn’t sure she was ready for more. At the same time, she craved it.
    “What a crazy feeling,” she whispered as she slowly shook her head. “It’s like I’m in some kind of dream. Any move I make could be right or wrong.”
    For the next few minutes, she simply sat and stared at the red roses in the center of the table. Dance music played loudly but the tunes drifted away. Everything around her took on a surreal quality.
    And then Dillon returned.
    This time he sat next to her, leaned very close, and poured them each a fresh glass of champagne.
    “D-did your grandmother and her friends get off okay?”
    “They did. And now…the rest of the night is ours.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Yeah,” he responded as he handed her a glass.
    She grinned, suddenly emboldened by his absorption in her. “May I make a suggestion?”
    He slowly nodded.
    “First, let’s have a toast,” she said as she clinked her glass against his.
    “And to what are we toasting?”
    “To Valentine’s Day. And whatever it brings.”
    “I’ll drink to that!”
    She drank her beverage when he did, but never tasted a thing.
    “Now what’s your suggestion, Keira?”
    She lifted her chin. “Let’s get out of here. We’ve met etiquette obligations. Everyone’s dancing. The rest of the night people will mill in their own crowds. But…I want to spend Valentine’s Day…in a special way.”
    “My most brilliant Keira! You just read my mind,” he assertively agreed.
    “Dillon, call for your transport. My quarters are quite near. I’ll run back, change out of this gown, and meet you out front in half an hour,” she suggested.
    “You’ve got it. But half an hour. No longer,” he said. Then he drank the rest of his champagne and stood as a broad smile spread across his face.
    She watched him stride quickly away before picking up the hem of her gown and moving fast.

Chapter Five
    Having donned a dark blue tunic, leggings, and matching blue knee-boots, Keira stood on the marble steps outside the auditorium and waited. Hooked in the crook of her left arm was a food hamper with samplings of the feast they’d both left inside. Now, neither of them could use hunger as an excuse to part for the evening. Something else might do it, but not the lack of food or beverage.
    Scant moments later, Dillon brought a class one, ultra-luxurious touring shuttle to a stop a few yards away. He quickly jumped out and she saw he’d taken an opportunity to rid himself of royal trappings.
    Instead of the formal clothing he’d had on, he now wore the traditional dark green tunic, leggings, and tall brown boots of a Mythrealian country gentleman. Like her, he’d let his hair down for the evening. It flowed like a silver banner over his shoulders. Light from a hundred outside lanterns, strategically placed for romantic effect, clearly illuminated his features. And just like her, his expression displayed excitement. He was as eager to leave and follow fate as Keira.
    “What’s that?” he gaily asked as he glanced down at her hamper.
    “I raided the kitchen on my way out.”
    “Excellent!”
    He took the hamper from her, laid it on the floorboard of the expansive, conically-shaped, silver flying shuttle, and then opened the nearest door for her. “Give me some coordinates, Keira. Anywhere you want to go. So long as it’s away from crowds.”
    She sat in the soft, form-fitting gray cloth seat while he quickly got behind the driver’s console, noting there was an appropriate amount of room in the shuttle for several couples, even if the weather should change and the top had to