In these moments, it was so easy to picture this We laughed quietly, holding on to each other. “It turns out I’m absolutely terrible at staying away from you. He held me close, his brown eyes bright with a secret. I helped cook practically every meal at home. “You might have noticed the teams of people keeping you up to your neck in pastries? They happen to feed me as well.” He shook his head, a small smile on his face. He propped himself up on an elbow, focusing on my face. “Because I still know so little about you. “Why would you want to know that?” he asked in mock irritation. Encouraged by the touch, Maxon drew circles on my shoulder with the hand he had wrapped behind my back. “What else are you terrible at?” I asked, running my hand across his starched shirt. Oh, and war strategizing, which, by the way, I am terrible at.” I’ll have to pencil in some between the budget consultations and infrastructure committee meetings. “Wait, the last time you looked at the stars was to study them? What about for fun?” If you look closely, you can tell that the “No idea.” “A tutor had me studying astronomy a few years ago. I settled closer to him on our blanket, trying to keep warm in the cool Angeles night. “Do you know when the last time was that I really looked at the stars?” he asked. What would it be like to simply love Maxon? Maxon didn’t know that Aspen was in the palace, but he did know that there was someone at home that I was trying to get over, and he was graciously giving me time to move on while attempting to find someone else he’d be happy with in the event I couldn’t ever love him.Īs he moved his head, inhaling just above my hairline, I considered it. Aspen was my first love when I looked at him He wasn’t technically my boyfriend anymore-he’d broken up with me before my name was even drawn for the Selection-but when he showed up at the palace as one of the guards, all the feelings I’d been trying to let go of flooded my heart. And then there was the fact that if I accepted Maxon, it meant I had to accept a crown, a thought I tended to ignore if only because I wasn’t sure what it would mean for me. There were five other girls here- girls he took on dates and whispered things to-and I didn’t know what to make of that. And sometimes I played with the idea, wondering how it would feel to be Maxon’s alone.īut the thing was, Maxon wasn’t really mine to begin with. He’d told me a week ago that if I could simply say that I cared for him the way he did for me, without anything holding me back, this whole competition would be over. Prince Maxon, heir to the Illéa throne, liked me. And though it made me feel guilty to admit it, I knew I was the reason why he wished he did. I guessed he thought he’d have more time to make his choices. It was getting harder and harder to catch him in a truly calm and happy moment, and I soaked up the time, grateful that he seemed to be at his best when he and I were alone.Įver since the Selection had been narrowed down to six girls, he’d been more anxious than he was when the thirty-five of us arrived in the first place. THE ANGELES AIR WAS QUIET, and for a while I lay still, listening to the sound of Maxon’s breathing. Call out the servants! The queen is awake!
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