The next morning, Pearl woke up and checked her emails. Dylan and sent her a cute little poem he wrote about a girl who went to Italy to find herself. He wanted to make sure she was safe and she emailed him back, telling him she was good and that she missed him and wished he was there and that she would tell him all about it when she got home. Nothing from Rhys. Could he just leave her and not ever try again? Did he ever love her at all? The whole thing was insane. Their romance. His light and wonderful attitude, how she thought he was the answer to everything and she was sure he was in love with her and would be good to her. She was certain she had made the right choice. Now she didn't know. She was left with his silence and her questions without answers. Her phone rang. It was Iris. "How is it going? Do you love the villa?" She asked Pearl. "It's perfect thank you so much." She told Iris. "I'm glad. Everything is good here. We are still staying at you house until you get back. I'
"Fi," Pearl whispered as she tapped Fi's arm, trying to be discreet. Fi was talking to the handsome Italian man again. "Fi... FI!" "What?!" Fi asked, not happy with the interruption. "Look who it is. Don't look now. Don't say anything. Follow me to the ladies room right away. I have to talk to you." Pearl whispered. "So what is it? Do you want me to look or not look?" Fi said sarcastically "It's him. Erik. From the Chateau." Pearl was whispering so quietly Fi had to have her repeat it twice. "Oh fuck! It is! That's cool, though! We know him! He was a blast that night. We should say hello." Fi began to motion over to him. "No! Fuck no. Come with me now." Pearl grabbed her arm and led her to the bathroom, keeping her head down. "What's the problem, Pearl? Oh shit. Did you fuck him?" Fi put her hand over her mouth, as she closed the door behind them. "No! But I did spend a night with him. I'll explain." Pearl said, putting her head down. She proceeded to tell Fi the entire story.
Pearl went back to their place on the couch. She wasn't going to approach Erik. She wasn't going to approach any man. She was going to enjoy her night and if a man wanted to earn her time, that was on him. Fi followed suit. "Another bottle of wine, please," Pearl asked the waiter. "This one's on me," she heard a familiar voice say."Erik," Pearl said, standing to greet him. "I would like to say I'm a such a terrific stalker that I made this happen, but this, this is a completely fortuitous meeting and I cannot say I am disappointed." He said, kissing her hand. "Fiona, always a pleasure." He kissed Fi's hand as well. "I have a favor to ask of you both. My cousin is a huge fan of your show, Fiona. And my little brother appears to have a bit of crush on you, Pearl. He is the one that noticed you were here, in fact. He said he cannot wait for the Poems for Wolves album to "drop", would you mind if I showed off my famous friends to my family by having a drink with us?" Fi smiled and t
"Who in the bloody hell tipped them off this time?" Louis asked. Cameras were everywhere at the main entrance to the hotel after they came down from the roof. Erik wrapped his arm and jacket around Pearl and Louis did the same for Fi. "Prince Erik, why are you in town?" A thick Italian accent shouted. "Louis, did you settle the last hotel incident in court?" "Fiona Templeton, are you here with them?" "Pearl Clarke, are you here with the prince of Wales? This is the second time you have been seen together. Where is Holden? Is the rumor of the separation true?" And with that, a bodyguard practically picked her up and put her in the suv. Erik and Louis rode with Pearl and Fi in their car and Auggie, Julian and a woman he met that night, Paola, and a friends of hers, Emilia rode together. There was a black suv behind them with two more bodyguards. Pearl shifted in her seat uncomfortably a few times. The Alfa Romeo suv sat all four of them comfortably but Pearl felt uneasy. "Why are
Pearl woke up in her room, wrapped in a towel, her hair still damp. She remembered leaving the pool and wrapping the towel around her and excusing herself to bed. Fi and Louis had already went to their room and the rest of them were close to passing out as well. She remembered Erik coming into her room and lying next to her, bringing her into his arms and telling her how sorry he was about what she had found out. She told him she didn't want to talk about it or think about it and fell asleep. Good god, a prince and a gentleman, what's next? A spell from witch and a white horse?She laughed out loud to herself. She put on some clean clothes and washed her face, putting on a little bit of makeup to make her not look hung over and managed to her a brush through her hair. She walked to the kitchen and found Erik there, having coffee with the maid, reading the paper. "Well well well, if it isn't the Islay scotch loving, Olympic canon ball champion herself. I'll need a proper autograph" Erik
"Well, are we going or not?" Pearl asked, finding Erik and Auggie at the door. Auggie looked a little rough and she saw that the maid had made him a large coffee to go. "Forgive me. I don't mean to stare. In that perfectly pretentious polo match getup, you look absolutely adorable." Erik smiled and led her to the car. "Thank you?" Pearl said, getting in. "Thank you for coming." Auggie said. The ride to Rome was about 3 hours long. They stopped for brunch at a small cafe on the way. "Ugh. I never drink like that. I was absolutely trollied last night. I blame you both." Auggie snarled. "You sound pathetic. You didn't seem too miffed when I found you in the pool house this morning with two girls. One with her knickers on and one without." Erik slugged him in the arm. "I was a perfect gentleman." Auggie said, defending himself. "I just hope I'm not too knackered to play today. I'm afraid if I run too hard I'll chunder up this brunch torte and mum will have my arse." The way he said
"This is great! Who knew polo was so intense?" Pearl said to Erik. They had a private area with a table and chairs on the lawn with a perfect view of everything. "Your brother is really good." Pearl said. "He's good at everything. He's always been the good brother. I am positive my family wishes he was the elder brother and next in line." Erik said. Pearl saw the look in his eyes and recognized it well. Self loathing. "I'm not so sure about that. Of all the men I've met, which isn't very many, but still important, you've been the most stand up, honest and good so far. I think there's something to be said about that." She said "That's one side of me." He said with a devilish grin. She looked down and decided not to dig further into that. "So, did you go to college? You know everything about me and I know nothing about you." "I did." Erik said. "I went to the University of St. Andrews. I have a degree in business." "Really? You seem so artistic. I would think some kind of degree i
I feel like this is the most dressed up I have ever been in my life, Pearl thought to herself, looking in the mirror. The Valentine red Badgely Mischka scuba gown with a pleated and side gathered bodice and ruffled high slit skirt looked elegant and beautiful on her body. It had a strapless, sweetheart neckline and the slit made her appear taller. That and the 4 inch Louboutin heels. The stylist did her thick, dark hair in a half up do, gathered and teased to create volume in the back with two tendrils left down, framing her face. "I have a necklace to match but you must take very good care of it and make sure to return it after the event. Erik insisted I bring it."The stylist said. She opened a velvet box to reveal a stunning Victorian style Burmese ruby and diamond chandelier choker necklace. Pearl gasped. "I don't think I would feel comfortable wearing that. It's worth more than anything I currently own." Pearl said. "It's worth more than some people's lives." The stylist said dry