“A quiet corner in the city that never sleeps,” she said. “That’s what my father told me when he first brought me here.”
“He took you at night?”
She nodded, her gaze still fixed on the water’s smooth surface. “When I was little, my father would take me on princess walks. I’d dress up in this costume he bought for me on our trip to Disney World, a yellow Belle dress, and he’d lead the way to the castle.”
“Was it just the two of you?” Carter asked as he leaned forward and rested his forearms on the wall.
“My mom wasn’t in the picture anymore and my big sister thought she was too old to play princesses. So yes, it was just the two of us.”
In her peripheral vision, she saw the powerful line of his back and shoulders. He looked every inch the lion she’d met in his office hours earlier. Had it really only been a few hours? She felt as if she knew him—trusted him. Or perhaps that was the night’s adventures playing tricks on her.
“Your parents divorced?” Carter asked.
She nodded and looked back out at the famous park cloaked in darkness. “When I was seven. My dad had full custody. My mother…she moved on.”
“Where is she now?”
“She lives in Europe. Italy right now. With husband number three.”
He stood and reached for her hand. His fingers interlaced with hers. “I’m sorry, Ivy.”
Midnight at the castle. A sympathetic billionaire. Have I stumbled into the fairy tale I hoped to find while climbing these stairs as a child?
Impossible. She’d come here on a mission, not guided by fate. And Carter Burke was merely looking for a distraction.
Wasn’t he?
“Once you reached your destination on your princess walks, what happened then?” he asked.
“I would spin in circles and dance under the moonlight,” she said. “I pretended I was Belle, the inventor’s daughter, and that I would grow up to be an inventor, too.”
“Not much room for the Beast in your version,” he said.
“I was a kid, and I wasn’t interested in princes,” she said.
“And now?” he asked softly.
“I stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago, Carter. My work—”
“Comes first. I know. And yet, you brought me to a castle.” He turned to her and offered a little bow.
“Carter?”
He held out his hand. “Would you like to dance, princess?”
She laughed as she stepped into his waiting arms. He guided her into a gentle one-two-three rhythm as if a full orchestra had run through the park and set up on the castle’s terrace.
Feeling his hand on her waist and the other holding tight to hers as he guided her over the stone dance floor, she sank into the moment. She pushed away the pressing questions—what would happen when the night ended? Would she return to her lab a failure? Or would her “prince” grant her wish and provide the funding?
Is that all I want from him? The chance to keep my research alive?
He released her waist and spun her in a circle. The gown twirled around her as if it had been waiting all night for this moment. Then he drew her back into his arms, drawing her closer still. He stared down at her, his eyes suggesting a desire that had no place in children’s tales, but instead belonged in a night on the town. An adventure shared between two grown-ups.
I want him. Not for my work, but for me.
The truth felt selfish. Her research could save lives, help families. But acknowledging her desire was also freeing.
Releasing his hand, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “First a make-out session in front of the dinosaurs and now dancing under the moonlight? I guess this is a real date.”