Chapter 204 - Take It Off

There wasn't much left to do once the letters were done and lunch had been eaten. Because of where the event was going to take place, none of the guests beyond Clarice would be showing up at the estate. Instead, everyone would be arriving early to greet them and talk prior to the event starting. 

Jovani was on track to wrap everything up and be done ahead of time to make it to the event before it started. There were going to be some people that he would have to talk everything over with after all. Alonso would be coming with him this time as well, but the two of them decided to book a hotel for the night close to the venue rather than travel over with the rest of the family. It meant that there were other things they could take care of as late as they wanted without disturbing anyone else. He had also indicated to Samuel that his own fiancé would be joining them tomorrow as well. 

The younger cousin was happy to hear this as he was really curious to find out who the other person was. Jovani hadn't given him any other hints beyond the fact that he mentioned that they had met before so he and the princess would recognize her when they met. The only person that he could rule out for certain that was not was Clarice, as he was certain this was something Lena would've already known about plus as far as he was aware, the other wasn't engaged to anyone. 

"What is that on your screen?" The princess asked with a frown on her face. She had only seen it for a brief second as they were sitting in the sun room. She had only come there because there wasn't much else to be done and partly because the indication given that it would be good to spend her off-time with Samuel as they wouldn't be getting much of that after the engagement took place. 

"My look screen you mean?" he asked with a small sly smile. The princess nodded her head with slightly narrowed eyes. She had only seen it for a brief second but was fairly certain that she knew what the picture was. 

"My treasure of course." He replied, turning his screen off so that he could show her what it was. Somehow seeing it after the fact that and how close up it was made her feel more self-conscious than she had when the actual photos had taken place. 

"You should take it off." Lena told him without looking up from the picture. 

"Why? I quite like it. Those honest reactions of yours such as that one right there are what make you adorable." Samuel replied as he pointed to her face where the blush was somehow perceptively still visible on the picture. Did he really have to say such things to her. 

To make matters worse, he decided at that moment in time to pull her over from where she was sitting on the sofa so that he could hug her with an arm around her shoulder. She felt a strong urge to elbow him in the ribs for his less than delicate handling of her as though he thought that it was okay to do such things whenever he pleased. 

"It's not a problem of whether you like it or not. It comes down to an issue of safety." The princess replied, not moving from her position as she turned to face the other. Their faces were mere inches apart, but this time it didn't bother as much as it had before. 

"I don't think it is a an issue with safety. Not many people will be seeing my phone and as long as you don't want them to, I won't show the photo off to anyone who isn't family." Samuel assured the other who didn't quite seem convinced. 

"It's better for safety if you just don't have it up at all and kept the photo elsewhere if you like it that much." She grumbled as he eyes shifted from his face more towards his neck. She still had the same unreadable expression on her face, but there was a wicked thought brewing behind her eyes. 

She knew that it would perhaps be something childish to do, but not completely uncalled for in light of recent events that had been going on between them. She knew that the other wouldn't be likely to expect it either. 

"You'll be getting an office of your own soon anyways so you can just keep it in there. Then only the people you trust would be allowed in and able to see it." She explained as he leaned in closer to him. It was going to be a bit hard to do considering the angle, but she knew that she would be able to get away with it. 

Samuel watched the other out of the corner of his eye as he looked back at his phone. He didn't quite know what the princess was doing, but wasn't bothered since she wasn't pulling away like usual. 

"I like it here though because then I can always see it no matter what." He replied. He didn't think that it was the kind of photo that deserved to be put in an office where he would only be able to see it for a few hours out of the day. 

"Trust me, it's safe that way." She repeated as she leaned in closer to his neck. At the same intoxicating scent that she had appreciated before hadn't disappeared when he changed some of his smile. 

Samuel was about to say something else in response to this, before he felt a quick sharp pain followed by a prickling sensation near the front of his collar bone. It wasn't a feeling he was used and it caused him to look down almost immediately at what had happened. He couldn't quite see what it was because of the location, however he did notice the fact that the princess looked a little too smug.