PUBLISHER: Blazing Heart Publishing
RELEASE DATE: January 3, 2020
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
WORD COUNT: 57,580 words
Format: eBook, Kindle Mobi
LANGUAGE: English

     “The view is much better from the inside, you know.”
     Ronna had watched him as he entered the balcony but said nothing until then, shaking her head, her ponytail switching as she did so. “No thanks. I’m perfectly fine where I am.”
     “Wouldn’t you like to sit? Relax?” Shane asked, nodding to the loungers arranged in a semi-circle.
     Ronna glanced at the loungers in question, frowned at it before returning her attention to the view in front of her. When she shook her head once more, Shane shrugged and turned to face the view himself.
     “You know, this is my favorite place in the castle.” Shane said without turning around.
     “Yeah?”
     “Absolutely.”
     Streetlights were   on, and the lights shone with a vast brilliance from every house, absorbing the darkness of the night. The night was magical, with a mind of its own as though telling its own beautiful story with a profound difference.
     Ronna looked beyond his shoulder to the land which stretched before her. She had always admired how things always looked different, in a spectacular way at night. Lights from nearby and faraway homes shone like gleaming stars, sparkling as far as a mile away. As her gaze focused on      Shane who was standing in front of her, everything else slid into oblivion and she suddenly understood what it meant when people said everything was beautiful in its own way.
     “You can see half the kingdom from here. You can see how big the kingdom is and which parts needs development.” Pointing ahead, he said. “That is where the museum is. The city library is not so far when you look opposite that building and―” He left the sentence hanging then turned to face her. “You wouldn’t be able to see it all from there. Come on in.”
     Ronna stood glued to the doorpost, glancing at him. “It’s no problem really. Maybe you could show me sometime later.” 
     “Yeah. Maybe I should.” Seeming to think for a while, he glanced at the distance to the floor then back at her.
     Cocking his head to the side, he looked questioningly at her. “Your standing there wouldn’t have anything to do with heights now, would it?”
     Shaking her head with the thought that he had managed to figure it out, stifling a nervous laugh, she made her voice sound mildly curious. “Why would you think that?”
     He shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you seem a little frightened when you talk about height? Or is it the fact that you’re positively glued to that wall.”
     “I’m not frightened.” She challenged, moving away from her relaxing position and standing straight. “And I’m not glued here either.”
     Scratching his brows slightly, he fixed her with a steady glaze. “How about you come over here so you can see the view better then?”
     “I told you before, I’m perfectly fine.”
     “I wouldn’t be taking you for a wuss now, would I?”   
     “I am not.” She said, hiding her fears behind bravado. 
     “Then prove it.”
     Leaning back against the door, Ronna said calmly, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I don’t need to prove myself to you or to anyone else.”
     “True.” He readily agreed. 
     “I’m glad you can agree with me.” She said with a smirk on her face.
     Turning back to face the view ahead, he breathed in the cool night’s air then said after moments of silence. “After all, who am I to push you past your limit right?”
     He looked at her over his shoulder and smiled at the color which flooded her cheeks. His smile was daunting, challenging and she had never before backed down from a challenge in her life.