A thin layer of clouds scattered the sun’s early rays, and a light breeze brought some relief from the already warm temperatures. Stefano looked out over the horizon as his computer warmed up, and he thought of the night before.After Alora’s initial reaction when he’d asked her to be his date, he had expected her to be out of her element as they socialized with many of the region’s most prominent citizens. He had sensed her nerves throughout the evening, and she had been somewhat withdrawn, but he doubted that many of the other attendees had noticed her discomfort.Though he typically didn’t bother looking at the social pages, today he tapped on his computer keyboard until he found the first of many articles about the exhibit from the night before. As expected, a photograph of Alora and him filled up most of the screen.Stefano indulged his curiosity and skimmed several articles. The press didn’t offer any information about Alora except for her name. One even dubbed her Prince Stefano’s mystery woman because of the lack of background information available on her.
