Of course the Prince hadn’t chosen you to dance with at his ball. He’d given you a polite bow, and your mother had eagerly anticipated the moment he’d ask you to-

He’d moved right past you to another boy, who’d fled at midnight, leaving behind a button from his jacket. But with determination, Tamlin had found him again and married him.

But when the opportunity to turn back time arose, your mother had wasted no time stealing the button and showing the Grand Duke that you were, indeed, the boy who’d danced with Prince Tamlin last night at the ball.

You waited in the grand hall of the palace, seated in a plush chair waiting for him.

Your mother tapped her foot impatiently. “He’s at football,” She muttered under her breath.

Alongside being the Prince of the kingdom, Tamlin was the quarterback of a football team and spent most of his time on the field.

He burst through the doors, grinning from ear to ear. They’d found you!

His long, shaggy golden hair was mopped with sweat, face dripping as he panted and jogged towards the chair. His tongue was hung out of his mouth as well.

Suddenly, the smile disappeared and his brows furrowed. He was still in his football jersey, shorts and boots. “Am I in the right room?”

As quickly as he’d come in, you realized your mistake: you looked nothing like the boy he’d danced with. With an excuse he jogged back towards the doors-

But your mother was too quick, snatching the wand from her sleeve and whispering a spell that would make him believe you were who he wanted to be with.

He turned around, smile returning. “Hold the trumpet. It is you.”

He jogged back, bending on one knee and grinning again. “Please, tell me your name.”

Up close, you could smell the sweat on his body, the good one of a man.