" This is nice," Beast said with a sigh. "Like... one of those paintings where a nymph or Athena is reading to the gods and goddesses."
"And here I was thinking you were an utterly uneducated beast," Belle said teasingly.
"I am a prince," he responded with hauteur. "I am classically educated.
"Plus, nymphs are pretty," he added.
Belle laughed.
"I could stare at them all day," he continued. His tone was carefully neutral, but his eyes never left hers.
And Belle found she could look back. And not blush. And not have to look away. "

― Liz Braswell , As Old as Time