Suddenly Royal (20 page)

“
I wish I had been able to meet your father before we left,” Rose mentioned while going over her papers and I realized she was talking to me.

“
You were very busy. Maybe you’ll get to in Lilaria.”

“
That would be wonderful. Perhaps if he is feeling up to it, you could come out to my estate for dinner.”

“
He would love that.” And he would. Getting to go to another country had seemed to excite him.

“
Then we’ll set it up!” Rose smiled before turning back to her paperwork.

I fished through my bag for my e-reader and earbuds. I’d loaded the language CD so I could listen to it while I was reading or staring out the window. I really hoped some of it would stick.

Alex settled into his paperwork and I watched out the window as the workers cleared the plane for takeoff. It wasn’t long before we were in the air and I was watching my home disappear.

After a while I pulled my headset off and set down my book. Alex was sketching in a notepad and I’d been curious to see what he was working on. “So, you draw?”

“
Some. Not much.” He looked at me over the pad of paper, his eyes thoughtful. “When something strikes me.”

“
Can I see?” I leaned over the table and tried to peek at the paper.

“
Hm. I don’t know.” He tilted the book away from me. “I’ll play you for it.”

“
Play me for it?” I sat back in my seat. “Play what?”

“
Don’t do it, Samantha. He never loses.” Rose didn’t look up from her paperwork.

“
We’ll see.” I narrowed my eyes at him. He was smiling like he had already won. “What is it?”

“
Well, wait a minute. If you win, you get to see my sketch. What do I get if I win?” He leaned forward, his eyes sparkling.

“
I warned you.” Rose shook her head and stood up from her seat, stretching. “I think I’m going to try to nap for a while.” She moved back to one of the open benches and pressed a button. It slid out from the wall to make a small bed. I shook my head at the idea of a bed on a plane.

“
Well? My prize?” Alex brought my attention back to him.

“
What could you possibly want?” I had been thinking he had everything, but as soon as the words left my mouth I realized my mistake. His eyes flashed with triumph and his smile made my blood race.

“
Oh, there are a lot of things I want.” His eyes ran over my face. “What are you willing to give?”

“
Friends, Alex,” I hissed at him under my breath, worried the others had heard him.

He chuckled and leaned closer. “If you win, you see the sketch. If I win, you have to volunteer at the FBT.”

“
Seems a bit uneven.”

“
Take it or leave it.” He leaned back in his chair, his eyes watching me carefully.

“
What would I have to do at the FBT?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“
Whatever I think appropriate.”

I studied him for a minute, considering what he could possibly force me to do. Clean out bird cages? Been there, done that. Cut up mice? Didn’t bother me anymore.

“
Fine. But I get to keep the sketch if I win.”

“
Deal.” He held out his hand and I shook it even though he still hadn’t told me what we were going to play. Hopefully not cards. I hated poker.

He stood up and moved toward the back of the plane. When he came back with a box in his hand, I laughed.

“
Monopoly?”

“
What? You’re too good for Monopoly?” He set the box down on the table and proceeded to set up the game. “What do you want to be?”

“
The shoe.”

“
The shoe?” He looked at me doubtfully. “Are you sure?”

“
My mom was always the shoe.” The words popped out of my mouth without thought. I hadn’t thought about that in a long time.

“
Very well. The shoe it is.” He set out the shoe and the top hat before distributing the money.

It didn’t take long to see why Rose had told me to not take the deal. Alex was incredibly lucky when it came to the game. Always passing GO, always collecting money, never landing on any of the spots normal people feared.

“
You’re cheating! Give me the dice!” My sad stack of paper money was shameful.

“
How dare you!” He mock-glared at me.

“
No one is that lucky. How are you doing it?” I reached over the table, trying to swipe the dice from his hand. He laughed while I tried to pry his fingers loose.

“
I don’t cheat! I’m just incredibly smart. And it’s my turn again.”

“
Being smart doesn’t get you to land on the Pass Go spot every time!” I sat down and Alex opened his hand to show me the dice.

“
Normal dice. Nothing to see here.” He rolled double sixes and I groaned loudly. Another good move.

“
You’re so cheating. Magnets or something.” I grumbled as I collected the dice for my roll. Eight spaces put me on one of his hotels. Cursing under my breath, I took half my remaining money and threw it at him.

He laughed. “Thank you. I appreciate your patronage.”

“
Shut up and roll, cheater.”

The Royal Price Tag

—
Financial Tally

In only a few more rolls I was completely out of money and Alex was gloating. “Ah, what shall I do with you?”

“
Again?” I raised my eyebrow. He was competitive, but so was I.

“
But I’ve already won.” He smiled. “And I like to win.”

“
Bet you can’t do it again.” I narrowed my eyes. We still had two hours before we landed to refuel.

“
Oh, I can do it again.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “But I’ll only play again if we up the stakes.”

“
What are you betting?” The last couple of hours had gone by in a flash as I laughed and joked with Alex. I hadn’t realized we’d started flirting until I was almost out of money.

“
If I win I stop pretending we’re just friends.” His voice dropped an octave and he glanced at my lips. “And I get to kiss you. Whenever I want.”

My body temperature rose as I considered what he was asking. “One kiss?”

“
Maybe.” He leaned even closer. “But we both know we’ll want more than that.”

“
And what do I get if I win?” I licked my lips, his smell invading my senses. A kiss didn’t sound too bad. In fact it sounded like a pretty good idea right now.

“
What do you want?” He smiled cockily, knowing exactly what I was wanting right this minute.

“
You teach me Lilarian.” I frowned. “I don’t want to sound like an idiot at the ceremony.”

“
You realize this means I win either way.” He ran a hand over the scruff on his jaw and I was mildly fascinated by the sound it made under his fingers.

“
No. If I win, you have to teach me Lilarian while keeping your hands to yourself.” I picked up the dice and rolled. “Like a good friend.”

“
Where’s the fun in that?” He kept his voice low. “I can think of some really fun ways to teach you my native tongue.”

“
I bet you can.” I let out a nervous chuckle, thinking about the things I’d like him to do with his tongue.

“
I can think of some things I’d like to hear you say in Lilarian, too.” His eyes stared holes into me as he moved his top hat five spaces. “Loudly.”

“
Then you better bring your A game.”

“
I always bring my A game.”

“
Is that so?”

We set up the board for another game. Alex’s eyebrows had drawn together as we worked our way around the board and I realized he meant business. It excited me to know how serious he was about winning a kiss, but it also scared me. Possibly because I was excited by the idea.

Eventually I bought a hotel and put it on Park Place. I needed to reel in my hormones and focus. Even if he won, I wasn’t going to just give in to him. It was too complicated.

Alex landed on my carefully laid trap. “Pay up, Prince Yummy.” The nickname burst out of my mouth as I mentally screamed in slow motion, trying to stop my lips from uttering the words.

“
Prince Yummy?” He threw his head back and laughed loudly. When he looked back at me, there was heat in his eyes. “Care to explain that one?”

“
Jess.” I shook my head, trying to not look embarrassed. I was going to kill her the next time I saw her. “That’s her nickname for you.”

“
I’m liking her more and more.” He leaned forward again. “Looks like you agree with her.”

“
There goes your ego again.” I narrowed my eyes. “If you hear something enough it gets stuck in your brain.”

“
Hm.” He pushed the dice toward me. “That’s one explanation.”

“
I’m going to kill her.” I frowned at the game board.

“
Just make sure you hide the body well.” He chuckled, his hand reaching out to brush over my fingers. “I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a game of Monopoly this much in a long time.”

“
I’m developing a deep hatred for it.”

“
That’s because you’re losing.” He narrowed his eyes. “In fact, you’re losing so badly I’m starting to think you want to lose.”

“
Har, har.” He was right. I was losing. Badly. “Maybe we should try another game.”

“
Nope. You agreed to Monopoly.”

“
That was before I realized you had some kind of Monopoly Jedi skills.”

“
This is not the hotel you are looking for.”

“
Shut it, Obi-Wan Cheater.”

Something shifted, and I began to take the lead. Alex looked miffed, and eventually frustrated. When he landed in jail I stood up and did a little dance in the aisle. He watched me with hooded eyes and it dawned on me I was shaking my butt in his face. I sat back in my seat but couldn’t stop smiling. He leaned his elbows on the table and stared at the board with confusion.

“
I can’t remember the last time I lost.” He looked at me with a small smile. “I might lose more often if I get treated to your victory dances.”

“
Oh, c’mon. I’m sure you’ve lost before.” I started putting the pieces back in the box. The captain had started the descent for Ireland. I wanted to watch out the window and try to catch a glimpse of rolling green hills. I’d always wanted to visit Ireland but hadn’t had a chance.

“
I was distracted.” He smirked.

“
That’s not my fault.”

“
On the contrary, it’s completely your fault.” He gave me a slow smile that made me want to knock the rest of the pieces off the table and pull him on top of it. “You may have won this time, but I still think we won’t last as friends for very long.”

“
Why? I have plenty of guy friends.”

He narrowed his eyes briefly. “There’s something here, Samantha. Deny it if you can, but I don’t think you’ll be able to for long.”

“
Seriously. Your ego is at dangerous levels.” I bit my lip and focused on cleaning up. He took the stack of money out of my hand and sorted it into the right places.

“
You can deflect all you want. It doesn’t make it any less true.”

“
You said there were two options.” I didn’t meet his eyes.

“
I have a clear preference.”

We lapsed into silence as we waited to land. Sarah woke Rose as we started the descent and I stared out my window. I pulled my feet up into my seat and leaned on the wall to try to see better. It was late in the day and the sun made the clouds glow a soft golden hue. It was beautiful, but I wanted to see all the green. As if listening to my thoughts, the sky split and I had my first hint. The greens were blurring into blues in the dusk and then we were over Dublin.