The Royal's Obsession (2 page)

“I care,” Apolo reminded him. “You need to connect with someone, and you know, not get slapped for doing so. Come on the cruise with Trinity and me.”

“It’s not enough that I'm supplying the craft?” Augustine asked with a raised eyebrow, and Apolo shook his head.

“No, it would be good for you to come out with us. Trinity’s bringing along some friends of hers, women that you don't know. You can perhaps meet someone new, maybe learn to curb that tongue of yours.”

Augustine laughed, shaking his head.

“Well, I'm not going to 'curb my tongue' as you so delightfully put it, but perhaps I will come with you. Athens is getting to be a bore lately, and I think that I've offended or shut down most of the women who want to get to know me. Maybe it's time to try my luck on the water.”

Apolo sighed. He loved his brother a great deal, but sometimes it was like talking to a brick wall. A stubborn brick wall who insisted on telling people exactly what he thought of them, no matter how harsh that opinion was.

“I have always loved you for your honesty. We are setting sail this week. Trinity has the details.”

As they left the library together, Augustine turned to his brother.

“I have always been surprised that Trinity seems to like me as much as she does.”

“Well, she was a little taken aback when you told her what you thought about our marriage so quickly after meeting her, but when you didn’t run off in a huff when she told you what she thought about you, I think you earned her respect.”

Augustine laughed. If Apolo were a jealous man, he might be a little defensive of how much his brother seemed to admire his wife. As it was, he was simply relieved that they got on so well after a first meeting that could have been described as disastrous.

“Well, she had a good point, and no one had called me a monstrous moron with entitlement issues before. Trinity does make an impression.”

“Yes,” said Apolo happily. “She does.”

As they made their way back to the party, Apolo could only wish that his brother would find the kind of love that he had. He’d had to go on a reality show to do it, but if he would end up with Trinity in his arms, he would do it again, a million times over.

Someday, he hoped Augustine would know how wonderful that feeling was.

Chapter Two

Anastasia spent most of the first two days on the
Wild Waves
asleep. She remembered how much difficulty she’d had with jet lag from when she had come over for Trinity's wedding, and this time instead of fighting it, she simply decided to give in to it.

Her cabin was a snug berth with plenty of space for the light luggage she had brought along, and her bed was soft and luxurious, the perfect place to sleep out her weariness. It felt so good that she was thinking about sleeping through a third day, but a rapid knocking on her cabin door told her that was somehow not in the cards.

“All right, you've slept long enough,” Trinity called through the door. “It's time for you to come out and start seeing what this little yacht trip has to offer!”

With a sigh, Anastasia gathered the blanket around herself, stumping to the door and her waiting friend. Sometimes she was glad that she wasn't self-conscious about her looks, because Trinity was a bombshell. With an elegant figure ably showcased by a simple black bikini and long platinum blond hair, her friend was every inch a glamorous actress. In her blanket with her hair uncombed, Anastasia was less a bombshell and more a little haystack.

“Does the trip offer more of those eggs Benedict that were sent to my room yesterday?” she asked hopefully. “They were delicious.”

Trinity shot her a quelling look.

“Don't make me cut off your room service,” she threatened. “Right now, I'm half-tempted to roll you out on deck just as you are. Come on, Ana, it's not good for you to be cooped up in here when there's so much fun and sun waiting for you. Have you even been up on deck to see things yet?”

“I was up there when we boarded,” she hazarded, but Trinity shook her head.

“Not good enough,” she said. “You have twenty minutes to make yourself presentable and to head up to find me on deck. On your way up, make sure that you bring up two shrimp cocktails that we can share. I didn't ask you along so that you could spend all your time hiding in your room, all right?”

Anastasia sighed.

“All right, Trinity. I'll be up soon.”

“Twenty minutes! Or I'm dumping all of my plastic wrappers into the water.”

The threat made Anastasia look up in shock.

“That's really not good for—”

Trinity laughed.

“I know. I wouldn't. Just come up. I miss you, and I want to spend time with you.”

Anastasia looked over her clothing choices. She hadn't packed much, as Trinity had directed, and it was almost refreshing not to have the wide variety of outfits open to her the way she would have had at home. If she had been at home, her mother would have wanted her to consider every single option, trying to find the one that would be most suitable for the moment. She would have had to consider the color and design of both the outfit and the venue, the company, and more.

Here, she had what was in her suitcase, and it gave her a moment of delight when she was able to simply pull out a light sea-green sundress with a halter top. It was a new dress, and after snipping off the tags, she threw it on, knotting the halter behind her neck.

She grinned at herself in the mirror. It was about as far from New York socialite as she could get. With her dark hair loose around her shoulders, she felt free and unfettered. It was slightly shocking how long it had been since she had felt like that. She slipped on a pair of sandals, and she was on her way.

She found the kitchen quickly enough, where the smiling crew got her two shrimp cocktails, lovely in tall cocktail glasses, as quick as a wink. The elegant pink shrimp from-scratch cocktail sauce smelled divine, and she went to go find Trinity.

Finding her best friend proved easier said than done. In fairly short order, she realized that the yacht was an impressive craft, not terribly far off from being a cruise vessel. She learned very quickly that it was simple enough to get lost, and even simpler to get turned around.

She must have been a sight, wandering around with two shrimp cocktails in her hands, but as she became more frustrated, she only became more stubborn. She wasn't going to be defeated so easily, and she redoubled her search for her friend.

Of course, that only meant that she became more lost, and finally, she somehow ended up bumbling through a door to find herself in a gorgeous little solarium. One entire wall of the room was clear glass, looking out over the Mediterranean. She could see the beautiful blue of the sky and the glassy clarity of the water beneath her.

For a moment, she forgot about her mission. She forgot about everything. Instead Anastasia stood stock still, staring out over the water with a near-religious awe.

A polite cough ended her reverie. The room's other occupant sat at a small table to the right of the door, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

“So what's your name?” he asked, a hint of impatience in his voice.

“I…I'm Anastasia,” she stuttered, taken aback by his brusque tone. She wondered if he was a member of the crew, and it struck her that perhaps she shouldn't have been there.

“Hm, I haven't heard of you.”

“I'm sorry, I am on the passenger list, I promise, I'm looking for—”

“Oh, I can imagine who you are looking for,” he said with a snort.

To her alarm, he got up and stalked towards her. When he was standing, she could see that he was a tall lean man. His features were twisted with irritation, but otherwise, he would have been handsome, with his olive skin and mane of dark hair. At least, she would have thought so if he weren't advancing towards her so intently.

“Er, I'm sorry, I don't know who you mean.”

“Oh, and I suppose those cocktails are just for you?”

She stared down at them, wondering why he sounded so accusatory over her—or rather Trinity's—choice of snack.”

“Would…would there be a problem if they were just for me?” she wondered, and he laughed sharply.

“But they're not, are they, pretty girl?”

Her anger, slow to arrive, finally flickered into life at his careless endearment.

“All right, I don't know who you are, but you don't have the right to call me a girl. I'm not a dog or…or some random waitress that you can flirt with, and frankly, you shouldn't call your waitress that either!”

He looked slightly taken aback by her vehemence, but he shrugged.

“All right, what shall I call you then?”

She scowled at him.

“From the way you are acting, how about if you don't call me anything at all?” she snapped. “Most women who come wandering through don't have any interest in being…being attacked, all right?”

He raised an eyebrow. He really was more handsome when he wasn't being so aggressive, but she really didn't care about that at the moment.

“Attacking? Is that what I was doing?”

“Yes,” she said, staring up at him. She realized that she wasn't the most threatening person in the world when her only defense was a pair of shrimp cocktails, but she was damned well going to try to do her best.

“I came in her looking for a friend of mine. You pounced on me as if…as if I were a baby seal, and then you start being threatening. I'll tell you right now that is not going to fly, mister!”

He frowned, and he started to say something but she cut him off with a sharp shake of her head.

“No. I really don't care to hear it. In fact, unless you can tell me where my friend is, I don't think we have anything to say to each other.”

She stalked towards the door, her delight in the solarium entirely ruined. Or at least, she meant to do so. He put his arm across the door, blocking her path unless she was willing to try to duck underneath it. Instead Anastasia glared up at him.

“I might be able to help you out if you could tell me who your friend is.”

For a moment, Anastasia thought about simply ignoring him and, if he didn't unbar her way immediately, possibly finding out how he looked wearing two shrimp cocktails. Then she lifted her chin with all of the arrogance and contempt that her background could bring to bear.

“Well, if you happen to know where I could find Princess Trinity Buros, that would be grand.”

To her gratification, his eyes did widen. With his attitude, he certainly didn’t do anything as useful as working on the ship, but perhaps he was a random guest.

“You know the princess?” he asked, a little more respectfully.

“Yes,” Anastasia replied. “I do. And now if you don't mind, I would like to find her.”

“Ah, well, come follow me. I just saw her a little while ago.”

Anastasia eyed him suspiciously.

“This better not be some kind of ridiculous trick,” she said ominously. “I know her quite well, and her husband too.”

“No tricks,” he said, with a slight grin. “I am sorry that I behaved so poorly. I would like to start over.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Get me to Trinity, and we'll see.”

He laughed at her, shaking his head and leading the way.

“I deserved that.”

“You did.”

With unerring accuracy, he led her through the yacht. When he passed by the men who worked on it, they nodded at him deferentially and he greeted them by name. Anastasia was beginning to wonder who this man really was when he led her up a spiral of stairs to what seemed to be the very top of the yacht itself.

They emerged into a comfortable viewing room, lined with elegant couches and containing just a handful of people.

Trinity, a sarong wrapped around her hips, stood up with a grin.

“There you are, Ana! I was beginning to think that you had forgotten all about me and went back to sleep.”

“I wouldn't have done that when you were threatening to roll me out no matter what I was wearing,” Anastasia grumbled, but she handed her friend a shrimp cocktail and accepted a brief squeeze on her hand in return.

“And I see you brought our other recluse with you.”

She started to ask what Trinity meant, but then her friend was turning to the man who had brought her up to viewing area.

“ I was wondering if you were going to sulk for the rest of the voyage.”

The man smiled at Trinity, and even Anastasia could tell that it was a real smile. It transformed him, taking him from a curmudgeon to a man who was breathtakingly handsome. Suddenly, she realized that she knew him.

'You're…you're Apolo's brother!” she exclaimed.

He nodded at her wryly.

“I generally attempt to be a little more memorable than simply being Apolo's brother, but I suppose I'll have to take it,” he said. “And you're Anastasia. I didn't get it until we were talking, but we met at the wedding.”

“We…we did,” she said, aware that a blush was coming up on her cheeks.

Trinity was eying the two of them closely, her eyes slightly narrow.

“All right, what's up with the two of you?” she asked warily. “Augustine, what did you do to my friend?”

“Nothing!” Anastasia blurted. “I mean, I ran into him in the solarium and—”

“I was unspeakably rude to her, and she bullied me into helping her find you,” he said calmly, speaking right over her panicked rush. I had assumed she was another one of my brother's attempts to draw me out, and I acted rashly. She said that I was attacking her.”

Anastasia felt her stomach drop down somewhere near the vicinity of her feet. It was her worst nightmare come true. In the halls of New York, where she was sure of her footing and about her cause, she was unstoppable. Apparently, when you took her away from New York and put her on a cruise, she lost all of that confidence.

Trinity, however, didn't seem to be the least bit worried that her friend had been a bullying shrew to her brother-in-law.

“Ah. Then you are very lucky that your bad behavior didn't end up with you wearing this delicious shrimp cocktail.”

“I almost did!” Anastasia blurted out, making Trinity giggle.

“I'm sure he deserved it. Let me make a formal introduction. I've been making so many of them as princess that it's quite second nature to me now.