Royal Games (The Royals of Monterra) (12 page)

“That means ‘stop giving me your opinion.’” Kat smiled. “I always liked you.”

I smiled back to let her know the feeling was mutual.

“Besides, with that whole software company thing, I don’t think you’re getting rid of him anytime soon,” Lemon said.

“What software company thing?” Kat interrupted.

Lemon raised an eyebrow at her. “You know how he was planning on starting up a software company in Monterra? He transferred his plans here instead. I told you about this already.”

“You did not. When?”

“This morning.”

Kat let out a big sigh of disgust. “You know I can’t hear anything before noon!”

There was another beep from Lemon’s phone. “We really have to get going.”

They both stood, and I stood up with them. “I wanted to give you this,” Kat said as she pulled something from an inner coat pocket. She handed me an obviously expensive cream envelope. I lifted the flap, and the interior was lined in a red satin. I pulled the card out far enough to see that it was a wedding invitation. “We’d love it if you’d come.”

“And after Kat gets back from her honeymoon in the Maldives,” Lemon said while Kat blushed again, “the king and queen are hosting an engagement party for me and Dante. You’re invited to that, too.”

Oh yes. I’d just ring Jeeves and have him pull the jet around front so that I could attend both events.

Some of that must have shown on my face, because Lemon leaned forward. “Don’t worry about the travel. You’ll stay at the palace, and we’ll send the plane for you if you want to come.”

In what universe did people say things like “we’ll send the plane for you”?

Kat hugged me first. “We’re here for you. You are not alone. We Americans have to stick together.”

Lemon hugged me next, promising to write and call. I promised to answer as I walked them out.

“I know my opinion isn’t worth two plugged nickels, but once I got to know you, I thought you and Rafe would be perfect together. I even tried to set y’all up, but he told me was seriously seeing someone. And that turned out to be you, so I was right.”

I appreciated the sentiment, and that they wanted to fix things, but this wasn’t their problem to resolve. I walked them all the way to their waiting black SUV.

“Call us anytime,” Lemon said once she’d settled in. “We’re here for you.”

“Just don’t call us in the morning,” Kat leaned around her to say.

That made me grin. “I won’t.” I closed their door and watched as the circus of SUVs and bodyguards tried to make their way down the snowy driveway and back onto the main road. Lemon rolled down the window and waved goodbye one last time.

As I waved back, it was odd to think that in some alternate universe we might have been a family. Sisters. I always wanted sisters.

There was a twinge in my heart that felt suspiciously like homesickness.

Chapter 12

That night I had a “family” dinner with Prince Deceiving and Aunt Sylvia. In some ways he was making my life harder by always being around, but in other ways he made it so much easier. I used to feel like a chicken with its head cut off, running around trying to get everything done but never having enough time.

Now with Rafe here we had more money from his rent, we had help with the chores, and he was devoted to taking care of Aunt Sylvia. That was the hardest thing for me to ignore. I absolutely adored my aunt. When I was younger, I had planned to go somewhere far away and exotic for college, wanting to get out of Iowa. She had encouraged me. She wanted me to live my life, make my own choices. But I couldn’t leave her. She needed me, and I needed her. So I went to UI to stay close.

But since he’d arrived, there had been some distance between me and my aunt. In part because she supported his attempts to get my attention, and seemed to really enjoy being around him, but also because Rafe was helping out so much that I realized that a lot of the time we used to spend together she was now spending with him.

And I was grateful for it, glad that I finally had enough hours in my day. That I had some time to myself and wasn’t constantly burning the candle at both ends.

Not to mention that he took up so much room in my head that I had little time to think about anything else. Like whether or not I was being a good niece.

I listened to their conversation, not participating. Rafe had his first meeting with his new employees, and he talked about his plans to train them in front end and back end development, database development, and networking.

Today they had brainstormed ideas for possible phone applications. Using the needs of people in Iowa as his jumping off point, he had invited his team to come up with ideas. They talked about an app that could diagnose blight on crops and suggest solutions, a climate application specifically for farmers that was divided by region, sprinkler calculators to figure out the best path for each field, and maybe even a social networking app that would connect farmers across different counties.

Nicole would probably sign up for that one.

“We’re surrounded by potential market testers,” Rafe said. “None of this is new. We’re just going to make it better. And we’ll have a higher marketing budget and a relatable headquarters.”

I glanced at Aunt Sylvia, but she was smiling at him like he was the awesomest person who had ever lived. She didn’t know as much about computers and software as I did.

“That’s going to take years,” I said. “What if your employees don’t have an aptitude for it?” I mean, if they did, wouldn’t they already be programmers?

“Anybody can program,” Rafe said, raising one shoulder in a shrug. “Some will be better than others based on their natural talents. And if they really can’t get it, we’ll find something else for them to do. At least I’ll be giving them a skill they can use even if . . .” His voice trailed off, and he didn’t finish his sentence.

He didn’t have to. We all knew what he’d nearly said.

Even if he left.

He started discussing his plans to build a gaming division in Monterra. He wanted to support his brother’s vision by turning the kingdom into a center for technology firms. He had always planned on creating different divisions, which was why it was so easy for him to start one up in Frog Hollow when he saw the need. He had wanted a company here in the States, and figured Iowa was as good as any other place.

Once we finished eating, I started clearing the plates. He stood up. “Here, let me help you.”

“I’ve got it,” I said, tugging the plate out of his hands.

Aunt Sylvia asked him a question about what kind of games he hoped to create, and while they talked about that I started washing the dinner dishes. Even though I had my back to them, I knew he was looking at me. I turned off the faucet after I filled the left side with water and dishwashing soap. I had always found washing dishes soothing. Right now it was anything but.

Every time he shifted or moved, I knew it. Like I was tuned in to a frequency he emitted and I was the only person who could hear it. Then he laughed, and I grabbed the sink, locking my elbows into place. That laugh. It did something to me. Not something physical. Something emotional. There had been a time when we’d laughed constantly while we were together, and I realized that I missed it. This moodiness was different. Like somebody was walking around with a Rafe suit on, impersonating him.

Of course he’s sad. He’s in love with you and you can’t even stand to be in the same room with him
.

In love? I raised a soapy, wet hand to my throat, trying to calm down the emotions that swelled there. He’d never told me he loved me. He obviously cared about me. And we were so attracted to each other we were like a couple of powerful magnets.

My physics professor had once mentioned that the Chinese were the first people to discover magnetic rocks. They called them “loving stones.” They had meant that the magnets loved metal just like a parent loved a child, but I was discovering that there was a whole different level to the loving stone. I wanted to repel him, but instead I kept ending up in his arms.

While I was caught up in my thoughts, I realized that Rafe had been showing Aunt Sylvia pictures on his phone. Of his home, his family. And then there were the ones of us.

“Genesis! Here’s the two of you in Mexico! Are you in an elevator?”

The plate I had been drying slipped out of my hand, landing on the ground with a loud crash.

Rafe came over to help me clean it up, but I shooed him away. I didn’t like to think about what had happened in Mexico.

It had been my very first time out of the country. And definitely my first time traveling with a man. We’d gone on a private jet, and I’d made sure to keep the window shades up. For some reason I didn’t feel so confined as long as I could still see outside.

We talked and laughed and kissed and cuddled together on one of the built-in couches. I told him about growing up on a farm, and he told me what it was like to come from a large family.

Some part of me felt guilty that we liked each other so much and that I was so deliriously happy. I would think about Lemon and the other girls and how they talked about him, how hopeful everyone was. And even though Lemon denied liking Rafe, I mean, Dante (as everyone else called him, including me when we weren’t alone; it gave me such a thrill that I was the only one who got to call him Rafe), I got the feeling that it wasn’t true—that Lemon liked Dante more than she let on. Which turned out to be right, seeing as how she and the actual Dante were about to get married.

Anyway, after we had landed in Cozumel, a limo whisked us away to a stunning four-star hotel. When we arrived, I saw a large banner and shrieked with glee. “There’s a Comic-Con going on here?”

“I thought you would like it,” he said, grinning as I bounced up and down on my seat. “You’re the only woman I know who would enjoy this as much as I would.” The limo pulled up in front of the hotel, behind several other taxis and limos. I had thought we were coming down here to lie on white sand beaches and drink virgin piña coladas. This had never even occurred to me as a possibility, but I would more than just enjoy it. It was one of the best things that had ever happened to me.

“But I don’t have a costume!” How could you go to Comic-Con and not dress up?

“Don’t you?” he countered with a wink. “Maybe you should check your room first.”

Giddy, I leaned forward in my seat, craning my neck toward the window. “How long will this line take?” I asked impatiently. “And what kind of costume is it?”

“You’ll have to see.” I narrowed my eyes at him. He was being mysterious and seemed awfully pleased with himself.

“What. Costume?” I said. If he put me in some thigh-high outfit with plunging cleavage, there was going to be a discussion.

“Well, since you’re a Trekkie . . .” His voice trailed off when I smacked him with my purse. “Ow!” he laughed. “I guess I should be glad you had your phasers on stun.”

I was tempted to smack him again, even though I secretly loved it when he talked nerdy to me. “I’m not a Trekkie. I just like
Star Trek
.”

“You like every version of it. Television and movies. And books and some fan fiction.”

“So do lots of other people.”

“Yes. They’re called Trekkies. Plus, I’m pretty sure denying your fandom is a violation of the Prime Directive.”

I tossed my hair over my shoulder, while he cracked himself up over his joke. “I like to think of myself as a Trekspert.”

He took my hand and squeezed, sending a thrill straight into my heart. “I think it’s adorable that you’re a nerd.”

The limo edged forward. “I prefer scientifically-abled. And you’re one to talk. That’s the techie calling the geek a nerd.”

He raised his eyebrows at me, clearly lost. He’d mentioned once that English wasn’t his first language. I’d asked him what was, but he changed the subject. He seemed to do that a lot when I asked anything too personal.

“Sorry,” I said. “I was trying to do a pot, kettle, and blackness thing and it didn’t work. Don’t mind me.”

It was like I was hopped up on half a bag of Halloween candy. And considering that I was regularly hopped up on candy, I knew exactly what that felt like.

Finally, it was our turn. I couldn’t wait for the bellhop to load up our bags. I grabbed my overnight bag that Lemon had helped me pack from the pile. “Do we have to check in?” I asked.

“All taken care of,” he said, grabbing my hand. We hurried, leaving our camera crew behind. They hadn’t even assembled their equipment yet. They weren’t going to be happy that we were racing off, but they’d have to get over it. I wasn’t willing to wait.

Despite the fact that most of the people around us were wearing costumes, we were the ones attracting attention. To be more accurate, Rafe was drawing the gaze of every woman in a slutty superhero getup. People at these events did not normally look like he did, unless they were movie stars doing a panel. For the sake of my sanity, I hoped his costume had a mask.

We headed straight for the elevator bay. I took a deep breath. I was usually okay with elevators. And I had Rafe with me, which made it seem not as bad.

The down arrow lit up and dinged, and the doors slid open. We waited for several people to clear out before getting in. We were the only ones who boarded. “Which floor?” I asked.

“The fiftieth floor.” He grabbed me, pulling me in for a quick selfie after I pushed the button. That was the picture Aunt Sylvia had seen.

The fiftieth floor was the very top button. “Don’t they usually put the best rooms on the top floor?” Not that I had any experience with staying in the best rooms. It was just what I had seen on TV.

“Let’s find out.” The doors closed again, and the elevator lifted up.

We stood together, hand in hand, watching as each floor lit up.

“There’s something I wanted to say to you,” Rafe said. I glanced up at him, worried. That sounded ominous.

“What?”

Then he pressed me against the elevator wall with his body, and I sighed as he captured my lips in a searing, knee-buckling kiss. He pulled back to give me a little smile, clearly pleased with himself for catching me off guard. I pressed my lips to his neck, loving the rapid pulse that beat there. “You have such a way with words,” I murmured against his warm skin.

“Oh?” he said in a low timbre that made my quiver. “Well, listen to this.”

Then he kissed me again, causing a perfect storm of fireworks and lightning and nuclear explosions.

This time when the world stopped, it was because it had actually, literally stopped. I broke off the kiss, pushing slightly against his chest when I realized that the elevator wasn’t moving. “We’re not moving.”

For a second, I thought he might have pushed the emergency stop button, but he looked as bewildered as I felt. I pushed the button for our floor a few times, as if that could fix it.

Definitely stuck. He opened the phone box underneath the keypad. He pulled out the red receiver and began talking in fluent Spanish to whoever was on the other end. I both marveled at the fact that he could speak Spanish and freaked out at the idea of being trapped.

He hung up the phone. “Well?” I asked.

“They’re not sure what caused it, but they’re hopeful that it won’t take long to fix.”

I nodded, gulping. Was it my imagination, or were the walls edging toward us? We were going to get squished. Like we were in a garbage compactor on the Death Star. Well, I supposed that was appropriate for a Comic-Con-related death. My arms started to shake, and my lower back suddenly felt drenched and cold from all the sweating.

As I lurched sideways from dizziness, Rafe managed to catch me. “Are you all right?”

“Did I mention that I suffer from claustrophobia?” I could hear the tremor in my voice. I fanned myself with my hands as my heart tried to pound its way out of my ribcage.

He put me down on the floor, leaning me against the closing-in wall. He grabbed the phone and made another call. This time he sounded angry. My head lolled to one side as I tried to catch my breath.