Page 11 of The Duke's Brother

He waited, as though she would change her mind if he stared at her longer and then when she didn’t, he stood. “Ok, maybe another time.” Then he left her alone.

But all her enjoyment had deflated when Tripp left. And the book no longer held her interest. So she stood and found her way back to her room, wishing she had just accepted Tripp’s invitation to dinner. Even if his interest might just be for dinner, for the night, that’s how all relationships started. But even if it was just a one-time thing, she would do it if given another chance. Maybe she was a groupie after all, Tripp’s groupie.

Chapter 7

Tripp’s flight home felt heavy. They were all returning to piles of work for the crown. Nico and Jo were lost in each other, as were Trane and Phina. He was so happy their relationship finally worked out after years of on and off dating. They deserved each other. Lucan already had his earpiece in and he was talking in hushed tones at the back of the jet. Daniel scrolled through his pictures and Thad slept. His brothers were busy. Tripp felt restless. He stood and stretched and went back to the wet bar for a water. Maybe they had restocked the chocolate almonds. Torren’s signature chocolate with an almond in the center was his favorite snack. He kept a jar on his desk at all times. The cookie Jenneca had added to his order crept back into his mind. Perhaps he should get an additional jar on his desk.

He was fixated on this woman. He couldn’t get his mind to think of anything or anyone else. Her skiing was the best he had seen up close. And he had skied with plenty of world renowned experts. She had a meticulous precision that impressed him. And she loved it. Her passion for the sport came out in her daring and the beauty of her moves. Such a new phenomenon of whim, to be attracted to a woman’s moves on the slope. He downed a bottle of water standing at the back and reached for another. But her bravery, her heart. She had come for them in the avalanche, just in case someone would need the help. It couldn’t have been easy to hike up and then across through the trees to get to them.

He ground his teeth on four almonds. No wonder Jorge was after her. She seemed amenable enough to his attention—and not so accepting of Tripp’s own offers. He could let her go, maybe, with the busy Torren lifestyle all around him, except that she lived in his village Grevena and would be there on and off all summer. Should he avoid her, guard his heart, or pursue her and win her over? He knew what he wanted to do.

“Brother. Your frown is giving me a headache.” Thad rubbed a hand across his forehead. “Right here.”

“Very funny Thad.”

Lucan approached. “Is ‘happy’ having a bad day?”

They had taken to calling him happy. And truthfully he was usually happy, easy going, carefree. Life was what you made it, and he determined every day to make it happy. But this trip and the weeks leading up to it were full of his own malaise. He needed direction. And he thought being out on the snow again might help with that, but his times on the runs, his turns, everything was just too slow. He could work back up to his former abilities, maybe, but it would take many hours every day. And he would just have to consider if it was worth it, worth leaving all his work as a Prince of Torren.

Lucan pulled out three of his favorite caffeinated beverages. “Out with it. What’s eating you?”

Thad grabbed one of Lucan’s drinks so he got another. “I’m thinking about going to Manhattan for a month or two this fall.”

Tripp almost choked on his water. “What?”

He nodded. “Yup. I want to explore some opportunities over there.”

“The American.” Lucan snorted. Thad had always loved everything about the United States. He wore his favorite mouse sweatshirt right now.

If he took off and worked less on Torren responsibilities, Tripp could hardly do the same in Austria. They could do much of it from anywhere in the world, but Thad especially as the press liaison had significant in-country presence required. Maybe skiing would have to stay where it was for Tripp, an awesome hobby.

“I’ll come back for the press conferences and things. It will work.” Thad looked at Tripp particularly as if he knew how his mind was spinning. Tripp nodded.

But he wasn’t sure. This news combined with his poor progress at Dachstein left him less motivated to continue to pursue skiing professionally. His mind shifted to the village surrounding his palace, his work on their Grevena council meetings, and the shops and owners there. And a particularly bright pair of amber eyes.

After a few more hours in flight, their captain got on the speaker, “We just received news of severe storms coming to Torren. They are expecting hurricane force winds. The system has not progressed to overall hurricane status, but it may as the hours go by.”

The brothers shared looks of concern.

“We will know as we get closer where we should land. So far we are beating the storm by a couple hours and can land at our usual tarmac just fine.”

Tripp immediately thought of Jenneca. He didn’t know when she was coming back, but he thought she said it was a week stay like his own.

The next few hours the brothers slept on and off. The in-flight dinner of Wiener schnitzel made with beef was Tripp’s favorite. He ate as much as he could without bursting.

An hour before landing, the plane started to shake and dip and roll with the turbulence. The pilot got on. “Looks like we are beating the full force of the storm, but still only by about two hours. Airport security and the palace liaison is recommending you expedite your departure and exit the plane and into the waiting cars as quickly as possible.”

Tripp gathered his things.

They landed to pelting rain on the windows, everyone’s faces tight as the plane struggled to stay level. They hurried to the waiting limo, the staff following shortly with all their luggage and their gear.

The wipers moved wildly, barely keeping the road visible. Tripp stopped watching through the divider to the front of the car. Carls was an excellent driver and part of Lucan’s security team. “Wow, I haven’t seen it like this since we were kids.”

Carls turned on the news. The caster was talking to weather specialists all over the island. Some of the smaller villages closest to the water had evacuated. Most had boarded up and the emergency teams were on call to help if needed. Tripp became more concerned thinking of his mother, the only remaining Valdez family member in the palace during all these preparations.

Nico brought a phone to his ear. “Mother.” He waited, his face relaxing into a smile. “We did have fun and yes we are all together and on our way to the palace.”

“Thanks Mom. Glad you had things under control…Yes, I know you were the queen once.” He chuckled. “I’ll tell her.” He pocketed his phone and looked to Jo. “She says she can’t wait for you to get back and be queen again.”

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