Page 2 of Once Upon a Royal Billionaire

“Okay. Point taken. You need to lighten up.”

He exhaled slowly. “I know. I’ll be better in a few minutes.”

They pulled in close to the dock, turning so that Clint could ski his way in. He plowed in, shooting up spray as he turned. Then he hopped up out of his ski as he jumped up onto the dock. Their dock hands scooped up the ski, and Rhett sidled the boat up against the dock. As if on cue, the music cranked up. He held his hands in the air. “Let’s get this party started!”

He ran into the boathouse and up the stairs, pushing open the door to his upstairs rec room. “Gentleman, let the first meeting of the Prince Society begin.”

Everyone had come, as expected. There were eight guys scattered around the room, playing pool or video games. Watching them all brought a rush of nostalgia for the days when all they thought about was girls and waterskiing. The princes raised their cue sticks, drinks, or game controllers to him in greeting. No one sat at the large conference table, each place set with pens and an agenda.

Rhett groaned. “They look like a bunch of teenagers.”

Clint stepped in, rubbing a towel through his hair. “Hey, this was our pad. They’re just reliving the mems.”

“I guess so.” Rhett made his way to the fridge and grabbed a soda before calling on the intercom to his assistant. “Jeff, we’re ready for dinner.”

Enzo was right. He did need to lighten up. Rhett tried to relax, but having this group here in his boathouse…it just felt empty without Emily.

And he knew that wasn’t happening any time soon. He’d heard about Emily’s divorce, and just knowing she was unattached did crazy things to his insides.

Dinner arrived. The staff set it up in the other room on the huge, thick wood table, and the guys dug in. Rhett studied them. They represented a large amount of the royalty whose countries bordered the Mediterranean. Brooks, Enzo, Clint, Donnovan, Zane, Dexter, Arlo, Ryland. Once everyone was settled at the table, Rhett started. “Okay, let’s talk. As you all know, we called you here to start the Prince Society.”

“Yeah, so what is that exactly?” Brooks, the prince of Roades took a bite of his sandwich. Of all the guys, Rhett hoped he would jump on board. The other guys liked him.

“A lot of things. First, every Mediterranean prince is included. And that’s important. We’re united on this.”

“For the ladies.” Donnovan high-fived the guys near him and pretty much every face at the table smirked.

Rhett laughed. “The society will have its benefits, like when we have our parties, events, and this water ski competition. But it will also serve a greater purpose—for us to come together on issues and problems that face our united Mediterranean community.”

“Some of us don’t worry about all that.” Arlo and Donnovan laughed, and Rhett resisted rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, we’re not unlucky enough to be the heir,” Arlo razzed Zane, who was the heir to a large throne.

Rhett wanted their attention back. “We’re asking you to start caring. In between the parties, we’re asking that you step up a little. There’s a lot we can do together.” He could tell he was losing them.

“He’s right. We stand behind Rhett.” Nico Valdez, King of Torren, stood in the doorway, his huge frame filling the space. His five brothers crowded in behind him. They were a commanding presence. And Rhett smiled in gratitude. Nico winked at him.

“The truth is, there’s a lot going on in our sea that affects all of us,” Nico continued.

The room fell into a respectful silence. The Valdez brothers often did that to people, but they knew how to party like the best of them.

“Come in. Take your seats at the table and dig in.” Rhett was glad they’d come when they did. He was happy all of them made it.

Clint lifted a glass. “Onto more important topics. Like who’s in the boat for the competition and who’s skiing?”

Donnovan ran a hand through his hair. “I should definitely be in the boat. For the publicity shots.”

Everyone groaned. They all kind of wanted to toss him into the sea, but he had his moments so they kept him around—that and his father commanded a huge portion of the Mediterranean’s wealth in trade.

“Two in the boat, three in the competition.” Brooks looked around the table. “We gotta talk about our team. Rhett says Mountain Blue is competing this year.”

“We are not losing to those guys again. I don’t care if Emily is on the team.” Clint leaned back in his chair. “Dude, is she competing or not?”

Everyone looked at Rhett.

“I don’t know. We don’t talk.” This topic was going to get real old real fast. He wished everyone would back off the Emily vibe. “As for who’ll be in the competition, we’re gonna hold tryouts just like we have every year. Starting Tuesday. Best team goes. The rest of us will be there to support and participate in the first Princes Gala.” He pointed two fingers at Donnovan. “This is where we bring the ladies.”

“Even you?” Donnovan snorted.

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