Page 60 of Iron Unicorn

I went through my photos and found one of a good sized rogue wave I’d gotten lucky enough to catch, sending it over to him. “Will that suffice?”

Daphne peered at the image, and her eyes widened. “That’s borderline indecent, Terry. Why were you only wearing the shorts of a wetsuit?”

“That’s not part of a wetsuit, that’s why,” I explained. “It was over a hundred degrees outside, and I hadn’t expected to go surfing. That board isn’t mine, and I bought the shorts at a nearby surf shop. It was too hot for a full wetsuit, and I saw the shorts. Ihateswimming trunks. The mesh drives me crazy. The surf shop owner recommended those. It’s the same material as a wetsuit, which I don’t mind wearing.”

Edward joined in, and his eyes widened. “Can I learn how to do this?”

“I’m game to try to teach you. It’d be good practice for teaching my queen once she’s a little fitter and is better at swimming. She’s gotten braver about going into the palace pool, but she needs to conquer the pool before we take her to the ocean.” I shook my head over the insanity of New York’s royal family and the activities they’d missed out on as children. “If you’re trying to find me and I’m not in New York, check the nearest beaches with good waves. I find it rather simple to sneak into California for a weekend when off duty.”

“I’m sure Ethan helps with that,” Will stated in an amused tone. “If I wanted to lure my sister to a beach, all I’d have to do is tell you where the good waves are?”

“That assumes your sister decides to follow me when I go check out the waves.” As I saw no reason to hide anything from the family of busybodies, I shrugged and added, “If you’re trying to luremeout to a beach, telling me there are good waves while promising a place to stay and time off work would be a pretty easy way to do it.”

“Daphne, you know what to do,” Will announced.

“I am not telling Rachel she has to be separated from her head of detail again so soon. Forget it. It’s not happening. However, I am happy to work on convincing Rachel she should work harder at her swimming lessons so she can learn how to surf, thus resulting in the whole lot of them going to the beach. Send me the photos. Seeing Terry in action might get the whole lot of New Yorkers out for some prime entertainment.”

“Prime entertainment?” I could see terror in my future, especially if my queen did not have a knack for surfing. “I’m not sure who is going to be entertained by this.”

Before anyone had a chance to answer me, a rather frazzled Olivia emerged from the bedroom. From the looks of it, she’d pulled at her hair while screaming.

I questioned what went on in her head, but her flustered expression amused me. Aware of the high probability of being bonded to her, I decided to throw my hat into the ring the only way I knew how. I brought up the photograph Daphne had deemed to be bordering on indecent, turned the phone in her direction, and asked, “Your thoughts?”

Olivia’s eyes widened, and she took my phone for a better look. “Which thoughts are you interested in?”

All of them came to mind, but to spare us both from embarrassment, I said, “Is that attire casual enough?”

To my amusement, Olivia licked her lips. “I would say that’s casual enough. I would have thought you favored wetsuits. They’re like suits but for surfing.”

I chuckled. “When it’s cold out, yes. It was pretty hot when that photo was taken. I’ll take you surfing if you’d like.”

Olivia handed my phone back, fled back into the bedroom, and shut the bathroom door beyond with amusing force. A moment later, she let out another squeal.

I had never considered myself as particularly appealing, but between Carl, the direct commentary from Olivia’s family, and the subject of the photograph, I determined I appealed to the princess.

“She’s pretty good for my esteem right now,” I confessed, careful to keep my voice low enough she wouldn’t hear me. “However, maybe we should put those photos away for a while. We might alarm the Texans in the hall.”

“I think the damage is done,” Daphne said, shaking her head. “Will, she’s literally squealing in the bathroom.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s never seen Terry shirtless before now,” he said, shaking his head. “Or at least shirtless and using his muscles. What had you been doing to get that toned, Terry? Most men have to train specifically to get that level of definition.”

“I was working out to keep up with my queen. The surfing was mostly to blow off steam and to interact with the Californian RPS agents off duty, but I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to keep up with her. I had not been aware of how her health was declining then. I know it’s harder for us to keep in shape once we’re out of our prime, so I try to keep fit. I’ll be doing a lot of exercising and riding to get back into shape. I don’t think we’ve ever gone swimming together in Montana. Daphne?”

My former co-worker shook her head. “I can’t think of any time we’ve gone swimming. You tended to swim during training, and Olivia never came to our sessions in the pool. Her nose explains why. Swimming would have been rough on her. We’re going to have to check her swimming skills, Will.”

“Terry, I’ll leave my sister’s swimming lessons in your capable hands. I’m sure she won’t mind in the slightest.”

I foresaw chaos in the New York palace swimming pool. “I wonder what gave you that idea.”

“It couldn’t possibly be due to my sister running away so she could scream over the situation. Usually, she saves her screaming for when you make her a new figurine. If you make her a new figurine, she’ll be done for. We’ll have to put her in therapy from being overjoyed.”

I got up, went to the bag I’d been using to cart around my personal items, and dug out the unicorn foal figurine I’d made for her while talking with Queen Jessica. “You mean like this one?”

“That is exactly what I mean,” Will said, heaving a sigh. “We may as well get this out of the way. I’ll go find someone to do the treatments so it doesn’t rust after she finishes freaking out that she has a new figurine.” Getting up, the king went into the bedroom, shook his head, and stepped inside. A moment later, he knocked on the bathroom door. “You left Terry unsupervised, Olivia. He’s made you another figurine.”

Will yelped, and a moment later, the woman barreled into the room, angling straight for me. I recognized the moment the woman had lost her mind, tossed the figurine to Daphne, and prepared for the impact. As expected, Olivia launched herself at me, and I caught her, laughing over her abundance of energy. Fortunately for both of us, the armchair remained upright. I hugged her, allowing myself a smile at her reaction. “Shouldn’t you see what I made first?”

“No,” she replied, and she decided my shoulder was the ideal place to rest her head.

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