Page 20 of His Runaway Princess

7

As soon as the prince and princess came into view, Ryker could feel the tension begin to radiate off Amalia. Her excursion would come to an end here rather than on her own terms - whatever she wanted those terms to be.

Ryker could see confusion on Princess Yvette’s face as she looked at Princess Amalia. The Øyanoridian princess gave a slight shake of her head. When everyone had taken their seats, servers began to deliver the first course.

Amalia only picked at her food, but Ryker didn’t let that stop him from enjoying his. He kept an eye on her as well as on the guests at the other end of the table. Though he knew their security teams had to be around, they weren’t immediately apparent to Ryker. As locations went, this one was about as secure as they came.

One of the security team members on the dock might have noticed Amalia, but the floppy hat she’d worn might have obscured their vision. He hadn’t noticed as much security on this end of the trip. He might have missed it - or it was more electronic than physical - but he didn’t think so.

The meal lasted over an hour as the prince and princess talked with the other three couples. Amalia and Ryker both stayed out of the conversation for the most part. The royals at the other end of the table didn’t make an overt effort to include them, likely because of the distance as well as the realization that no one else knew Princess Amalia’s true identity.

Besides, the other three couples were enamored with having royalty to talk to. They didn’t gush, but were clearly star struck.

Eventually, they took a longer tour around the property with Prince Nicklaus and Princess Yvette promising to catch up with them later. They both gave Princess Amalia a look, but the princess more than the prince.

“What about dinner?” Princess Amalia asked Ryker as he drove them in the electric cart toward their evening accommodations where their luggage was supposed to be waiting for them.

“Uh...” He hesitated, the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach coming back, just as it had when he’d read it the first time. “It’s a dinner for two at the cabin where we’ll be staying this evening. I’d imagine it’s meant to be a romantic dinner, though the description didn’t specify. We can find a way to make it unromantic.” Letting up on the pedal, he looked more closely at the map he’d been given then took the right fork in the path.

“Thank you.”

He hoped there would be a good place for him to sleep. “Did you get a chance to talk to the prince and princess?” Since the meal ended, Ryker had been waffling over whether to ask the question or not, but finally decided she’d think it was weird if he didn’t.

She stared at the landscape rather than looking at him. “Not really, but that’s all right. I’m sure they’re lovely people.”

Ryker knew better than to press for more information.

“Did you have a chance to talk with them?” she asked in return.

“Nah.” He winked at her, knowing he shouldn’t even as he did it anyway. “I’ve got a princess to hang out with already.” Keeping his tone light should keep her from thinking about it any more deeply. “I’m no prince, but I’d like to think I could hold my own in a conversation with them.”

“They’re just people, like anyone else.”

He could barely hear the whisper and decided to let it slide. A few minutes later, he glided to a stop in front of a small cabin. After putting the cart into park, Ryker turned it off. He hopped down and hurried to the other side to tuck the princess’s hand into her arm as they walked up the steps onto the porch.

Once inside, it looked about like he suspected. A king-sized bed against the wall opposite the door. A rocking chair. A jetted tub. A door Ryker suspected led to a bathroom. And a small kitchenette and table for two on the other side.

Which meant he’d be sleeping on the floor between the bed and the door.

“It’s... quaint.” The princess sounded like she was trying to be kind.

“It is.”

She opened her suitcase where it already sat on the rack. “You know, there’s no other place for you to sleep tonight. We can share. It’ll be all right.”

“Thanks.” He wouldn’t, but she could think what she wanted.

Half an hour later, once they had everything situated, a knock on the door told them their meal had arrived.

Rather than sitting at the table with the candles waiting to be lit, they took the meal out to the porch.

“It’s a beautiful night.” Ryker took a sip of his wine.

Princess Amalia nodded. “Sitting out here was a stroke of genius.”

Ryker propped his feet up on the railing as he took another bite of his meal. “I’m glad the cabin is facing west so we can watch the sunset.” The sky glowed with pinks and oranges as the sun slipped toward the horizon.

“Same.”

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