Page 7 of His Runaway Princess

Fortunately, there had been a bit of cash in her bag. That got her onto the ferry and to the other island, but Ryker must have paid for the trip and for the clothes and supplies.

She’d pay him back when she returned to her real life.

As each item was rung up, they placed it in the correct suitcase. They’d deal with tags and everything else later.

Ten minutes after they left the store, they were on the shuttle van taking them to their first destination. Three other couples traveled with them. They all seemed to know each other already, which left her and Ryker to themselves.

“How are you?” he asked quietly. “I know this has to have taken you by surprise, even on an unplanned trip.”

“I’m all right, thank you for asking.” She stared out the window of the van. “Thank you for your assistance, Ryker. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

“It’s my pleasure, Amalia.”

He seemed tense or maybe it would be better described as alert. His eyes seemed to be in constant motion, and he made certain she sat on the inside of the van, putting himself between her and the door.

It could be construed either as a way to obstruct her means of egress or a way to keep himself between her and any potential dangers.

This drive also didn’t take long, but left the city of Zarifan and headed south down the coast of Ichnusia. At the resort, all of the rooms faced the private beach. Each of the five buildings housed two or three suites. The other three couples were in one building. Amalia and Ryker were in the same building as the tour guide.

The door closed behind Ryker, and it hit Amalia.

They were alone.

3

As soon as the door closed, Ryker saw the tension increase in the princess.

A glance around the suite showed a sofa with a table. Through an archway, he could see a king-sized bed with sliding doors beyond. Picture windows looked out over the beach from both rooms. A television hung on a swivel-mount in between the two.

He nodded toward the other room. “Take the bed. I’ll take the sofa.” Without waiting for a response, he carried her new suitcase into the other room and set it on the luggage rack, but didn’t open it. She wouldn’t want him to access it, even just to lay it open.

“Thank you.” The princess went to stare out the sliding door. “What is next on the agenda?”

Ryker pulled his phone out and opened the itinerary. “We eat in about an hour. It says dress is casual, but it will be a traditional Ravenzarian meal.”

“What’s in a traditional Ravenzarian meal?”

He shrugged. “I’m not quite sure. I suppose we’ll find out.” As he shoved his phone back in his pocket, something occurred to him. “Do you have any allergies?”

Princess Amalia shook her head but didn’t turn to look at him. “No. Thankfully.”

“Good.”

“What would you like to do in the meantime?” She finally turned around. “Do we have time to actually do anything?”

“Probably not. We could go for a walk for a bit or watch some telly, but not much more.”

She looked longingly at the bed. “Not enough time for a nap, I suppose.”

Ryker shrugged. “Depends. Are you a ‘give me a twenty minute nap, and I’m good to go’ kind of person? Or are you one of the ‘if I don’t sleep for at least two hours, I’m crankier than a Trekkie stuck at aStar Warsconvention’ people?”

“Cranky,” she admitted. “It’s probably not the best idea. But I don’t really want to go for a walk, and I seldom watch telly these days. I wouldn’t know what to pick.”

He picked up the remote. “We’ll just scroll until something looks interesting. Would you prefer the sofa or the chair?”

“Sofa, if you don’t mind.”

Ryker moved toward the chair. “Not at all.”

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