Page 10 of Coral Prince Conundrum
“Right. Listen, Seero, can we talk? I have something important to ask you.”
I look up at his hopeful eyes as pool water drips down his chin. “You…are soaking wet. You require a shower to rinse off the chlorine.”
He looks down, then crosses his arms. “Right.”
I jut my chin out and guide him to the men’s locker room. “I did not expect you to be at this class,” I say in my calmest tone.
We walk in, and fortunately, no one is around. “Well, I wanted to see you, and Layla lets employees from the café join in hotel activities.”
“That is very generous of her.” I open the shower curtain and point. “Bathe.”
“Sir, yes sir,” he says in a dramatic tone. Daryl turns on the water, checks the heat, and steps in. Water cascades down his lower back, and I wonder what the skin on his spine feels like.So smooth…
He glances at me, and I abruptly turn around and walk toward the towel rack. I am proud to say I stand there, looking away from him, for ten whole minutes as he finishes bathing. Once the water stops, I turn and hand him a towel.
“Thanks.” He picks up the large bag, presumably his clothes from the nearby shelf and sits down.
“Are you not working at the café today?”
“I am.” He wraps the towel around his tiny waist and smiles. “But I haven’t seen you in five days. Wanted to check in on my biggest tipper, ha ha.” He gives an uncomfortable laugh, and I sit on the bench next to him.
After a moment of silence, he removes his bathing suit and switches to his boxer shorts under the towel. I turn away from the tempting sight and clear my throat. “You wanted to talk?”
“Yes. Seero, about the other day at the zoo…you should know, your secret is safe with me.” My head whips around in shock to see him now fully dressed.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re…” He leans in and whispers. “A Coral Kingdom person.”
My heart hammers in my chest, and I stare at the floor. “What…makes you say that?”
“It took some time. But seeing you control sea lions was…astounding. I did some research. After weeding out fiction from fact, I discovered stories about an isolated kingdom. While other kingdoms can talk to animals, only one nation can talk to marine wildlife, and the people in those photos kind of looked like you.”
I huff. “That does not mean I am one of them.”
He touches my shoulder and says, “Seero, I swear, I won’t tell anyone.”
His hand sizzles on my bare shoulder, and I want to lean into his touch. Instead, I shake my head and stand up. “You do not know what you are talking about, Daryl.”
I begin to walk away, but he says, “Let me repay you!”
I freeze and slowly turn back to him. “What?”
“Let me repay you. For saving my camera.”
I gulp. No one has ever offered to repay me for anything. “I…did nothing of the sort.”
Daryl shrugs and grins. “Something tells me those sea lions wouldn’t have done circus tricks if you weren’t there. Dude, you saved my really expensive camera.”
He steps closer, and I want to get lost in his dark eyes. “Let me repay you. How about lunch?”
My throat goes dry. I want to say no. I need to let this surface-dweller go back to his comfortable existence. There is much danger in knowing a prince like me, complications he can’t begin to comprehend.
But with Daryl’s warm body standing at arm’s length, my conviction falls by the wayside. “What time?” The words sound foreign as they leave my mouth, but the smile on Daryl’s face is so worth it.
“Those senior citizens kicked my ass at aquatic aerobics,” Daryl says.
We both burst out in laughter as I play with my food. It’s the next day, and we’re sitting at Renversé Restaurant, locatedright here in the hotel. This was the most convenient location for me since I don’t drive. And now, we’re both eating salads in the middle of the afternoon. I should be anxious since he knows my secret, but I’ve been completely relaxed all lunch. He’s charming and interesting, and we laugh just like we’re at the café.
