Page 6 of Royal Fling
“Excuse me?” I asked the dashing gentleman.
Not because I was offended, but more amused than anything. There weren’t a lot of people who spoke to me in that way nowadays and being addressed as a “dick” was actually quite refreshing. It reminded me of my university days.
Ah, the good old days.
My few days—years even—of absolute freedom.
“Erm…” the man fumbled, and I focused my attention on his thick, dark pink lips that were very appetizing.
The rest of his features weren’t terrible, either. Smooth black skin with lovely cheekbones, a scruffy beard that I could imagine feeling rough against my skin, and a days-old shaved head. And his eyes? Oh my dear Lord, his eyes were utterly gorgeous and dark. So dark, in fact, that for a second, I assumed they could look into my soul.
“I-I said the least you could do is apologize,” he said with a little more confidence, eyeing my bodyguards with fluttering lashes.
Erik and Yannis were there for my protection in the event I was recognized, however unlikely that was. Not to shield me against a vexed man.
A vexedhandsomeman.
I lifted my hand to dismiss them both, and, with some reluctance, they both stepped further away.
I could only imagine how intimidating it might be for a man of his race being faced with not only one, but two titans like my private security.
“I’m terribly sorry for the trouble I may have caused. Please accept my sincerest apologies,” I finally said, remembering my homegrown manners.
The man didn’t look very pleased, however. His eyes spun upward, and a huff deflated from his chest.
“You don’t need to mock me? You think you’re better than me because you’re rich? Jesus Christ, I can’t say I’ve met a lot of you, but you’re all the same,” he said, his eyes scanning my body looking for an anchor.
I took my sunglasses off so I could look directly at him and make sure he knew I was sorry. Although, to be frank, it was Erik who had to apologize. He was the one who’d found the wrong baggage claim conveyer and snatched the wrong bag.
But I was confident telling the man that very fact would only vex him further, and as enticing as he was with his eye-rolling and furrowed brows, I didn’t think it would serve my purpose.
“I assure you I wasn’t mocking you. I’m awfully sorry for causing you such grief on your trip. Can I write you a check for the frustration I may have caused? Would that suffice?”
I must have said the wrong thing because the man exhaled a loud chuckle and shook his head.
“Wow. You… you are something else, dude,” he said, readjusting his backpack on his shoulder. “Keep your money, rich boy. Maybe you can get yourself a book on manners with it.”
His head cocked from left to right and, as if finding what he was looking for, retreated away from me.
“I have plenty of books onsavoir vivre,” I addressed him, but I only saw him shaking his head and continuing his walk away from me.
“Sir, we need to go,” Erik said, coming up to me, and with both of them a step in front of me, we left the arrivals and walked to the private parking where a small Mercedes limousine was waiting.
Nikolas was standing at the front of the car dressed in his chauffeur uniform, the white gloves a buoy in the dark.
“Your Highness,” he said with a bow, making me glance around us to ensure there were no people.
“Nikolas, what have we said about titling me out in public?”
“Apologies, Your High—erm, sir. Apologies, sir.”
Yannis opened the backdoor and directed me inside. Nikolas scrambled to get behind the wheel, and with the whole entourage inside, we set off for Central London.
New York was lovely, but it was exhausting. It was very similar to London, but there was something about New York City, and I couldn’t put my finger on it, that drained me more than this place ever did.
And meeting with the Americans was emotionally draining. Not to say anything of the fact that because my country was only a small island with a population of two million, they treated me as if I were a nobody who didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Teagan said she’s being held up at JFK, but she will see you tomorrow, sir,” Erik said, reading from his mobile phone.
