Page 112 of A Girl and HER Prince
The duke’s eyes narrowed on him. “You’re a real dreamer, huh? You think you’ve got what it takes to bring that country back together again? Heal their political divides? Make sure every mouth is fed? You think you’ve got the smarts? The grit? And when those oligarchies fight you on it?” He scoffed. “You’d need the strength of Alexander the Great to unify your people against them. You actually think that’s you?”
Not in the least, but I’m all my father has.Venice’s mouth firmed.Achilles couldn’t talk him out of this. He turned from his friend as the first medic came for him.
Achilles caught his arm. “I think you can do that and more, Aeneas… and I’ll always be at your side, but there’s someone else who should be there too.” Venice’s breath caught as the duke’s words resonated through his soul. “A king who has the power to heal Tirreoy would have to rule with both wisdom andhis heart.Don’t let her go, man.”
He’d barely had time to register what Achilles had said before Deedee’s phone found a home in their face. “Hey look, friends! Here’s Venice making the same mistake he made before. Pretty disappointing. The guy thinks he’s not supposed to have emotions like normal people.”
Venice scowled at her. How much had his personal paparazzi overheard? This happened to be none of their business, and if he actually felt like quenching the curiosity of Deedee’s avid followers, then yes, he wasn’t allowed the same things they were. What was left of his heart after his homeland’s civil war, he’d lost to Livvy.
Is that what they wanted to hear?
Achilles put his hand in front of her camera phone. “Hey, Deedeelicious! You mind? He’d rather be an idiot without witnesses.”
Not helpful! What was the alternative? Could Livvy handle taking on the pressures of ruling? Could any of them? Venice searched out the woman he’d do anything to protect. His pulse rushed at the sight of her. She stood with Bris, patiently accepting all his sister’s dramatic gestures with a patient nod.That’s strength.
Fondness rushed through him as he studied her. Livvy had gone back into the fishbowl even when she’d been terrified; she’d worked with him to get that galley ship on the water on their ill-fated voyage, and stitched him up like a Build-A-Bear. Livvy had handled the wicked turn of her dream trip better than all of them, and as much as it killed him to put her in that kind of danger again, he was being selfish not askingherwhat she wanted… but wasn’t asking her to stay also selfish?
He groaned, only now noticing the medics were poking and prodding at him.
“Hide that smile when you watch her,” Deedee snapped at him from above. “You don’t want her to see how you really feel. That would be a disaster to be so vulnerable, but hey, at least you helped keep my friend alive. So I thank you for your hand in that, but you don’t deserve her if you don’t fight for her.”
He cried out when a shot of antibiotics went into his stomach. He hadn’t been expecting that, especially when he got distracted by Deedee laying on her lectures so thick.
Achilles wasn’t rushing to his defense. Worse, he was chuckling.
This wasn’t funny!
“Venice, are you okay?” Livvy was at his side. His less-than-manly yelp had brought her running, and now she lent him the comfort of her fingers that felt way too good after the abuse his friends had put him through. “They’re taking you out of here on the next flight out,” she informed him. “I’m sure I’ll… uh,we’llsee you soon.”
He ran his fingers down her soft arm, refusing to let go of her, even when he knew…knew… what? That she was his heart like Achilles said?
The duke burst out in a booming laugh. He backed away from them. “I think you can take it from here, Odysseus.”
What was that supposed to mean? Venice glared after him. Could no one take his heartbreak seriously?
Livvy shrieked out with surprise, making him jump. Steve was sticking his donkey nose into her side. The rascal sniffed and chomped her shirt and pockets like he was in search of a treat. When that failed to magically procure an apple, he rummaged through her messy, curly hair.
Man, Venice wanted to touch that hair too. He’d never seen her look so gorgeous.
The medics growled out their complaints. Venice pushed the mischievous donkey back. “Steve, I told you to find your own girl.” He swallowed before he said exactly what he was thinking: “This one’s mine.”
Livvy turned rigid. Her eyes narrowed. “Yours?”
He touched her lips with the tips of his fingers. Was it too late to win her back? He didn’t know how to do it, and yet every part of him was desperate for it. “Please say that our next vacation will be in a nice city somewhere,” he said stupidly.
She sucked in her breath with another fiery look. “Ournext vacation?”
A tingle of nervous excitement rushed through him. Shewasn’tindifferent to him… not like she’d been when she was explaining to Bris that she wasn’t sure about another trip. Venice nodded. “I was thinking of one with restaurants and warm baths and… washing machines.”
An unsure smile captured her tantalizing mouth before she forced it back with a scowl. “We’re not even through with this one, and you want another vacation?”
“You actually want to stretch this one out?” he teased her.
Her flashing eyes made him want to pull her to him and kiss her senseless. “Odysseus always left his women behind,” she snapped, “and you still have seven islands to visit, each of them as exciting and death-defying as this one. I’m sure you can handle those on your own.”
He shuddered. That was it! He knew how to stop this talk. “Livvy,” he said urgently. “I was wrong before. I need you.” He meant to kiss her, but the second he tried, a grumpy medic barked at him to stay still and yanked him back. That made things harder.
Would he actually have to talk about how he felt? In front of Deedeelicious? And possibly her out-of-control audience? Worse, he spied his younger sister in the fringe of this group. Normally, the thought wracked him with nerves, but this time, strangely… he didn’t care.
