Page 2 of A Girl and HER Prince
What a jerk! Deedee might be overbearing, but she’s fiercely loyal and a powerhouse of energy!
That prince didn’t know what he’d tossed away. That was why Deedee had insisted her selfies be absolute perfection. Livvy’s hands were full trying to convince Deedee that she’d be happier forgetting all about that snob, not let the guy live rent-free in her head through her every social media post.
Right now that concept seemed impossible to get through Deedee’s head, and really? Was her friend so wrong? At least she lived life. Sometimes Livvy felt like she was viewing a zoo of dangerous animals through a thick pane of glass. It took someone as reckless as Deedee to even get Livvy to consider taking the time off to go on something as frivolous as a trip. And now that she was here, she was eternally grateful.
What a pair of opposites they made!
Livvy threw the straps of her baggage over her shoulders and attempted to steer her friend from the dock, trying to avoid the crush of people that the superyacht would bring to the island. “The windblown look is exactly what you want,” Livvy whispered into Deedee’s ear with a comforting smile. “It shows that you’ve lived.”
Deedee made a face at her. “Now you’re being lazy! You don’t want to edit my pictures. Admit it.” She laughed and tugged Livvy into the picture with her. “Friend selfie! See? See? This isn’t just about work. We’re both in this together.”
“Not quite what I was saying,” Livvy tried to say through a smile that in no way looked natural. She didn’t have the patience for photoshoots like Deedee had, though seeing the picturesque backdrop through the lens, she stilled at its beauty. The green hills surrounded by the turquoise ocean made a stunning juxtaposition of modern culture invading the ancient.
Greece took Livvy’s breath away. Her smile turned more natural.Dad? Are you here with me?
It sure felt like he was. Livvy could almost hear his breathless lectures on the history of Skopelos and see his bright smiles that he’d never be able to keep back. The charm bracelet her father gave her slid down her arm. He’d told her to fill it with charms from everywhere she traveled, and so far? She only had the one from the Salt Aquarium in California.
Well, things would be different in this place of history and magical adventure—she’d fill up her bracelet with charms and celebrate her father’s memory here.
Turning to Deedee, Livvy could hardly wait to get her friend to forget all about that prince, so they could truly enjoy their idyllic getaway.
She caught Deedee staring at the approaching superyacht. “Ooh, quick,” Deedee said. She stuffed the camera phone into Livvy’s hands, pressing down record. “Let’s do a live feed!”
Livvy began to suspect that her friend’s interest in the approaching vessel was more than casual. Dropping her luggage back to the wooden dock, she steadied the picture of Deedee on her screen while her friend made all sorts of cooing noises, sounding brighter and peppier than she normally did, which actually was the new normal because Deedee was in front of the camera more often than she wasn’t nowadays.
“Hello, everybody!” Deedee waved. “So I have a big surprise for all of you. First off, I’m in Greece! Isn’t it beautiful?”
Livvy scanned past the dock to get a view of the white beaches and the lazy waves drifting past the tranquil ocean. She followed that with a shot of the scenic village sitting atop the lush mountains, so that the viewers could live this next adventure through Deedee.
“Yeah, I know you were all taking votes on where I would go next,” Deedee said brightly, “and a lot of you thought Africa, but c’mon, could you blame me for wanting to come tothisparadise in August?”
With a start, Livvy realized this was a live feed. That meant no edits—she winced—a good thing and a bad thing.Please don’t mention Venice this time!Livvy wouldn’t be able to edit out whatever outrageous thing might pop free from Deedee’s mouth about that no-good prince. Good for clicks. Bad for privacy.
“And like I said, I have a surprise for you, and for…” She licked her lips, like she was actually looking at Livvy this time and not the camera. “And for you, Livvy! My friend is with me too.” She stole the camera phone from Livvy so that she could point it at her this time.
Livvy tried not to scurry out of the way—this was definitely not the plan! Completely aware of how the humidity was curling her hair and melting away her makeup into an unplanned natural look, Livvy attempted a bright smile, and to her embarrassment, bunched up the sides of her pink sundress and dipped into a curtsey.
Oh, she was not meant for showbiz.
“Remember how I said to pack lots of swimsuits?” Deedee asked. “You did, right?”
She was wearing one right now under her sundress. After supper, they could go swimming in one of those tranquil pools on those balconies overlooking the ocean. Livvy’s fingers went to the strap at her shoulder. “You bet I did.” They’d even undergone scuba diving lessons. A pretty big feat for someone who used to not be able to open her eyes under the water or hold her breath with her weak, asthmatic lungs for longer than thirty seconds.
“Poor Livvy,” Deedee said. “She was a champ at her scuba diving lessons, by the way… even if she’s terrified of sharks… but don’t worry. Greece doesn’t have sharks… not like California where she’s from.”
“They’d better not,” Livvy said, doing her best to match her friend’s spunk. She tried to snatch at the camera phone to get it off of her.
“Wait,” Deedee said. “I want everyone to see your reaction when I tell you the news. We’re getting on that superyacht over there.” She veered her phone towards the luxury vessel as it docked alongside them. “Do you see that? It’s got a pool on every deck. What is that? Five? And there are at least twenty cabins, two master bedrooms, three luxury dining rooms, a full staff of chefs and valets, a security team, and get this: they have prototype sea toys from C-Horses—the most brilliant newcomers in the watercraft business!”
That was pretty specific for a random superyacht. Livvy’s heart began to flip inside her chest. What was Deedee planning?
“We’re notjustgoing to Skopelos, friends,” Deedee told Livvy and their live audience, “but we’re going on an odyssey where we will visit all the islands that the famed Odysseus visited in his books!”
Livvy couldn’t keep the astonishment from her face—live or not! This was an absolute dream come true! No one knew for sure all of the exact locations of where Homer had based all of Odysseus’ adventures; historians could only guess the locations of all those fantasy islands, but to even attempt such a thing? Livvy never imagined that was something she’d ever do in her lifetime. Her father would’ve been so happy for her!
Her eyes watered.
“No, no,” Deedee said quickly, “don’t cry.”
