Page 11 of A Girl and HER Prince
“C’mon Venice,” she said, “I don’t mean any harm. We left off on a bad foot last time we saw each other and… well, why not try to be friends again?”
He studied her pleading expression. What if she was serious? This might actually be the thing to get her to drop her vendetta against him. And besides—his eyes scanned his more eccentric guests—what was she spoiling? Achilles had already ruined things by inviting those empty-headed socialites. Venice’s attention strayed to the brunette who was doing her best to put Achilles in his place.
“You’re telling me you don’t knowanythingabout these islands you’re touring?” she asked him.
Achilles laughed at her. “No, no, you’re doing this all wrong. Deedeelicious viewers want to know if she and Venice are going to get back together.”
Venice recoiled.
“That’s not going to happen,” the new viral star said, almost as firmly as Venice was tempted to do. Well, at leastsheknew the way the world worked!
And he needed to stop this train wreck before it got back to his father. Venice charged from Deedee and went for her camera. If his ex was serious about not letting any blackmail footage get out, she should start with getting rid of this. “All right, shut off the live feed, Achilles.” He held his hand in front of Deedee’s phone.
His pinky caught the glossy, glittery edge and the sleek WooWoo original model went clattering across the deck. He didnotmean to toss the thing like a spoiled royal brat! His exasperated, mortified gaze went to Deedee’s friend. Her brow was up.
“Pardon me,” he muttered and reached to undo what he’d done, the same time she bent to retrieve the phone too. They collided into each other, and he got a good whiff of tantalizing gardenias when her soft hair brushed against his neck.
He drew back. He liked the smell and thefeelof this flower too much! An elegant silver bracelet slid down her arm to her wrist with the delicate charm of a dolphin swinging against her flawless skin—skin that was perfectly smooth he’d noticed only earlier.
And he still held the phone hostage, didn’t he? She came for him again to retrieve it, her fingers brushing against his. He winced when that sent a jolt of electricity through his system, jumpstarting his heart like Frankenstein’s monster.
He met her tender gaze, but that was even worse! There was such a depth of emotion in her eyes that he couldn’t look away or—or breathe.
What is happening?He’d assumed his emotions were dead since he’d started growing weary of the constant blur of his partying, but nope, they were alive and well. He didn’t even know her name—Abort! Abort! Don’t get on a first-name basis with this woman!
And he still clung uselessly to Deedee’s phone.
This strange angel watched him curiously, and he realized that in no way had she become the same wreckhewas turning into. She only waited for him to return what he’d stolen. “Yeah, here you go.” He gave the camera phone back to her, careful not to touch her again.
She plucked it from his hands, also keeping her distance.
“Oh, I see,” Achilles said knowingly. “You’ve got your eye on the prince instead!”
Deedee’s friend made an enraged sound.
“Let’s go with that angle,” Achilles said, triumphant that he’d finally gotten a good reaction from her. “That’s how clickbait works, right? Ha, I’ve got your number. Point the phone this way. Yeah, good.” He smiled into the camera and waved. “Hi, Bris—you’re glued to all this drama too. Don’t think I don’t see you.”
She’d better not be watching or Venice’s sister would go straight to their father about Deedee crashing their party!
“How about you try to keep your big mouth shut this time,” Achilles told Bris through the phone.
Speaking of… Venice took a deep breath and turned back to Deedee. Her eyes glistened, and it took him too long to realize those were tears. Uh oh. His stomach tightened.
“Okay,” Deedee whispered. “I get when I’m not wanted.”
He froze. Drama wasn’t the only thing Deedee had in common with his sister. Every time he told Bris “no,” the waterworks flipped on and he was helpless against it. This felt no different.
Be strong. This is almost over.
Deedee looked over at her friend. “You ready to go? Luvvy?”
The angel’s name was actually Luvvy? Like lovely or Love?That is too cute. No really, that’s obnoxiously cute. Aaaand Luvvy needs to jump ship if she knows what’s good for her. The last thing she needs is a wicked prince, who’s desperate to forget his troubles in booze and women.
As if reading his mind, Luvvy scrambled back from this mess. “Guess this is goodbye!” Venice almost flinched at the finality in her voice, and even more insultingly, she didn’t look sorry about leaving.
He wasn’t sure why this was hitting him the wrong way. He wanted them gone.
Deedee lifted her shoulders in a miserable shrug. “It was worth a try.”
