Page 34 of Prince Charmless
“How is he?”
“He’s fine. You know, as fine as you can be.”
Mom doesn’t ask more. That’s all the information she wants to know about him these days. I know she cares about my dad, but not enough to ask a deeper question beyond his general well-being.
Cameras flash from outside. A serious-looking man in a serious-looking suit walks in first, followed by the Prince himself. He runs a hand through his hair before coolly taking off his Ray-Bans and hanging them on his blue linen button-down. Thomas resembles a younger Taylor except with a shorter haircut and a little more of their mother’s features. This prince is also smiling, a gesture Taylor doesn’t do very often, off camera at least.
“You must be Ms. Ramirez?” Thomas asks my mother in perfect Castilian Spanish. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Sonia, please. Your Spanish is beautiful.” Mom looks like she’s about to faint as he shakes her hand.He’s twenty-four, Mamá.“Let me introduce you to my staff. We’re all so excited you’re here. Oh, this is my daughter, Melina. She’s the Mel in MelMat.” Mom leans into him and wiggles her eyebrows. “She’s also single at the moment.”
I shoot my mom a disapproving glare. She lasted a whole five seconds without being an embarrassment. “Ignore her,” I say to Thomas.
“Melina,” he says softly. Thomas looks me up and down before taking my hand. I think he is just going to shake it, but he brings my hand up to his lips and gently kisses my middle finger. What century is this?
“Lina, I think the Prince likes you,” Mom teases.
“Yes, I hear he does,” Thomas says, still speaking Spanish. Then he winks at me. Winks! What in God’s name did Taylor tell him?
I peel my hand out of Thomas’ grasp as some young girls behind us call his name. He leaves to go take selfies and flirt with them, probably. Mom squeezes my shoulder before I leave to take a seat behind an empty nail station. I’m not sure how Thomas conjured up this fantasy about his brother and me.Maybe Taylor told him about making my dinners, and he got the wrong impression. Itisa bizarre situation.
I pull out my phone.
Me:your brother just kissed my hand
Taylor:yeah he’ll do that
A prompt texter, Taylor. Earlier, he sent me a picture of a red phone booth. Though I would’ve enjoyed a cheesier shot of him taking a fake call like a tourist, it warms my heart he remembered the request I made in passing.
I start to ask why his brother’s acting weird but stop typing when Thomas walks back over. He shows the notification on his phone.
Taylor:stop kissing Melina’s hand. I will kill you.
Thomas slides in the chair across from me. “You don’t have to worry about me, Melina, I’m just having fun.”
Now that he’s switched to English, I realize how uncannily similar his voice is to Taylor’s. I bet if they were talking on the phone, I wouldn’t know which is which.
I should clear things up as fast as possible.
“Listen, I think there’s been some misunderstanding. I know it seems strange he’s been cooking for me, but we haven’t done anything together that’s not gastronomy-related.”
There. I feel better now.
Thomas’ eyes widen. “Wait, wait, wait. He’s been cooking for you? It’s more serious than I thought.”
Now I’m very confused. “What exactly has Taylor told you?”
Thankfully, Mom isn’t close by, and it’s too loud in the salon for anyone to hear us.
“He hasn’t told me anything, that’s the thing. All the dancing together and the fact that he giggles like a schoolgirl when he reads your texts, I just assumed.”
Oh. Things are making more sense now, but I think Thomas is exaggerating.
He inspects the wall of nail polish next to us, meticulously organized by brand and color. “Why has he been cooking for you?”
“It’s his way of apologizing for bullying me in my own apartment. He thinks if he cooks me enough food, I’ll eventually make the website for the charity he’s starting.”
“Oh yeah, he’s been trying to get that thing going for ages.”
