Page 16 of Guarding the Princess
I chuckle because she has me there. “Fine. I don’t have a lot of friends because I’m laser focused on my job. People can get hurt if I’m not doing my job well. Most of my friends from high school live in Northern California and I just haven’t made new ones here in LA.”
“Haven’t you been here for a while?”
I nod quickly. “Eight years.”
Something that looks like sympathy runs across her face. “I’ve only been here less than three years, and undercover at that, and I’ve made more friends than you.”
I wince. “You really have a way with words, Charlotte.”
She laughs softly. “Truth hurts, huh?”
We both drop our gaze to my hand still covering hers on the table. She flinches, but I keep her there.
“We’re friends, aren’t we?” My voice comes out less certain than I intended. More vulnerable.
Her eyes soften. “I’d like to think so.”
The waiter interrupts our moment, but not before a truce is made. A silent agreement to be friends. Which is what I want, despite my brain yelling at me about some stupid rule book and the dangers of putting a friendship before the job.
7
Charlotte
There’s this little theatre in LA that boasts the best sound system in all the west. I scoffed at their advertising for many months before Rhys and I went looking for something to do one day and tried it out. The picture came on the big screen and then what could only be described as multilayered sound took over my whole body. The chair shook, my ears clenched, and my very soul trembled from the onslaught of sound from every direction. It was a full-body experience.
I’m feeling a bit like that in my tiny apartment after coming home from dinner with Ryker.
I’m shook.
I feel stuck and see no plausible way out. On the one hand, I have what Iwantto do. On the other, I have what Ishoulddo. And they’re definitely not the same thing. I’m scared about exposing my secret to Rhys. I’m worried I’ll collapse against the pressure from Mother and go back to Regora. I have a thousand apprehensions about running away and trying to make it on my own without an identity. And if that all weren’t enough, I havefeelingsabout Ryker.
Like, romantic feelings. Which is crazy because we barely tolerate each other. Oh, and let’s not forget that it’s the man’s job to take me back to Regora which I’ve told him repeatedly I don’t want. There isn’t a worse man in all the world for me to develop feelings for so, of course, that’s what I do. He put his hand on mine at dinner and I wanted him to stay right there touching me more than I wanted to run away.
Worst of all, everything he said is true. I need to grow up and learn to trust. Starting with Rhys.
“Do you want me to stay here or go out to my truck?” Ryker hooks a thumb over his shoulder, looking a bit uncomfortable with the way I’m staring at my blank phone screen.
“No, no. Stay. Please.” I grab his hand, noticing the rush of tingles that trace up my arm the moment we make contact. Pulling him over to the sofa, we have a seat and I take a final deep breath. “I’ve got this.”
Ryker’s look of confidence is the only thing bolstering me up at the moment. That and the way his knee is brushing against mine with familiarity. With shaking hands, I hit Rhys’s name on my phone and let it ring.
“Charlotte? You okay?” she answers right away, a bunch of noise in the background.
“Hello, yes, I’m fine,” I answer stiltedly. I shake my head. “Hey, Rhys, do you have time to chat? There are some things I want to tell you.”
I hear a door close and the background noise dims considerably.
“Yeah, I’m all ears, girl. What’s up?”
“You know how you’re always asking me questions about my family?” I don’t wait for her to answer, just plunging ahead, needing to get it all out. “I never tell you the truth because the truth is a little unbelievable. My mother and father are the King and Queen of Regora, a little country near Sweden most people haven’t heard about.”
There’s a long pause and I squeeze my eyes shut, expecting the worst.
“Sweet! That means you’re a princess, right? That could totally get us into some of those exclusive clubs in LA that always turn us away.”
I snort, the sound that happens when you laugh, cry, and sigh at the same time. “You’re not freaked out?”
Ryker rubs my back, sending goose bumps racing along my skin.
