Page 28 of Guarding the Princess
My heart rams against my rib cage as I sit. I truly don’t like that man. He hasn’t gotten any better with age. In fact, he’s become more insufferable.
“He seems nice,” Ryker drawls from the doorway after the room has cleared, the sly grin the only expression he’s shown since the smile earlier this morning.
I roll my eyes. “Don’t suppose you’re up for a walk in the gardens are you? I mean, they’re covered in snow, but if we bundle up, it should still be lovely.”
He wipes the smile from his face. “Whatever you’d like.”
I narrow my eyes. Something is off and I intend to find out what it is.
* * *
Aware of windows where anyone could look out and see us walking, I keep a few inches distance from Ryker at all times. Until I know he’s all in, I don’t want to cause a stir among my family. Or more than I already have. The distance is killing me, but looking at his calm composure, I must be alone in that feeling. We must talk about that kiss and what it means. Given his stoic expression, I believe it will have to be me making the first move.
“Do you know my first kiss was when I was fourteen?”
Ryker grunts and I take that as a sign to keep talking.
“When you don’t go to a regular school, you get very little opportunities to meet boys your age. It was during a camp that summer I got up the courage to talk to one of the boys who caught my eye. He kissed me behind a stack of canoes in the equipment shed. I was so excited I couldn’t stop smiling. Until the next day when he disappeared and I found out later my parents had him removed from the camp.” I sigh. “Spies everywhere, it would seem.”
I spot my favorite bench in the rose garden. It’s covered in snow, but a few swipes and it’s good enough to sit on. The roses are all dormant, not much more than little root stumps with special netting our gardener uses to keep them alive over the winter. I pat the bench and Ryker sits down next to me. I resist the urge to reach out and take his hand in mine.
“My second kiss was when I was sixteen. A fellow prince here visiting during the holidays. He didn’t disappear the next day, but I wished he would have. Apparently, he posted on social media that he ‘hooked up’ with the Regora princess. I was mortified. It was just one kiss and yet no one would have believed me. So I hired a hacker to mess with all his accounts.” I smile at the memory. “Revenge was pretty sweet.”
Ryker chuckles next to me. “Sounds like he deserved it.”
I nod. “He really did. So, tell me, Ryker. What’s the horrible thing you’re going to do in the aftermath of my third kiss?”
His head whips toward me, his eyes guarded. Just as I thought. Something is definitely wrong and he doesn’t want to tell me. He swallows before answering, his eyes losing the shock and gaining sympathy, which I most certainly don’t want. I want his truth and his passion, not the look of someone about to tell me something he’ll have to apologize for later.
“Charlotte…” He says my name like a prayer.
“Just say it,Stor Kille.” It may kill me to hear him turn me down, but I must face it if I’m to move on and get my life together.
He doesn’t look away, which I have to give him credit for. “How is this supposed to work? As much as I enjoyed that kiss and enjoy every moment of our time together, even when you make fun of my muffin consumption and my joke telling, the truth is…you’re a princess, Charlotte! How can I ever be anything to you other than a fond memory?”
I start shaking my head before he’s finished talking. “No. You said it yourself. I’ll be the Queen soon and can make whatever laws I want. If I want Casual Friday, I can do it, right? So, if I want to date an American, I can do that too.”
He runs a hand over his jaw. “I dated a woman a few years ago. She wanted to get married, but something stopped me. Maybe it was the constant guilt trips for not being there when she needed me, I don’t know. We finally broke up for good when it became clear I didn’t have enough time for her. I don’t keep normal hours and I take my job seriously. I can only imagine how limited your time is going to be as you assume your new role. I just…” He breaks off and my heart sinks.
“Charlotte…” He whispers my name again as he leans in closer, his eyes turning a darker blue as they beg for me to understand.
All I know with certainty is that I’m falling for this statue of a man. The one who acts all tough and serious but has a mushy center as sweet as myKvæfjordkake. He’s a bodyguard because he cares about people, not because he wants to get in fights or intimidate other people. I know his sense of honor is troubling him so I’m the one to make the move again, leaning all the way in, anticipating his lips on mine. Craving the peace that comes with his kiss.
He pulls away at the last second and clears his throat. Looking off into the snow-covered grounds, my brain scrambles to push down the sting of rejection and come up with an argument that’ll get through to him. I want us to give this relationship a real try and his obvious reluctance is wearing down what little confidence I have in the relationship department.
And that makes me angry. I’ve had enough of men using me for what they want, whether that be a story to tell their friends or a pat on the back for scoring the princess. If Ryker has no interest in dating me, he has no business kissing me. Which makes last night a mistake.
The best moment of my life is now a mistake.
Shame and fury twist together causing me physical pain. I stand up, the abrupt movement rocking the stone bench on the uneven ground.
“When you’ve figured out whatever is going through your head, let me know.” Ryker jumps up too, his attention back on me which only fuels my tirade. “I have far too many things to attend to right now without sorting through your hot and cold treatment. I rather enjoy your company—today’s experience aside—and I’d appreciate you removing the stick from your—”
“What is this? A lover’s quarrel?” Magnus interrupts from behind us. Probably a good thing, based on the direction I was headed, though I wish I could have lashed out at Ryker further. Maybe I could have gotten through his thick head.
We both turn around to see his devious smile. The guy can sure move in the snow without making a sound. A unique ability acquired by all conniving masterminds, I’m sure. I swallow down my hot anger and turn it to ice.
“What do you want, Magnus?”
