Page 5 of Rowdy Prince
Charles pulls at the handle and I can hear a muffled yell as he demands that I let him out. I cross the street, holding my hands out on either side of my head as I shrug. “I’m sorry, old friend, I can’t hear you,” I say, chuckling to myself as I toss the keys in the air then pocket them while I walk away. Free at last.
Tara
Iwipe my clammy hands against the fabric of my dress. It’s pink and flowy and I feel a bit like a princess in it, which really only reminds me of the fact that I’m expecting a prince to show up. Every time the doorbell goes, I about jump out of my skin racing to get it. But as the time Mitch is due to arrive gets close, I’m starting to wonder if Luis’s attendance was just a joke in response to my obvious stupidity. I’m still dying with embarrassment over this.
“Mitch will be here any minute,” Laura says to everyone after she’s gotten their attention. “So, I want us all to be ready.” She holds her finger up to her lips and smiles. “Mitch thinks we’re going out to dinner with his sister and parents. So he’ll be expecting to rush in and get ready to go back out.”
A quiet murmur flows through the room as everyone groups together at the far end of it and I dim the lights. Laura checks her watch then moves to the door and places her hand on the handle.
“I hear footsteps,” she stage whispers, signaling for everyone to get down. They do, and as the footsteps drawer closer, Laura pulls open the door and everyone jumps out and yells, “Surprise!” while I flick the lights back up.
“Same hair. Wrong guy.” Luis says in the doorway with a massive grin on his face. His eyes immediately find mine while my heart jumps up and lodges itself in my throat.Holy fuck. He’s even hotter than he was before.My uterus aches from wanting his babies.
A disappointed groan ripples through the gathering as Luis greets Laura then makes his way over to me. Our eyes are locked and my skin is getting really hot. I think my dress is too tight and possibly my panties have caught on fire. “Tara.” He takes my hands and smiles as his gaze travels the length of my body. “It’s been so long. You’re all grown up now.”
“Y-yes. Ah, th-thank you, your-uh-royal highness.” I drop into a curtsy or a bow. Or maybe I just stutter up and down like a wildly incompetent idiot. But in the moment, the sparkle disappears from Luis’s eyes as his mouth forms an O at the exact same time as Mitch walks in and says, “What’s going on here?” and everyone freaks and yells ‘surprise’ all over the place. It’s crazy and noisy, but it’s the perfect excuse to pull my hands from Luis’s grip and make my mortified escape.
What the hell is wrong with me? I’m back to being that speechless awkward twelve-year-old who couldn’t string a sentence together around him. Over the years, I got over that and gave him all the sass I had in me. But this new—well,old—development has me out of sorts.
“Happy birthday, big brother!” I say, holding my arms wide as I make my way to Mitch and hug him tight.
He’s laughing and looking around the room before turning his attention to Laura and myself. “You two did all this?” he asks. “I had no clue.”
“There’s more.” Laura beams and Mitch’s hazel eyes get wider.
“More?”
“Yeah,” I say, sounding a little breathless. “Luis is here.” I step to the side and watch as Mitch’s already smiling face finds the ability to grin even harder. The two men embrace like long-lost brothers, and Laura loops her arm in mine, taking in the scene.
“This is a wonderful thing you did,” she says. “What was it like for you? I saw you seemed a little nervous over there.”
“Oh god. I want to die of embarrassment right now,” I say. “I don’t know how to act around him anymore. But I’m happy for this.” I nod towards Mitch and Luis, talking to each other animatedly as Mitch introduces him to the rest of his friends and extended family. “This is precisely what getting Luis here was all about.”
“Maybe when the excitement calms down, you’ll get a chance to talk to him too?”
I bounce my shoulders then shake my head. “I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day. I’ll just stay out of the way. Tonight is all about Mitch.”
Luis
Being back in the U.S feels a lot like coming back home. At Mitch’s party, there’s no stifled speech or big decisions to be made. I don’t have to watch what I say or how much I drink or eat. There’s no dignitary to schmooze. There’s no noble to impress. This is just a gathering of people who care about each other. And it’s everything I’m missing in my life. It’s going to be hard to go back to Reinqueno in a couple of days. Especially since Tara is going out of her way to avoid me. I’d really hoped to spend some time with her tonight, but she keeps finding reasons to occupy herself elsewhere. She was so awkward when I got here, and if that weird ‘your royal highness’ bow/squat/curtsy thing she did is anything to go by, she’s discovered Reinqueno is a legitimate country, and I’m a legitimate prince. It’s a shame, because I did so enjoy our banter from before. I liked that I could sit down and tell her the honest truth and she’d laugh and think it was all lies. Somehow, her reaction from back then has managed to keep me grounded all these years. Because if my real-life stories sounded like a fairytale to an American girl, then I was truly a very privileged person. I needed to remember that.
Catching sight of her from across the room, I spot her saying something to Mitch’s wife, Laura before they embrace and Tara slips out the front door.She’s leaving?
Making a quick exit of my own, I find her unlocking a little bubble-shaped VW and break into a sprint after her. I’m not letting her get away without at least having one conversation with me.
“Tara!”
She pops her head up at the sound of my voice then seems to speed up her movement, getting into her car and fumbling with the key. I reach the passenger side just as she starts the engine and jump in next to her.
“Why are you running from me?”
“I’m not,” she says in an obvious lie. “I’m just tired and I want to go home.”
“Don’t lie to me, Tara. It may have been eight years since I saw you last, but I still know you. You’re avoiding me.”
“Eight years is a long time, Luis. We aren’t kids anymore and you’re, well, you’re about to aking.”
I let out my breath. “You finally believe me, huh?”
