Page 45 of A Royal Disaster
“Ho-ly. Shit.” Nia was staring at her, eyes wide. “You fucked the prince, didn’t you?”
Flames licked at the back of Lena’s neck and she shoved another bite of the donut in her mouth, stalling. How could Nia tell? Was it that obvious? It wasn’t like she was wearing aRoyally FuckedT-shirt.
And she was pretty sure her morning-after glow had faded two days ago.
“Oh, my God! You did!” Nia said, pointing a finger at her as she crossed the room. “I can see it in your eyes. Don’t you dare lie to me. I want details.”
Lena chewed slowly, debating her options. Nia had to be bluffing. There was no way she could know for sure. It wasn’t like they had security cameras in the office. “Have you been hitting the energy drinks again?” she asked through a mouthful of sugary sweet goodness. “I thought we agreed no more energy drinks for late night study sessions. They make you…” She made a loopy motion with her hand.
“Nuh-uh,” Nia said, shaking her head. “Don’t change the subject. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” She sighed dramatically and grabbed the donut bag. “Are we even real friends?” she asked, fishing a donut topped with fruity cereal out of the bag. “Thirty plus messages about business and my exams, and you don’t even bother telling me you boned a prince?” She took a giant bite of the donut, tearing it viciously with her teeth. “I mean, that should’ve been text number one. Honestly, how hard is it to send a simple, ‘I got some royal ass last night’ message to your best friend?”
She paused, waiting expectantly.
“Even if something happened—and I’m not saying it did—I would not be texting about it,” Lena said, staring pointedly at the mob of paps loitering out front of the shop.
“Whatever,” Nia retorted, taking another bite of her donut as if she herself hadn’t just been bitching about the intrusion of cockroaches outside. “So, how was it?” she asked, wiggling her brows.
“We are not talking about this,” Lena said, tearing a paper towel from the roll under the counter and wiping her hands. Talking about it might mean admitting her feelings for Liam were…evolving. And while she could acknowledge on a cerebral level that she was drawn to more than his sculpted abs—the man had a great sense of humor, gave endlessly of himself, and had a protective streak a mile wide—she knew there was no future for them.
“Oh, come on. It’s the royal penis. You have to give me something.” Nia pulled a bit of cereal off her donut and popped it in her mouth. “Was it divine? Did his royal scepter ruin you for all other men?”
Obviously.Was it even a real question?
“So not talking about this.”
“I’ll bet it has its own code name,” Nia mused, ignoring her. “Rumor has it Prince Alexander’s penis is called—”
“Honestly, if you’re so curious about royal penises,” Lena said, giving her friend a saccharine smile, “perhaps Liam can introduce you to Xander? He’s single.”
Nia snorted. “Girl, please. Every woman with a porn stash has seen that penis, myself included. No mystery there. Besides, I don’t want to sound like a slut shamer, but that cock has some serious mileage.”
Lena laughed. “And you’re definitely the jealous type.”
“Exactly. The first time his phone went off in bed, I’d be the one all over the tabloids.”
“God forbid,” Lena deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
“Besides,” Nia said, shooting her a smug grin, “I’m finally starting to make some progress with Ethan.”
“That reminds me,” Lena said, snapping her fingers. “You should come to dinner at Tía Rosa’s on Sunday. Liam will be there, which means Ethan and Jack will, too.”
“If you think my presence is going to distract your family from the fact that there’s a prince in the house,” Nia said, arching a brow, “you’re delusional.”
“So, I should tell Tía Rosa you’re busy?” There was no way Nia was going to turn down Tia Rosa’s cooking. And definitely not when the object of her obsession would be present.
“Of course not,” Nia said, making a point of ignoring Lena’s over-the-top victory dance. “It’ll give me a chance to work my charm on the man in black. I’m totally wearing him down, and you know what they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.”
…
Liam read the prospectus for the fifth time. He’d practically memorized the damn thing and he was more certain than ever that this was the deal he needed to close if he wanted to help stabilize his country and save his crown. His parents were too focused on tradition and Valeria’s position as a financial powerhouse. Sure, the country wasn’t as resource laden as some of their neighbors, but they had strong infrastructure, great schools, and a beautiful central location. Their biggest problem was the creeping unemployment numbers. That was the issue they needed to solve if they wanted to stimulate the economy and settle the unrest.
“Fin!” he called, tossing the prospectus on the tiny hotel desk. He felt a twinge of guilt at making his friend work yet another weekend but quickly pushed it aside. Fin had known frequent weekends would be part of the job when he accepted the role. Unfortunately, Liam wasn’t the only one on call twenty-four seven.
Fin poked his head through the bedroom door, looking unusually harried. “Any luck getting the meeting with Spartan?”
“Working on it, sir.” Fin swiped at his brow, pushing a limp swath of hair back from his eyes. His tie was askew and he looked like he’d just done battle, though it was only half past ten. “Mr. Beyar is a very busy man.”
“What’s the holdup?” Liam returned, frustration stirring his gut. “They’ve made it clear they’re accepting proposals. Do I need to call him personally?”
