Page 48 of A Royal Disaster
“Gracias, Prince William!” she said, her entire face lighting up at the sight of him. “The flowers are beautiful.”
“De nada,” he said as she reached out to hug him and planted a kiss on his cheek. “You have a lovely family. Thank you again for inviting me to dinner.”
“I hope you’re hungry,” she said, looking him over as he handed her the bottle of wine. “I’ve been cooking all day.” She stopped and looked around, her gaze locking on Jack and Ethan, who hovered nervously by the door. “I see you brought your friends, too. Good. Come on in, boys. Don’t be shy,” she said, waving them over with her free hand.
The bodyguards exchanged a wary look and shuffled forward. They introduced themselves and then Tía Rosa excused herself to go check on dinner, with orders that they all make themselves at home.
Easier said than done when the entire family was staring at them like a fine-art exhibit.
Lena couldn’t fault them. It wasn’t every day a prince dropped by for dinner. She might’ve behaved in the same starstruck manner if her own first meeting with Liam hadn’t been such a disaster.
Nothing like total chaos to break the ice.
“So, what brings you to New York?” her uncle asked, eyeing Liam suspiciously.
“Business,” Liam said, flashing a camera-ready smile. “I’ve been working on some new trade agreements for Valeria, which I hope to wrap up this week.”
“This week, eh?” Tío Hector asked, narrowing his eyes. “And what happens to my niece when you go home?”
“Tío Hector!” Lena said, humiliation burning her cheeks. She was so not in the mood for an inquisition. “Lo siento, pero no es asunto tuyo.”
“It most certainly is my business,” Tío Hector said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Rosa says he’s a good man, but I don’t want to see you get hurt again. Not like with that last pendejo.”
Lena groaned. At this rate, her relationship with Chad would haunt her until she died.
“How is this going to work when his life is in Valeria and yours is here?” Tío Hector pressed on.
Several of her cousins voiced their agreement, and Lena’s heart squeezed tight. Tío Hector wasn’t asking anything she hadn’t already asked herself, but the truth was, she had no idea.
It was all too new.
“It’s all right,” Liam said, resting a hand lightly on her lower back as he faced her uncle. “The truth is, we haven’t talked about it yet. We’re taking things one day at a time. But please know I have no intention of disappearing from Elena’s life. She’s a very special woman and I feel lucky to have stumbled into her alley,” he said, turning to meet her eye, “even if she did douse me head to toe in purple paint.”
Heat pooled low in her belly, and she was certain her entire family could sense how desperately she wanted Liam. It had only been a few days, but she was jonesing for another hit. How could she not? The sex was amazing and then he had to go and one-up himself by making such sweet declarations to her family? It might not be a commitment, but it was a start.
“Youweretrespassing,” she said huskily, triggering a ripple of laughter from the women.
“Isn’t that how all the great love stories begin?” Nia asked, appearing at the door like a goddamn guardian angel. She winked at Ethan before turning her thousand watt smile on Tío Hector. “Now why are you giving these two lovebirds a hard time?”
Her uncle started to protest, and Nia patted him lightly on the arm. “They’ve been through enough with the paparazzi. Don’t you go spoiling my dreams of a royal wedding. Lena promised I could be the maid of honor,” she stage-whispered as she steered Tío Hector toward the cramped dining room, putting an end to the inquisition. “Oh, is that pernil I smell?”
Best. Friend. Ever.
“Bollocks,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “That woman is a force of nature.”
Lena laughed and shook her head. “You’d do well to remember it.”
They watched as Nia and Tío Hector disappeared into the next room, Lena’s extended family following close behind, despite their divided loyalties. Most of the women looked Liam over appraisingly and there were whispers ofmuy guapoandgato, while the men shot warning glares at Liam as they filed out. Lena figured they were lucky only Danny was bold enough to give the prince a shoulder check on his way past.
Disaster averted.
“I guess I should’ve mentioned that my family is a little overprotective,” Lena said, turning to Liam and wrapping her arms around his waist. He was warm and solid and, despite the scene with her uncle, she was glad he’d come. Still, she gave silent thanks for the mouthwatering scent of pork and sofrito that had drawn her family to the dining room. It was a well-known fact that if you wanted a seat at Tía Rosa’s table, you had to claim it early. Not that Lena was in a rush to rejoin the family. She didn’t care if they had to sit on the front porch if it meant she’d get a minute alone with Liam. “We can still make a break for it.”
Liam gently lifted her chin, raising her lips to his. The kiss was soft, the kind of slow burn that was surely intended to leave her wanting more. “And what would we do instead?”
Lena pressed her breasts to the hard planes of his chest and rotated her hips, sealing her body to his in all the best places. “Oh, I’m sure we could think of something.”
…
