Page 50 of Royal Agenda

“If you don’t go, I’m not going,” added a gentleman Grace had yet to meet who stuck close to Betty like she was his and he was hers, and they were not to part.

“Please!” Samantha waved her arms. “If you’ll all calm down, we’ll get this taken care of.”

“How?” demanded a woman who was almost six feet tall and thin. She towered over the other ladies, her handbag swinging dangerously close to their foreheads. “Hank is puking his guts out by the dumpster! Who will take us to the park today? Hank knows right where to pick us up and times it so we don’t have to stand around waiting like all the other shuttle people.” Her face had grown red with the effort of yelling over the rest of the chatting group.

Between her tirade and the red, white, and black shirts decorated with mice and ducks, it was obvious that this group was headed out to the local amusement park for a day of revelry.

“This didn’t happen before you started working here, Samantha!” the woman continued.

Betty gasped at her audacity. “Samantha isn’t at fault. You leave her alone, Deloris.” She stepped forward, her chin out.

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?” Deloris charged back.

“The truth is we never got to go to the parks before Samantha came to work here,” Betty countered.

“Ha! I’m right!” She poked Betty in the arm.

Samantha moved to step between them. “Ladies, we can argue all day long or we can look for a solution.”

“Nobody asked you,” griped Deloris in such a way that said she wasn’t happy that Samantha made sense.

Betty bared her dentures, looking ready to spit them at the taller woman.

All of this happened so fast, and was so shocking because every interaction she had with The Palms’ residents was positive, that Grace was taken completely off guard. She glanced around for a way she could help the group but came up as empty as an Egyptian tomb.

“Le signore,” ladies cooed a deep, accented voice that was all caramel and dark chocolate. Grace’s, and everyone else’s, eyes snapped in Ryker’s direction. He strode forward, commanding attention and orderliness and her butterflies to completely freak out. My gosh, the man is stunning when he takes control of a room. Grace pulled her dress away from her body, feeling warm in all the places.

His neatly trimmed beard outlined his jaw to perfection. Grace crossed her fingers. She’d been hoping for an opportunity to run her hands over that jawline and lose herself in his kiss all morning long.

Ryker was a gentleman and didn’t press his advantage, which gave her the freedom to love on him like a wild cat. Not that she’d hand over the keys to the kingdom or anything, but a woman wanted what she wanted, and Grace wanted to kiss Ryker until she passed out from exhaustion.

With as much pressure as she felt building inside of her, she might very well drag him into an empty classroom or broom closet. She had a feeling he could take it though. He fully admitted he wasn’t like other men. In fact, she was counting on it.

Ryker moved Samantha out from between the two women and took each of their hands. “You are both too beautiful to be this upset. Tell me what is wrong.”

The anger that fueled the women so deeply only seconds before evaporated right before Grace’s eyes. They simpered at Ryker. “Well,” said Deloris, “Hank, our driver, is indisposed at the moment. We simply cannot make it to the parks without him.” She’d suddenly developed a thick southern belle accent and a twitch that might have been her attempt to bat her eyelashes.

“We’ve never missed a park day before,” Betty added. “I think we’re thrown off and a bit upset by it all, Bello.” She fanned her hand over her chest.

Behind Ryker, Samantha harrumphed and folded her arms over the bodice of her red dress with white polka dots. She spotted Grace and wove through the crowd to stand beside her. “That man could charm a toad into a stockpot,” she chuckled in admiration..

“The accent helps. But–you’re not a Ryker fan?” Grace asked in shock. How could she not be?

“He’s annoyingly perfect,” she replied. “And I’ve been trying to calm them down for fifteen minutes, so I’m a little on edge.” She shook out her arms.

“Oh no, i miei amici,” my friends, Ryker continued, “You must not allow yourselves to become upset by this. We will find a driver, si?”

They sighed happily at him—as if he’d offered to rub their feet and feed them chocolates. Both of which had happened to Grace. The man could charm her into a stockpot any day.

Samantha huffed and hurried to assure them all. “I’ve already called a service.”

“Si! Samantha is prepared, si?” He didn’t wait for a response. “You will board the bus and wait for him. Perhaps he will be handsome and single with abs for days, si?” He winked making half the room twitter. Amidst the giggles, the crowd shifted and then streamed out the doors to the waiting shuttle.

Ryker approached them, a cocky smile on his face. “Samantha, what would you do without me here?”

Samantha blew out a raspberry. “I’d stare at a lot of hairy men.”

Ryker wagged his finger at her. “If I had a little sister, I’d want her to be as spirited as you.”

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