Page 6 of The Prince and the Double Shot (Runaway Prince Hotel #2)

ZANE

W hy did he have to be so fucking hot?

A prince, of course. This place was a fucking magnet for royalty trying to escape their humdrum life of diplomacy and expectations.

It was a joke by this point. I mean, I knew the score better than most. Sheena had been a royal in her past life, and I was sure that there was a story there, but I had never been made privy to it.

The gossip at the Renverse Hotel was always on point, but Sheena and Layla had their shit locked down.

We wondered and talked about it, but we knew very little – only what they shared. Sheena was very tight-lipped.

Phil was hot. I mean, a man who dug in the ground and wasn’t afraid to get dirty was something to masturbate about.

But he also seemed a little… Well, royal.

That was a turn-off. I wasn’t going down that road ever again.

He was probably high-strung and temperamental.

I knew the kind. I bet he treated the servants like shit and only dared to date someone with a title, but he’d fuck a peasant in the closet and then pretend like it never happened.

Assholes. They were all assholes because that’s how they were raised and trained.

Most of them were carbon copies of their parents, and the majority of them were nothing more than criminals.

Why did we actually even have royals anymore in a world that didn’t need them?

This was a time of democracy, and the royals were almost always behind the times.

Or inbred.

Most of them were inbred. The ones I knew anyway.

At least they acted like it.

“Are you done scrubbing that, or are you trying to destroy it?” Mateo put his hand on my shoulder. “I think it’s time for you to get out of here, man. You’ve been moody and unpleasant all day. Who pissed in your Wheaties this morning?”

I sighed and set the blender down. “Sorry, I was just… Nothing, man. I’m just surly, you know that.”

“Sure, Cher.” He slapped my back, walked over to the grinder, and poured some beans in. “You’ve barely said ten words all day. It’s been like working with a ghost instead of my old friend Zane. We’ve known each other long enough to know when something is annoying us, haven’t we?”

“It’s not like we’re besties,” I bristled.

“No one is besties with you, bro. You make sure of that, but you’re usually still friendly. At least, most of the time. Did something happen to send you in a tizzy?”

“I might have a… I’m having a drink with someone tonight.” I threw the rag back into the sink.

“A date?” He cackled. “Yassss!”

“No,” I answered too quickly. “Not a date… date. Just a drink and…” I shrugged.

“A fuck. A drink and a fuck?”

“No, man. I doubt that,” I chuckled.

“Is he hot?”

“He’s not ugly.” I sighed. “Yes, he’s pretty hot. But it’s just a… We’re just having a drink and getting to know each other. He’s the new guy.” I shrugged and leaned against the counter. It wasn’t like I could tell Mateo that I was doing this because the owners asked me.

“Which one? There are a lot of them.”

“The new gardener.”

“Ah, I’ve seen him when I come into work. Yeah, he’s quite handsome and in his thirties, maybe? When are you meeting him, and better yet, why are you meeting him?” He turned and raised his eyebrows at me.

“He’s new and I thought I’d… It’s just a drink.”

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Maybe you might even start to believe it. It sounds like a date.”

“Oh, I believe it. Trust me, we are cut from very different cloth. But he seemed nice enough. Maybe even a little shy… Maybe? Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll scare him off pretty quickly.”

“When?”

“Five minutes. I guess I should…”

“Get the fuck out of here, Romeo.”

“Have I told you that I hate you today?”

“Nope.”

“I hate you.”

“You say the sweetest things.”

“Alright,” I took my apron off and balled it up before throwing it behind the counter into the small bin we all used. “I’m gonna… go, I guess.”

“Have fun. Dude, you should totally try to have fun.”

“Alright, enough. I’ll catch you later, Mateo.”

His laugh followed me out of the door and into the lobby.

Mateo was alright. I liked almost everyone that I worked with, it was just my secrets that stopped me from being better friends with those guys.

We all had a lot in common, that was for sure.

But if they knew who I really was, they might not like me as much as they did.

I wouldn’t. So, I kept them, like everyone else, at arm’s length. It was safer for them – for me.

I walked through the hotel and glanced at the bar. Shit…

He showed up.

Why was he getting under my skin after one quick conversation?

I mean, I was only there to help the owners out, wasn’t I?

I was just doing them a favor so I could be the temp lifeguard.

But something about him was… I had thoughts about him last night and throughout the day. He seemed so sad and lonely.

I understood what that felt like. Maybe that was it? Perhaps we were more alike than I wanted to admit.

I stopped at the edge of the red carpet and stared at him.

He really was breathtaking, and I’d guess a few years older than me.

Mateo thought he was in his thirties. That was hot.

I liked older men. His dark brown hair was short, and he didn’t seem to use any product in it.

He looked nice. At least he wasn’t wearing a tie.

I glanced down at my work clothes and quickly sniffed under my arms. I didn’t stink.

Why the fuck did I care?

It wasn’t a date.

He turned around and noticed me. His mouth tightened as he waved. It made him even cuter.

“Don’t fuck around where you work, man,” I mumbled to myself as I waved back and walked towards him.

“Hello,” he whispered.

“Hi, Phil.” I sat down across from him at the tall table he had decided to sit at. I waved over at Henry, who was tending bar today, and pointed at the draft. The hotel had a great local brew. Maybe Phil would like it too. “Oh, you didn’t already order, did you?”

“No, I just got here. I figured it best to wait for you. I wondered if you would show up.”

“I’m a man of my word, Phil,” I lied. I had broken many vows that I had made in the past. I was glad that the person I had grown into could say this, and it could be true.

“I almost didn’t come, but I, too, am a man of my word. So, here I am.” He sat up straight.

“I’m glad you didn’t chicken out. Ah, here we are.”

Henry walked over and slid two beers onto the table. “Enjoy.”

“I hope you like this. You do like beer, right? Or… Would you prefer champagne?” I dug a little.

“No, beer’s great. Champagne gives me a headache,” he snipped.

“This is local. It’s called the OG Duck. I’ve really grown to like it.”

He took a sip. “IPA, right?”

“Good job. I was sure that you weren’t the beer type.”

“Then why did you order it?”

“I thought it might be good for you, I guess.”

“Strange assumption since we really don’t know each other.”

“I make bad choices.”

“Clearly.”

“Sorry, I sometimes forgot that… Where are you from?”

“A little country in Europe.”

“Where?”

“I think I’d rather not say. I can hear a bit of an accent from you, too. You’re also from Europe, aren’t you, and you try very hard to sound American. Why?”

“Touche. I guess we both have a secret, huh?”

“Don’t we all?”

“Yes, I guess we do.”

“Secrets are only safe when they’re not shared.”

“Your secret is safe here. Trust me, no one rarely blinks at a royal walking around this place or even working here.”

He caught his breath. “You knew who I was.”

“Nope. I just don’t care. But I can almost always tell. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

He slowly rotated the beer glass on the table as he stared at it. “This is a bit of a surprise. I thought I was doing a good job at blending in.”

“You aren’t doing badly. You also barely speak to anyone. Why are you here if you’re just going to hide up in your room?”

“Have you been watching me?” he bristled. I understood why. When you’re a royal, you learn to be on your guard from people who only want to use you.

“No,” I chuckled. “Not like that. Trust me, this is a… The staff here is almost like a family, I guess. A very fucked, dysfunctional family, but they all actually mean well. But your absence has been noticed. You should give the people here a chance.”

“I’m not… I’m really not sure how long I intend to stay. I thought it best to… I’m not… I have not been the best of company, of late.”

“Why?”

“That would be none of your business.”

“That’s cool. You don’t have to… I was just asking.”

“We all have our secrets. Remember?”

“That I can never forget.” I took a deep breath and grinned.

God, he really was a stunner. His eyes were so deep and sad that if you stared into them for too long, you could lose yourself.

“So… What do we know. You’re a…” I whispered, “A prince from one of the many and various European nations that are overrun with that kind. You don’t like socializing because you don’t think you’re very good company, and you like to garden. ”

“You work in a coffee shop and are a bit of an asshole.”

“I can’t deny that. Your name is Phil, or at least, that’s what you are going by.”

“You’re Zane, and apparently like to play childish games.”

“I like adult games too.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do. I know a good time boy when I see one.”

“I do like to have a good time.”

“I’m sure.”

“You’re hot when you get angry.”

“I… I…” He quickly stood up. “I can’t do this. You look too much like…”

“Who? What?”

“I’m sorry, I… I need to go.”

He started to leave, and I grabbed hold of his arm. “Stay, please. I didn’t mean to…”

“No, I can handle your… flirting and your… It’s not… I just can’t look at you.”

“What? Do I repulse you or something?” I admit the thought of him not finding me attractive made my ego shrink to the size of an egg.

“Repulse me? No, you’re… beautiful.”

“Sit and finish your drink. Please?”

“Petra! I said I have to…” He threw his hand over his mouth, and his eyes instantly misted. “I… I’m sorry, I…”

“I look like Petra? Who is Petra?”

“Someone you could never be.” He pulled his arm out of my hand and turned and walked away.

I sat there stunned and wasn’t really sure why. I mean, it was rare that someone walked away from me or denied my advances. Phil was not doing anything for my self-image, that’s for sure. But the way he stared at me as if I was… Petra . He must have loved him.

I glanced around the bar at all the other people sitting and laughing together. Here I was alone, once again. It was better this way, wasn’t it?

Yet, I had wanted him to stay. There was something about him that I couldn’t shake for some reason, as if he and I were meant to meet at this time and place. It wasn’t love – I wasn’t a fool. I mean, it was definitely lust… There was an instant attraction there, and I was sure he felt it too.

Why had I come on so strong? This wasn’t what Layla and Sheena had wanted. They knew my reputation, but this was purely transactional, wasn’t it?

If it was… Why did I feel like I lost something?

Even if I never had it.