Page 9 of The Prince and the Double Shot (Runaway Prince Hotel #2)

PHIL

I was pacing back and forth, and Kalle, who works in groundskeeping, was staring at me with his deep eyes. I must have looked like a fool. “I’m waiting,” I shrugged.

“Looks to me like you're wearing out a spot on the floor,” he laughed as he walked by. “Have fun tonight.”

A prince almost always knew a prince. He realized who I was as soon as he saw me work my magic with the plants.

I recognized him almost at once, too. The woodland realm is a beautiful place, and so are its people.

My family and I have gone there in the past for some kind of event when I was younger.

We didn’t know each other, but there was always an unspoken understanding between our kind.

Being a royal was more work than most people imagined.

He didn’t tell me what he was doing here, and I didn’t ask.

Secrets. We all had them. Some were just darker than others.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I turned to find Zane standing behind me. “How did you sneak up on me?”

“You walked right by me without a glance. Guess I’m losing my charm,” he snickered. “Ready?”

“You have definitely not lost it,” I whispered to myself. He looked like a Greek god in a pair of white shorts and a light blue t-shirt that made his eyes sparkle. How the hell could he stand wearing something so tight? You could practically see his muscles ripple beneath it.

He held out his hand, and I had to force my hand forward. Contact – close contact – I haven’t allowed myself to have it in so long that my hand shook as I stretched it out. His large hand enveloped mine, and he pulled me out the front door.

“It’s not too long of a walk, your highness ,” he teased. “Think you can make it. Looks like you're in good enough shape.”

“I don’t think you need to call the carriage,” I chuckled.

I could feel his eyes rake over me, and I felt the tingle of goosebumps erupt onto my flesh.

“So, how are we going to play this?”

“What do you mean?” I asked as we walked around a car and down towards the street. “Where are we going again?”

“You’ll love it. Trust me.”

“Trust is earned, not given.”

“I get it. But you’re not in the palace right now,” he teased. “In real life, we trust people until they prove you wrong.”

I smiled wryly. “That sounds stupid. Do you just hand your wallet to anyone on the street and expect them not to run away with it?”

“That’s not what…”

I laughed, and he squeezed my hand tighter.

“In real life, not everyone wants something from you is what I mean, I guess.”

“This all started because you asked if I trusted you. I didn’t need a lesson in life outside the palace. What do you know of palace life? Is there something that I should know?”

“A palace to one is a hovel to another,” he chuckled. “I grew up in… Well, I guess you could call it a palace if you wanted . It was big enough. See… I shared.”

“Trust is earned. That’s what I mean.”

“Dude! I am taking you to get a drink. I don’t plan on killing you on the way.”

“I know that.”

“Do you?” He stopped, and my hand pulled out of his as I took another step. I turned to him and chuckled.

“When you get all stubborn, your face turns red.” My brow furrowed as I thought about the past and another ginger boy whose face flushed with emotion.

“I’m a ginger.” He smirked, and I could feel a little dip in my stomach. I glanced back down at the sidewalk.

“I like it. I might have to get you mad more often,” I spoke truthfully. It unlocked something within me – an emotional urge that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Is that an actual compliment?”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem. You like to argue.” He started walking again, and I hurriedly caught up beside him.

“I like… exciting conversation, as long as the other person has the ability to keep up.”

“How am I doing?”

“You’re a professional. I probably need to up my game if I want to be in your company. You flirt at one moment and turn into a madman the next. And your banter is…”

“Madman?”

“Well, persnickety.”

“Oh, that’s a good word.”

“I’m royal, good words are about all I’m worth. It’s expected.”

“I’m aware.” He reached down and took my hand in his again. The warmth made my spine tingle.

“Are you going to tell me from what part of Europe you’re from?”

“Are you going to tell me what kingdom you rule?”

“Will rule… and, maybe? If you earn my trust.”

“Trust? You are nonliterally killing me.”

“I would hire someone. A prince never gets their hands dirty,” he scoffed.

“And we are almost there. It’s just around the corner. You’re going to love it. Trust me,” he teased as he pulled me along.

We turned to the left, and a small building with exposed outside walls stood in front of us. No, not exposed. It was a wall of glass that was so clear it was almost invisible. Lights twinkled inside from the flickering of the candles.

“It’s very pretty. What is it?”

“It’s one of my favorite little hideaways in Princedelphia.

” He let go of my hand and gestured broadly.

“Welcome to The Little Brewery. They make small batch beer, and you never know what you’re going to find here.

They also have one of the best charcuterie boards in America.

All of their cheese comes from Europe. It’s almost like being back home. ”

“Hmmm… You know I’m going to get it out of you.”

“Maybe? Maybe not.” He gripped my hand again, and I had to stop myself from sighing.

It felt like a moment in the past when Petra and I would get away and find something just like this.

But this wasn’t Petra, and I needed to understand that.

Zane was exciting and a little scary – perhaps reckless and wild – the opposite of the person he resembled.

The more time I spent with him, the more comfortable I became. I wasn’t the kind of person to run into danger willingly, but I had seemed to throw caution to the wind within a mere walk with this man. He was… something else, and I liked it.

My knees were weak. My face flushed. My heart raced with the possibility of a moment that would take me out of my comfort zone.

Zane was an unknown, and I was ashamed at how much that had started to excite me.

One decision, one momentary lapse of reason, and here I was.

My mind tried to make sense of it. The little voice in my head, which I usually ignored, told me to relax and let go.

Maybe it was to please my mother – or Sheena. That wasn’t my normal routine; I was not a people pleaser by nature, and it was not how one was raised in a castle. Maybe it was time to let go? Maybe it was time to live again? I know it’s what he would have… What Petra would have wanted.

Maybe it was too soon. Feelings for a stranger were idiotic at best.

A tumble in the hay loft could lead nowhere or everywhere.

Feelings. I did not trust my own any longer.

Trust? I did not give trust willingly, but at this point, I wasn’t sure I could even trust myself.

I knew that I had been living in an unhealthy state of grief that sometimes crushed me. If I let myself feel anything else, would the guilt take its place? I was here with a man who looked so much like my lost love, and that alone was… My chest tightened.

A chance. I had to give life a chance, or I would wallow in loss forever. I was so tired.

Two years is enough. I could hear his voice in my head.

I stepped forward.

Zane opened the door, and I stepped into an enchanting small room that had fairy lights flickering from the ceiling as if this were a small enchanted grotto instead of a business.

Small round tables, reminiscent of a French café, were arranged in a myriad pattern on the stone floor, creating a magical pathway between them.

The fireplace stood unlit in the corner with a few plush couches around it, and a small bar finished the interior.

It was charming and bizarre all at once, as if it didn’t fit in the surroundings. It was so European. I loved it.

“Want to sit by the window?” Zane glanced around.

“That sounds lovely. This place is so… It reminds me of home somehow?”

“So, you have mountains?” He raised his eyebrows, and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at the quizzical look he gave me. “It reminds me of a small mountain town in my own country.”

“Ah… You come from a place with mountains.” I grinned sheepishly.

“Do you know how many mountain ranges are in Europe?”

“I… yes, of course.” I caught my breath as he pulled out a chair for me. I sat down, and he helped push it in. “Such a gentleman.”

“I know you’re used to people doing everything for you,” he smirked. God, he had pretty lips. “I’m good at being of service.”

“No comment.”

He walked around and sat across from me—a small candle in a silvery glass container burned between us.

“I’ve decided on how this is going to go since you never answered the question from earlier.”

“There was a question?”

“If you can’t keep up, I’m not sure how this is going to work.”

“Now we have to work. Ok, I’m listening.”

“I think we have to address the elephant in the room, don’t you?”

I stiffened. “Which one?”

“There are several, but I think I’ll go with the ginger one, if you don’t mind.”

“And if I do?” I looked out the window. I wasn’t sure that I could talk about him. Not now. Not looking at his doppleganger.

“We’ll see. Look, I… I don’t really… I don’t get intrigued by someone very often. You interest me, and I have no idea why.”

“Are you saying it’s not my good looks?”

“Oh, that is something that you can’t help but notice. I’m alive. I’m gay and you’re a hot daddy.”

“Go on. Wait, daddy?”

“Yeah. You’re a little older than me, I think. So that makes you a hot daddy, and usually that’s where you boost my confidence by telling me that I’m hotter.”

“Why state facts we both know?”

“So, you’re just here because of the muscles?”

“I like muscles, but…” He was making my head spin.

“Whose Petra?”

I swallowed and sat back in my chair. I glanced down. “Oh, that’s the ginger elephant.”