Page 134 of My Five Daddies

Still tied up to the little dock is the rowboat I built four years ago. I painted it red and white, the colors of the royal crest, and I named it the Royal Dingy. Hazel laughs when she seesit.

“You’re not getting me in that thing,” shesays.

“Oh, come on, we’re running out oftime.”

She steps onto the dock as I climb into the rowboat. It’s actually very steady and in good shape considering I pretty much don’t take care of it at all. She sighs and bites herlip.

“Come on, don’t be scared,” I say to her, holding out myhands.

She takes them and I help her onto the boat. It rocks a little bit but I stabilize it. She sits as I untie the ropes and use an oar to push off into thelake.

I look up at the sun and I know I don’t have much time. I don’t bother talking as I get the oars into position and start to row as fast as I can. I have maybe two or three minutes to get into position and I have a good amount of distance tocover.

I’m sweating as the boat glides across the lake. Nobody else is around, and it’s actually really beautiful and comfortable out on thewater.

“Why are you rowing so fast?” she asksme.

“You’ll see,” I grunt, pushing and pushing, going as fast as Ican.

I look up and eyeball our position on the lake. I give it another quick pull before taking a breath and sliding the oars back into the boat. The sun is just starting to set and colors burst into thesky.

“Okay,” she says to me. “We’re here. What’s thesurprise?”

“Wait a second,” I say, holding up a hand. “Just trustme.

We sit there in silence together as the sun slowly starts to set. The colors are impressive peaches, oranges, reds, and purples, all swirling in the sky. As the sun gets lower, the light bends more and more, sinking in the sky, creating incredible panoramas. The sunset would be gorgeous itself, but that’s not why we’rehere.

Slowly, the light hits the water, and the water changes. All around us, it looks like we’re floating on a sea of burning orange pure fire. It lights up, reflecting the gorgeous sunset. Because the water is so pure and reflective, there are a few spots on the lake that look absolutely incredible if you park a boat right on top of them. The water reflects this miasma of shifting colors, deepening reds and purples, and it’s like an incredible light show as the sun continues toset.

Hazel stares with a huge smile on her face. “Holy crap,” she saysfinally.

“Right?” I replysoftly.

She laughs as the light finally shifts, and the water reappears. She looks up at me, astonished. “I’ve never seen anything likethat.”

“Not many people do,” I say. “It happens once a day, but you have to be in the right spot for it. I only discovered it a couple yearsago.”

She’s quiet for a second. “Thanks for bringing me here,” shesays.

“I know this is hard.” I reach out and take her hand. “But if anyone can handle it, I think youcan.”

“The things they’re saying about me…” she trails off, shaking her head. “It’s all lies, and it’s reallybad.”

“It’s Julian. He’s leaking these things. He wants to destroyus.”

“What are we going todo?”

“We’re going to fight back,” I say firmly. “We’ll do some charity, make us look good to the public, and we’ll go after Julianhard.”

She glances away, out toward the water. “I don’t know. I’m in so far over myhead.”

“Maybe.” I move closer to her, leaning over and pulling her toward me. “But you’ve gotten this far. You have to trustme.”

“Trust you…” she says softly. “I don’tknow.”

I smirk at her and tip her chin toward me. “Why not? You think I’m nottrustworthy?”

“You’re a player. And a prince. What do you want with a girl likeme?”

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