Page 1 of A Royal Menace

CHAPTER ONE

Callie

760-555-9090:I saw some dolphins off the coast today, and it reminded me of that trip we took to Oahu five years ago. Remember when you said the ocean was the exact color of my eyes?

A frown tugs down at my lips as I read the text again. I don’t recognize the number, and I’ve never been to Hawaii, so the message obviously isn’t for me. The logical conclusion would be that the sender texted the wrong number, but at the same time, whoever sent this obviously knows the person they were trying to send it to. They went on vacation together five years ago. Wouldn’t they have the right number stored in their phone?

I shake my head and shove my phone into my pocket without responding. It’s probably a scammer trying to get me to engage so they can make me fall for them and send them thousands of dollars in big-box-store gift cards to help them escape a war-torn country or a Peruvian prison.

Not today, asshole. I watch true crime documentaries just like everyone else.

Refocusing, I look back down at the lesson plan I’ve been fine-tuning for the last hour or so. Being in the classroom, teaching fourth grade at Grenville Elementary is my dream job, and I love it, but this part has to be my least favorite aspect. It can be a bit tedious, and I keep getting distracted. Taking a deep breath, I square my shoulders and hunker down, determined to get this thing done.

I’ve barely written two words when a knock on the door startles me. The door swings open and my best friend, Raven, strolls in before I can even consider answering her knock.

“Hey, what are you up to?” she asks as she swings the door closed behind her and strides toward me.

“It’s Sunday,” I say, swirling a palm over the scattered papers on the table in front of me.

“Ugh. Lesson plans.”

“A tedious, yet necessary evil,” I say, leaning back in my chair as she slides into the one across from me.

Having your best friend live in the apartment three doors down from yours is great. It really is. But sometimes, Raven’sboredom gets the better of her, and she pops over and distracts me at the worst possible times.

I look down at my half-completed work and sigh. I can finish it later. I could honestly use a break.

“Coffee?” I ask as I push out of my chair.

“Yes,please,” she groans, dropping her head to the table dramatically. “I’m exceedingly somnolent today.”

“Oooh, and using big words, too,” I tease, then laugh when her hand shoots up to flip me the middle finger.

“Shut up. ‘Somnolent’ was the word of the day on my calendar app this morning.”

“Good job using it correctly in a sentence. Gold star,” I say as I shove her favorite mug under the coffee maker and push the button to brew.

She responds with a long, tortured sigh, and I can’t help but chuckle at her dramatics. My best friend is nothing, if not theatrical.

“So, I got a weird text earlier,” I say as I carry our steaming mugs over to the table.

“Oh, yeah?” she asks, perking up and lifting her coffee to her lips for a small sip. “What kind of text? Unsolicited dick pic? Let me see.”

I slap away the hand she stretches toward me with a laugh, then dig my phone from my pocket as I say, “No, you perv. It was…well, here. Just read it.”

I unlock the screen and pull up the message before sliding the phone across the table. Raven picks up the device, one eyebrow arching high as she reads it. Her eyes turn a bit glassy as if she’s thinking for several beats before she shrugs and hands the phone back to me.

“You should text him back. He sounds cute.”

“A, that makes zero sense, and B, how do you know it’s a guy? It could be a woman.”

“Nah,” she says shaking her head and pursing her lips. “It’s a guy. A woman definitely told him his eyes were the color of the ocean. Guys only say stuff like that to women in romance novels.”

“Well, going with that logic, it could be a woman saying it to another woman,” I toss back, but Raven only grins.

“Then textherback. Maybe a little hot, lesbian action would break this dry spell you’re going through.”

I shake my head and ignore that last comment. “It’s probably a romance scammer.”

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