Page 47 of His Runaway Princess

“Ryker?” The prince... Amalia’s sleepy voice cut through the quiet.

“I’m over here,” he replied softly as he stood.

“What time is it?”

He checked his phone. “Still early. Our first meeting of the day isn’t for another ninety minutes.”

She pushed herself into a seated position and yawned as she pulled her hair back into another ponytail. “Good.” Yawning again, she reached for her phone. “I think we need to order breakfast.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“I’m hungry and on a day like today, you never know what’s going to happen or if lunch will be when it’s supposed to be.” She tapped on her phone a few times then handed it over. “That’s what I’m ordering. Pick whatever you’d like.”

He looked over her order then tripled it. It sounded good but didn’t seem like nearly enough to him.

After he handed it back, she looked at it and laughed. “I’m only going to order two, trust me.”

Ryker nodded her direction. “I do.”

“Good.” After submitting the order, Amalia stood, swaying just a bit as she yawned again. “I know we spent a few days together, but that was under unusual circumstances. Generally speaking, I don’t wake up quickly, and I can be cranky the first bit.”

Ryker chuckled as she moved past him toward the bathroom. “Noted.”

To his surprise, when she emerged, Amalia already looked put together for the day. Definitely not a match for his athletic wear.

“If I get dressed for the day immediately, it helps with the waking up thing,” she told him. “Plus, I’m less inclined to loaf around if I’m already in my work clothes, such as they are.”

“Makes sense.” Ryker hadn’t ever had that problem, but he could see how it would help.

About the time they walked into the living area, a knock sounded on the door. He headed that direction while Amalia headed for the kitchen, muttering something about coffee.

Ryker chuckled as he opened the door.

A staff member pushed the cart into the apartment. “Your breakfast... sir.” The young woman looked confused but wasn’t about to ask who Ryker was or why he looked rumpled in the princess’s apartment.

“Thank you, Susan.” Amalia emerged from the kitchen. “We appreciate your timeliness.”

Susan dipped into a curtsy. “My pleasure, ma’am. If there’s anything else you need, please let us know.”

“We will.” Amalia smiled at the woman as she left, closing the door behind her. “Susan has an official title, though I’m not sure what it is. I’m also certain she does more than what I’m aware of, but she’s the one who delivers anything I need to this apartment most of the time. Each of the apartments have staff members who are cleared to do things like bring a meal.” She pushed the cart toward the kitchen and then through it to another room Ryker had missed the day before.

“That’s interesting.” He motioned for Amalia to take a seat at the table in a nook with bay windows overlooking both the city and the coastline. “In Eyjania, there are a number of people with the clearance to do that sort of thing, but to the best of my knowledge, none are assigned to specific apartments or family members. I don’t know how they decide who does those things. A rotation? Whoever’s free?” He shrugged. “It never really occurred to me.”

He set one of the silver-domed plates in front of Amalia and the other in front of a seat for himself. When he lifted the domes, Ryker laughed.

She’d been right.

The serving sizes weren’t anything like he expected.

A double order would have been too much.

“Told you.”

Ryker looked over to see her smirking at him. “Yes, you did.” He took his seat and tried to decide what to eat first.

When he looked up at Amalia, she winked at him. “Dig in.”

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