Page 71 of Torin and the Princess

I pouted. “I have never known you to be jealous before.”

“I never had to be, you’ve never had a big guy move into your back-shack before. You gotta admit it’smeantto make me jealous, right?”

“It is not, why would you think that?”

“He’s big, he’s what the ladies would call hot, he’s like Tarzan back there, all helpless, doesn’t know how to turn off the lights. Jen and you are all,” he raised his pitch, “‘isn’t he sweet how he’s like a big, hot baby?’ And meanwhile he’s clomping all around asserting himself.”

I put my hand on his chest. “You have to admit, if your business meeting had gone okay you probably wouldn’t be bothered by it at all.”

He turned his head to the side to look directly at me, raising his brow. “You’re saying this is all on me?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Because I’ve been preparing for this meeting for more than a year, and they…” His eyes shifted back and forth across the ceiling as he spoke. “they… it’s like they didn’t even consider it. Like they had already made up their mind. I made the whole presentation and they smiled and nodded and thanked me for coming…” He was on his back, with his feet still off the bed on the floor. “But they did do something weird, Lexi.”

He turned his head so that the strong muscles and tendons of his neck were prominent, my favorite place, a spot that was strength and vulnerability, both.

I leaned up and kissed him there, then lay back down, facing him. “What?”

“My presentation was over and we were in the questions part. Steve’s CFO and his Marketing Manager asked a couple of good questions, the kind that you would expect and that I was prepared for. They nodded at my answers and jotted down the numbers. It seemed like it was a formality for a presentation that went well. You know?”

I nodded.

“Then Steve said, ‘You know what would be cool? A Go-Kart track, on the back acres, those are really hot right now and that could be really lucrative.’ His CFO and the Marketing Manager turned all their attention on that and they just riffed for an hour on this ‘big idea’ of a Go-Kart track in my eco-village while I just nodded and smiled, agreeing with it, though as you know it was not atallmy vision. I sort of knew, right then, that I wasn’t going to get the money.”

“Aw man, that sucks.”

“Yeah, at the time I tried not to dwell on it, the meeting had gone long, everyone was tired. Sometimes long meetings get chaotic and off subject, we know this, but I had this nagging feeling he wasn’t seriously considering my proposal anymore.”

“You didn’t mention it when you called.”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to jinx it. Or let you down.” He yawned really loudly and wrapped his hand around mine.

“What if you had said, ‘Great, Go-Karts, I’ll draw up the plans’?”

“It wouldn’t have helped, I was nodding and smiling like a chump, pretending like Go-Karts were the greatest idea in the world, but ultimately the Go-Karts were just a signal. The Alphain the room, the guy with all the money, was telling me that my idea wasn’t good enough. And then he ‘passed’ on it and sent John to tell me.”

He sighed. “More than a year of my life, wasted.”

“I am just so sorry.”

He nodded. “I would just really appreciate you not making my reaction to Renaissance Boy into a big thing. He’s a loon, Lexi. He stayed in character all night, in your dining room, eating your food, sleeping in your back-shack, and yeah, I get it, you’re a great hostess, and I do get that I’m in a crap mood, but... how many more meals will he be joining us?”

“I get it.” I asked, “So you don’t believe he’s a time traveler?”

He raised his head and looked at me, his face screwed up. “Of course not, Lexi, he’s just a very good bullshitter. I can’t explain how he’s so good at it, but it is bullshit. And that’s all more of a reason not to invite him to dinner again.”

I said, “I would like to mention that I need to feed him tomorrow before he hits the road. He’ll need breakfast. My grandmother would never forgive me for sending a traveler, time or regular, away on a journey without a meal. But after that, yes, he won’t be at our table anymore.”

“Good, thank you.” He yawned again.

“Sleepy?”

“Jet lag. Yes.”

I said, “I had big plans for your welcome-home-bang.”

He chuckled, sleepily. “I love you, but man, I think I’m falling asleep.”

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