Page 13 of The Prince and the Double Shot
“Repulse me? No, you’re… beautiful.”
“Sit and finish your drink. Please?”
“Petra! I said I have to…” He threw his hand over his mouth, and his eyes instantly misted. “I… I’m sorry, I…”
“I look like Petra? Who is Petra?”
“Someone you could never be.” He pulled his arm out of my hand and turned and walked away.
I sat there stunned and wasn’t really sure why. I mean, it was rare that someone walked away from me or denied my advances. Phil was not doing anything for my self-image, that’s for sure. But the way he stared at me as if I was…Petra. He must have loved him.
I glanced around the bar at all the other people sitting and laughing together. Here I was alone, once again. It was better this way, wasn’t it?
Yet, I had wanted him to stay. There was something about him that I couldn’t shake for some reason, as if he and I weremeant to meet at this time and place. It wasn’t love – I wasn’t a fool. I mean, it was definitely lust… There was an instant attraction there, and I was sure he felt it too.
Why had I come on so strong? This wasn’t what Layla and Sheena had wanted. They knew my reputation, but this was purely transactional, wasn’t it?
If it was… Why did I feel like I lost something?
Even if I never had it.
PHIL
Zane might be one of the most self-centered people I have ever met in my entire life, and trust me, when you are royal, that’s about everyone you meet. He had done nothing but play games with me as soon as he sat down. Why? What did he hope to get out of it? A rise, a quick tumble in his bed?
As if I would be that easy.
I mean… I had thought about him all day.
The way his muscles threatened to tear his shirt off his body with every shrug was swoon-worthy. The way he stuck his tongue in the side of his mouth as he listened was charming and…
No.
I had thought about him all day because he looked enough like Petra that they could be related. Those silly red curls that I wanted to run my fingers through, and the way his deep chuckle made his eyes light up, reminded me so much of him that it hurt.
What good could come of it? Nothing. Right?
Or wrong?
He was nothing like him. Not really. Their personalities were night and day. Petra was serious and smart, and Zane was a jokester. He hid behind his bratty attitude and abrasivenesstoo well for anyone to ever know him. I could tell that within minutes of speaking to him.
Secrets – we all had them.
Was that why he… Was that part of his disguise – his secret? This buffoonery was just a ploy meant to deceive? Why?
No.
It was too good.
If there was a real person buried under all that pompousness, it would be impossible to find. He had to be the star of some high school sports team, and that probably meant he had peaked years ago and was now coasting on his past.
My stomach growled.
Fuck… I had eaten the last of my frozen burritos yesterday. I opened my tiny fridge to find a small tub of butter standing all alone. I should have thought about this. Then again, I was just learning to think about these things. In the castle, someone brought me a tray three times a day.
What the hell was I supposed to do now?
I was hungry, but the last thing I wanted was to go back out. What if I bumped into him again? The temptation was too great. Even if it wasn’t Petra, he still looked so much like him that I knew I would eventually become weak.
