Page 28 of Raul
Gabriel shrugged in the same elegant, humorous way that Raul did. Funny that she had known her boss longer, but now she credited any similarities between them to Raul. Her perspective had shifted overnight.
“Is the ankle sprained?” she asked, trying to get an answer in the midst of the flying banter.
Raul made a face. “Yes, but no fractures. If I wasn’t concerned about walking without a limp at Gabri’s wedding, I wouldn’t have agreed to a three-day sentence of boredom.”
“Rude!” Grace said. “How can you be bored with us here? We’re charming.”
“Only you care if you’re limping at the wedding,gilipollas. I certainly don’t,” Gabriel said, stretching out his long black-denim-clad legs. “You can borrow one of the antique canes from the palace collection.”
“Seriously?! You have royal canes?” Quinn said with an eye roll. “I thought the tiaras and jeweled medals were over-the-top enough.”
“We once persuaded Franco—he’s the keeper of the palace treasures—to let us borrow a couple to use as props in a play at school,” Raul said. “Why he trusted us, I’ll never know.”
“Maybe because you did your prince thing, sticking your nose in the air and swearing on the throne or the crown or something equally weighty, that you would bring them back unscathed.” Gabriel threw a smiling glance at Erica. “He’s good at that, you know.”
She could imagine Raul squaring his shoulders and angling his strong chin upward, his blue eyes burning with conviction. A flicker of heat moved through her at the picture.
“Franco wouldn’t let me take my favorite one with the jeweled dragon’s head, though,” Raul said with a mock pout.
“Probably because it was encrusted with a small fortune in emeralds,” Gabriel said.
Erica was beginning to feel out of her depth as they talked about priceless historic objects like they were toys. Not to mention that she didn’t know if she should share her suspicions about the dragon eggs with the whole group, since Raul hadn’t brought up the topic.
Grace stood and stretched. “This has been fun, but I have to meet with some folks from La Sociedad Real de Prevención de la Crueldad con los Animales. Wow, that’s a mouthful!” She shrugged into the green jacket that matched her pencil skirt andsmiled. “Nice to meet you, Erica. Raul might have convinced me to go rock climbing with you someday.”
“It would be my honor,” Erica said, hoping the princess was just being polite. The responsibility for one royal on a cliff was exhausting. Two royals would probably short-circuit her brain completely.
“More like a pain in the neck, but you’re used to that with Raul.” Grace walked to the door and gave them a wave.“Adios, amigos!”
“We should get going too,” Gabriel said. “Quinn has work to do, and I have to practice.” He took Quinn’s hand to tug her up beside him as he rose. “I’ll come by with my guitar later,primo, so you can tell me what you think of my latest composition. It’s titled ‘El Principe Torpe.’ The Clumsy Prince.”
“Cabrón!”Raul grabbed one of the pillows he was leaning against and hurled it at his cousin.
Gabriel caught it with a laugh. He nodded to Erica. “I’m counting on you to keep him from getting up off the sofa.”
“And don’t give him his laptop,” Quinn said. “He’s not allowed to schedule any meetings until tomorrow.”
“Ay, caramba!You’re driving me crazy,” Raul said, making a shooing motion with his hand.“Hasta luego!”
Gabriel bent to squeeze Raul’s shoulder. “I’ll be back before dinner. I promise,hermano.”
Raul nodded, gratitude in the smile he gave his cousin.
The young royals clearly cared about each other as family, but there was more to the bond. They reminded her of soldiers who fought side by side and trusted each other with their lives. Maybe being royal felt a little like being under siege sometimes.
Then the door closed behind Quinn and Gabriel, and Erica realized she was now alone with the prince. There were no other royals and no bodyguards to deflect their attention from eachother. The three feet between them seemed to vibrate with her awareness of his long, lean body.
What the hell?!She’d met him several times on Gabriel’s jet and never had this kind of response. Of course, back then, he had given her what she now thought of as his prince face—the charming smile, the smooth manners, the slight distance. On their camping trip, she had seen glimpses of the human being behind the mask, a man in pain.
“I apologize for my obnoxious family,” Raul said, but he was smiling. “They don’t know when to shut up.”
They cared about him, and she could see him reveling in that knowledge. “That’s what family is for,” she said.
“I would offer you refreshment, but you will object to me getting up.” Raul pointed to a cabinet across the room. “Open the doors, and you’ll find the fridge. Help yourself to anything you’d like.”
“Can I get you something?” Erica asked.
“Join me in a beer? I’ve got nowhere to be.” His voice had a tinge of bitterness.
