Page 10 of Royal Hottie
He huffs and leans forward. “Maya, have I ever exaggerated my skills?”
She beams back at him. “No, sir. You excel at everything.”
I lean forward. “He’s going to get a big head if you keep saying stuff like that.”
He turns back to me and grins. We’re unexpectedly close and my breath catches, the air buzzing between us. His voice is husky. “There you have it.”
I lick my lips, surprised at how much I want to close the distance between us. My libido has been in deep freeze for two months for good reason, and now it dances for him. My libido is an idiot.
I sink back into my seat. “So what was that fancy French you said? What did it mean?”
His eyes sparkle with amusement. “I can’t eat dairy products.”
I laugh. “For real?”
“Yes, for real. Though I can eat dairy products. I said that for Maya. She’s lactose intolerant.”
“Sadly, it’s true,” Maya says.
Phillip gestures toward her with a smile. My lips curve up automatically, and I remind myself sternly that this is a business trip. This is my first big job in my new solo interior design business after losing my job at the Happy Mouse Kingdom in Orlando two months ago. I’d like to say I quit, but the truth is they let me go because I wasn’t performing at the expected level and there was a waiting list for my job. I lost my mojo, plain and simple. No energy, no creativity, nothing. That’s what happens when you find out the man you were living with for a year—madly in love—is married with triplets on the way.
Cue downward spiral.
We met at a club and he treated me so special I fell hard. He lavished me with affection, surprised me with little gifts like my favorite chocolate truffles or flowers for no reason at all, and the sex was hot. Then after a year of blissful ignorant happiness, he informed me I had to move out because we were living in his parents’ vacation condo and they were coming for a visit for the upcoming birth of his triplets. He actually expected me to be happy for him.
All I could do was hole up in my old bedroom at my parents’ house with its pink and white striped comforter, stuff my face with chocolate truffle ice cream, and hate-watch home decorating shows for being unrealistic. After a while, I scraped myself off the ice-cream-stained bed, pulled together a résumé, and blasted it out. Big lot of nothing. So I went out on my own. I got a few nibbles on the job front, small jobs mostly, redoing a sunroom kind of jobs that cover half a week’s rent. Not enough for me to move to my own place, which is necessary because guess who else is pregnant? No, not me. My mom! It’s her miracle baby. I was shocked when she told me last month because, after having me, she had a series of miscarriages, and the doctor told her to stop trying for her own health. She didn’t think she could get pregnant at forty-three (she had me when she was eighteen). Anyway, Mom’s pregnancy with a baby girl (yay!) is going well, and soon my parents will need my room for the baby. I won’t move far though. This is the little sister I’ve always wanted, and I definitely want to be part of her life.
So enough with the male distraction. This job is the key to getting back on my feet, and I won’t let a charming smile, intoxicating manly scent, or sexy scruff stand in my way.
I turn to Phillip in full professional mode. “Have you ever shopped in Nantes before?”
“Of course, it’s right next door.”
“Tell me everything.”
Phillip doesn’t disappoint, filling me in on the historic le Passage Pommeraye, one of the original shopping malls dating from 1843, to the best places for antiques, clothes, and jewelry. He’s unfamiliar with design stuff, but that’s okay because he can ask around to get what we need.
By the time we get to the port, I’m convinced Maya did the right thing asking Phillip along, even though I initially thought we wouldn’t need him. I step out of the car and spot the ferry already waiting at the side of a long dock. It’s filled with passengers.
I speedwalk toward the ferry. “Hurry! We don’t want to miss it.”
A large warm hand wraps around my wrist, stilling me. I look up into Phillip’s eyes—I swear they match the sea here—and the heat in them brings all my nerve endings to life. I felt it when he shook my hand yesterday, too, like an electric current. There’s a shimmering attraction between us that I instinctively know will ignite given the smallest push.
I gulp, caught in his grip literally and lustfully.
“This way,” he says, giving my wrist a small tug toward the other side of the dock. Maya is already being helped aboard a sleek white yacht.
He releases my wrist and I return to my sensible self. I should’ve known a prince wouldn’t travel crammed onto a public ferry. “Your royal yacht?”
“My royal yacht.” His voice drops to a husky drawl. “I promise a smooth ride.”
I narrow my eyes at his innuendo despite the obvious chemistry. Yesterday he acted above me; today he’s using his charm for what? Seduction? I don’t need a man like this, I really don’t, even if I do admire him shirtless. And with his sleeves rolled up. And all the time…shit. What the hell is wrong with me? My hormones are out of control.Down, girl.
“Isn’t it lovely?” Maya calls from the deck.
“It’s gorgeous!” I yell back. Then I tell Phillip under my breath, “She has a monster crush on you.”
“I know. Shall we?” He places a hand on the small of my back and guides me toward the gangway.
