Page 47 of Royal Hottie
“Thank you!”
“You’re the best!”
“You rock, Anna!”
“Ha!” Anna says. “Don’t thank me yet. You’re secretly my guinea pigs. I know I can count on your honest opinion on everything. Plus you’re all veterans of the spa experience.”
The women are excited, except Ruby, who looks worried. Maybe she’s still thinking of the potential loss of her new clients.
The servants bring in the first course and the women quiet down.
Anna is next to Ruby and leans past her to look at me. “Phillip, Ruby tells me you’ve been good to her. Keep it up, please.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” I intone.
She laughs. “Okay, you can say it, I misjudged you. I’m happy so long as she’s happy. And, Ruby, I’m so excited you get to go on this tour!” Ruby called ahead to let Anna know about the change in travel plans, and I guess she shared about our relationship too. I have a relationship. It doesn’t hold that charge of horror it used to. Instead it just feels incredibly amazing.
“I’m excited about the tour.” Ruby lowers her voice, and I lean close to listen. “I’m a little worried that when I get home, I won’t have any career to speak of. I’ve been really excited about all the new clients. So far, your friends aren’t too keen on waiting. I understand. They’re excited, and by the time I get back, it’s close to the holidays—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. They don’t want their homes to be in upheaval while trying to enjoy the holidays, so it just means a longer wait.”
Anna sends me a pointed look. I’m not sure what she wants me to say, so I just speak from the heart. “You’re worth waiting for, Ruby. They’ll see.”
Ruby rolls her eyes and whispers to me, “It’s not that simple. Americans don’t like to wait. They’re used to instant gratification. They’ll move on.”
“Then you’ll find other work.”
Anna nods. “You’ll land on your feet, Ruby. I’d love to offer you a job, but I’m afraid it’ll be a while before we get to the point where we need interior design again.”
“And I’ll help you find work,” I tell her. “Better work.”
Her brows scrunch together. “What do you mean better work?”
I hesitate. I don’t want to flat out say her work isn’t important, but, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not. I keep my voice low. “No one’s career was ruined by waiting five weeks.”
She opens her mouth and then shuts it. “This isn’t the right place to talk.”
“Agreed.”
She stabs a shrimp in her shrimp cocktail. “But I’m not sure you understand about careers, being a prince.”
Anna widens her eyes and turns to talk to Gabriel. Rubywasa little snippy. I’m not going to fight with her. She’ll see the right path soon enough.
I move on to more pressing matters with Ruby. “Tomorrow we’ll go over the itinerary with the press secretary. He’ll be accompanying us, along with security and my valet. Would you like a maid to attend to you?”
“I’m fine on my own.” Still snippy.
I try for a joking tone. “Is it because your maid has a crush on me and you’re overcome by jealousy?”
She gives me a sideways look and I grin. She shakes her head, smiling. “Big head.”
“I need it for these big shoulders.”
Anna catches my eye and smiles at me. It gives me a boost to know she approves of the match after telling me to keep my distance earlier. Ruby will already have a close friend on the inside, which will make her transition to royal life easier. All I need to do is cement our relationship in these next five weeks. And that begins now.
I shift to whisper in her ear, “You’ll be staying in my suite at the palace starting tonight.”
She whispers back fiercely, “You could occasionally make your requests in the form of a question,Your Highness. Otherwise, you sound demanding, which is irritating to an independent-minded woman like myself. Just FYI.” She never calls me Your Highness, not even from the first moment we met when it would’ve been proper. She must really be pissed about all this potential client business.
“But it’s not a question,” I inform her. “It’s a fact.”
