Page 7 of Royal Hottie
I speed up. I need to defend my honor and put things right. Also, I don’t want Ruby to tell Maya the details of our encounter, which the servants will have a field day with.
Ruby’s voice rises. “I mean, I didn’t ask him for a date and he acted like I was going after him. Do I look like a desperate woman?”
“No, ma’am,” Maya replies solemnly. I can hear the smile in her voice. She has a good sense of humor, though she will always remain professional.
I step into the living room of the master suite and set the mantel against the hearth. They’re in the bedroom.
Maya goes on. “Maybe it’s because of Queen Anna’s—”
“I’m afraid we got off on the wrong foot,” I say, appearing in front of them. If Ruby doesn’t already know about the auction, I’d prefer to keep it that way. No sense giving her more ammunition against me after our earlier embarrassing encounter. I’m hoping she’ll be gone before the auction happens. Besides, I won’t be participating in it, and I think that will disappoint her. Not because she wants to bid on me, that’s for my sister-in-law’s wealthy clients. Ruby will be disappointed that I let her friend, the queen, down.
They freeze, both of them staring at my bare chest. I get that reaction a lot. Good to know my workouts are still massively effective.
I hold my hand out to Ruby. “I’ll take my shirt.”
“It’s out.” She points toward the door. “Out there.”
Maya drops her eyes to my shoes. “It’s on the bust of King Carl the first, in the hallway where we were previously, Your Highness.” That’s my great-great-great-great-grandfather, who reestablished the Rourke family as rulers two centuries ago, wresting control of Villroy from the British, who’d wrested it from the French, who’d taken control from us, the original Viking-Irish tribe. He is, in a word, a legend. And now he’s wearing my shirt. Sacrilege, using my revered ancestor as a laundry hamper.
I rub my temple. “Maya—”
“I’ll have it brought round.” She rushes to the phone, probably to call the servants’ quarters.
Ruby bites her lip. “I was just trying to keep the shirt pristine.”
I incline my head toward the living room. Maya’s back is to us, but I’d like even more privacy.
She points toward the other room. “You want me to—”
“Yes.”
I head to the living room and take a seat on the plush blue sofa in front of the hearth. Ruby appears in the room, looking concerned. We definitely got off on the wrong foot. I pat the cushion next to me. “Please have a seat.”
She shakes her head. “I’m way too dirty for that sofa, and I won’t be stripping, unlike some exhibitionists I’ve only just met.”
I smile. “I admit I was trying to distract you from your first impression of me. I was worked up about something else, and I took it out on you. I’m sure you must think I was terribly rude. Can we start over?” I offer my hand. “Hello, I’m Phillip. Welcome to Villroy.”
She smiles a little and closes the distance between us, standing in front of me. “Hello, Phillip. I’m Ruby and quite happy to be here doing this job for my good friend Anna.” She tucks her much smaller hand in mine and I clasp it. My nerve endings flare to life at the touch, surprising me.
Our gazes collide in a moment of shared recognition. Attraction. Chemistry. It’s arcing between us like electricity. I give her a brief handshake and drop my hand from hers.
She takes a step back.
“So,” she says at the same time as I say, “Ruby.”
“You go,” we say at the same time and laugh.
She raises a palm. “Prince trumps commoner. Please, what were you going to say?”
“I don’t think in those terms. I know the circumstances of my birth were dumb luck. Some people are born into royalty; some born into poverty. I’m simply a lucky man.”
She wags a finger at me. “Not as arrogant as I first thought.”
I put a hand to my heart. “You wound me.” I lean forward. “Though I suppose I deserve it.”
She waves that away. “No worries on this front. I’m not looking for a relationship or even a date. In fact, I’m pretty much turned off by your entire species. I might try the softer side. At least women I can understand.”
I’m speechless.
