Page 1 of Cheeky Prince
Jill
“Land!” A girl squeals while excited chatter moves from person to person, and everyone gathers on deck. My heart rate kicks up a notch.Land.I’m desperate to get off this ship as fast as my chubby legs will carry me, but I’m loath to emerge from my hiding spot before I absolutely have to. You see, my friend and I got it in our heads that it’d be fun to do a singles’ cruise. Well,shethought it would be fun, and I reluctantly agreed to come along. The cruise company boasted that they could run all your questionnaire answers through their computers and come up with a ‘perfect match’—*not guaranteed—for you to spend two ‘blissful’ weeks cruising the French Riviera with. My match was a weasely little fellow who snorts while he talks, and drools whenever he looks at my cleavage, which isall the time.I can’t stand it. He makes my skin crawl and my stomach sour. This is the worst blind date I’ve ever been on because I’m trapped on a ship in the middle of the ocean with him.
“Attention, passengers.”A voice over the PA system addresses us collectively. “The ship will be docking in approximately twenty minutes. Please ensure you have your luggage and any valuables locked up or on your person as you will not be able to re-board the ship for the next forty-eight hours while we restock and refuel.” He goes on to give further information about accommodation and group tours, but I’ve already decided that I’m doing this part solo while I make enquires about how to get back home to Missouri without having to step foot on this boat again. I am so done.
“Passengers will please form an orderly line to the stern of the ship in preparation to disembark.”
There’s movement everywhere around me while people loudly ask which way stern is. I stay hidden and grip my luggage tight. This is going to be a delicate extraction. I’ll have to time my movements perfectly. If I’m too late, I’ll miss getting off the ship; too early, and I risk running intohim.I shudder at the thought.
I poke my head from the shadows, trying to get an idea of the weave pattern I’ll need to run in order to assume minimum risk of impact. The impact being accidentally colliding with the ‘him’ I’m trying to avoid—Craig.
“Two whole days on land. Can you believe it?” A couple approaches, and I pull my head back into the shade to maintain my cover.
“I can believe it, baby. I can’t wait to get you all to myself.”
The girl giggles as the guy presses her against the wall and does something in her neck with his mouth that makes her knees shake before she says, “Not here, Martin.”
“No one’s watching.”
Um. I am!Not that I’m willing to let them know I’m exactly two feet away from them, hiding between beams and coated in shadows. It isn’t easy to be a covert 5’11 woman with a booty like mine. No matter which way I turn, some part of me is sticking out, but since necessity is the mother of invention—not to mention, I learned a lot from all those Jason Bourne movies—I’ve figured out how to not look so…obtrusive.
“Martin!” The girl slaps him in the chest, and he chuckles before taking her hand and leading her away. I’m so busy watching them that I almost don’t hear my name until it’s too late.
“Hey, guys. Guys! Have you seen Jill?”Fucking Craig.
I suck in my belly and press against the wall. I wish this guy would just give up already. I don’t want him. Not now. Not ever.
“No, man. Haven’t seen her anywhere,” Martin says. “Did you try her cabin?”
“She’s not there.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe she’s just not into you, buddy.”
“We’re a match,” Craig snaps, muttering to himself as he moves along. I breathe out a sigh of relief.
“You’re welcome,” Martin says when Craig’s gone.Is he talking to me?
“Yes. You. I’m talking to you, Jill.”He is!
My eyes pop, and I poke my head around the corner of my hidey-hole.Guess I’m not as covert as I thought I was.The girl gasps and slaps Martin on the chest again. “You said we were alone!”
“Babe, it’s a cruise ship, we’re never alone,” he teases before turning his attention back to me. “You want me to do something about that guy?”
I shake my head. “I’m handling it.”
“Looks like it.” He nods toward the gap I’m hiding in and laughs.
“I’m heading home from here,” I say, looking between him and the girl on his arm. I’ve seen them both around the ship plenty, but I haven’t really spoken to them, or anyone for that matter, I’ve been too busy hiding from Craig—my ‘perfect’ match. I’m starting to think this ‘love match algorithm’ is just a hat with names written on pieces of paper. Hardly anyone hooked up with their actual matches, but most managed to find someone they enjoyed spending time with. Take my friend, Belinda, for example. She was matched with Martin in the first place, but they didn’t hit it off, and now she’s standing in the line to disembark with some guy called Tony. But then, she’s never had too much trouble finding guys. Me, on the other hand, I have nothing but trouble.
“That’s a shame,” Martin says, pulling me from my thoughts. “But, if you change your mind and wanna stay, me and a couple of the guys are happy to get him to back off.”
“Thanks.” I offer him a smile as I move back into my hole.
Dominic
“What do you mean there isn’t adequate security?” I bellow into the phone. “It’s not like my visit was unannounced.” I pause to listen to the man on the other end of the line. Something about a union strike over penalty rates and a picket line that can’t be crossed.
“Why wasn’t I briefed on the labor problems here?” I stage-whisper to my cousin, Stefan, who is a duke, but also acts as my right-hand man within the family. Normally, I’d have an equerry or an aide of some sort, but since I’m the fifth son of a strong and healthy king, I rank pretty low in the whole royal family hierarchy. I’m basically just a face they send around to the places none of my siblings want to visit to smile, shake hands, and lift morale. Which, of course, is why I’m here this time. It’d just be nice if someone gave me a heads up that I was walking into a total shitshow.
