Page 176 of The Vacation Mix-Up
“Yeah. I wouldn’t have visited theTitanicexhibit in Nova Scotia, trashed my hair in a pool of mutant mud, or stood in a library with some of the best woodwork I’ve ever laid my eyes upon.”
“You went to the museum?”
“I did, but not for long. I was looking for you, and when I couldn’t find you, I left.”
Turning in his arms, I link my hands behind his back. “Why were you looking for me?”
“Because I promised I wouldn’t leave you behind.”
Warmth flitters through my chest at his dedication and selflessness, and I wonder for a split moment how on earth Krystal let him go. “There’s anotherTitanicexhibit in Southampton. We can go there tomorrow after Stonehenge. I can teach you all about it.”
“I’d like that.” He dips his head and presses his lips to mine. “You’re sexy when you’re relaying historical information.”
“Oh, am I?”
“Yep. Reminds me of this hot teacher I had in school.”
“Riley!” I punch his arm and free myself from his grip. “That’s disgusting.”
“She wasn’tthatold.”
We stroll atop the wall, then stop at Tower Green where two of King Henry’s wives were beheaded, among other prisoners, and I find it hard not to imagine the gruesome, cruel place this once was. But it was also a mint, a zoo—so to speak, containing a menagerie of exotic animals gifted to kings—and the heavily guarded home of the crown jewels. So it’s not all grim and murder.
“I can’t believe those werethecrown jewels,” I say to Riley as we enter the White Tower. “I thought they’d be fakes with the real ones stashed away in some high-security vault, the location known only by the monarch. Seems risky to have them there on display for the public.”
He stops by two suits of armor, one enormous, the other tiny. “How do you know they’re real? It could be the royal family’s greatest and best-kept secret. Just because they say those are the real crown jewels doesn’t mean they are.”
I frown at him, but he has a point.
We move into King Edward I’s bedchamber—a brightly colored room that looks oddly childish for a monarch, and Riley stops in his tracks at a sideboard. “I think I’m in love.”
I scrunch my nose at the hideous thing. “Isn’t she too old for you? Then again, you did say you liked older teachers.”
He rubs his beard, eyes glued to the deteriorated wood. “No. She’s perfect.”
“Would you two like to be alone?” I offer.
He side-eyes me before tugging me to his chest. “I’d much prefer to be alone with you.”
“We are alone.”
Riley surveys the room, a devilish grin lighting his face. “Great! Let’s try out the bed.”
“Wha—” Before I can step out of his embrace, he bear-hugs me and lifts my feet from the ground, walking us closer to the ropes cordoning off the bed. “Riley! No! We can’t.”
“We can.”
“Put me down!”
Chuckling, he sets me on my feet again. “Ease up, Riles. I’m not that game nor stupid.”
I shove him back and smooth my T-shirt down. “I’m glad, because if one could be beheaded in this day and age, something tells me it would be here.”
“This place creeps you out, doesn’t it?”
“Kind of.” I roll my shoulders, my skin prickling. “I mean, I love the history, but terrible things happened here for centuries. And those ravens outside only add to it.”
“They’re just birds.”
