lot of funny-sounding cocktails playing off royalty and Villroy—royaltini, Villroy breeze, even a lobster snap.
“I can make anything without alcohol too,” the bartender says. “We also have soda.” He points it out on the back of the menu.
“Can you give me a few minutes to decide?” Chloe asks.
He inclines his head and moves farther down the bar, pouring my beer.
Chloe leans close to confide, “My sister says I used to be a devilish whirlwind when I was little, though I don’t remember any of it.”
“You, really?”
She nods. “She says I used to rip off my clothes and run all over the beach naked, destroy sandcastles that she and Princess Silvia helped me build, throw our lunch to the seabirds, and pull the legs off crabs.” Princess Silvia is Adrian’s twin, which means Chloe’s been close with the Villroy Rourkes for a while.
“My kind of girl. So what made you come to Villroy when you were little?” Before the casino and spa, it wasn’t exactly a destination.
“My dad was originally from France and had fond memories of summers on Villroy. I spent every summer here since I was a baby. Sara was close with Silvia and Adrian since they’re all the same age. I was the crazy little sister they had to put up with.”
So, basically, the royal family has known Chloe since she was born. And now my cousin is her brother-in-law. Yup, definitely have to be careful not to cross the line with this one. Talk about family fallout.
“What other devilish things did you do?” I ask.
She smiles and ducks her head. “Apparently, I swallowed a fish too, but that was accidental. I thought I could keep it alive in the spit in my mouth and bring it home to be my pet.”
“Now that I’ve never done. I put my dad’s credit card in the mailbox once. I wanted to see it slide down the slot. Boy, was he mad.”
She shakes her head. “Kids, right?” She studies the menu again. “I’ve never had a drink in my life, but all this talk about my carefree days makes me want to try one.” She meets my eyes with a small smile on her beautiful angelic face. “Be a little wild.”
I stiffen, on full alert. Chloe can’t get wild. She’ll be way too tempting. Wild women are my bread and butter. I can’t eat here! This is family territory.
“Bad idea,” I say.
“Why?”
I shake my head, desperately hoping to rattle a good reason out of my panicking brain. “Because.”
“Just one. And I can call for a ride back to the palace. Sensible and fun.” She goes back to the menu, drawing her lower lip into her mouth as she studies it. My gut tightens. Something about those lips with the bow at the top and the fuller lower lip. So sexy. I tear my gaze away from temptation.
My beer arrives, and I take a long swallow. Feeling calmer, I channel my oldest brother’s responsible-sounding voice. “Best to avoid alcohol since you don’t have a tolerance. Drink responsibly.” Wait. I think that’s from a commercial encouraging people to drink, but in a responsible way.
She turns to me. “The Villroy breeze sounds refreshing with the strawberries. Is rum sweet?”
I open my mouth to say rum tastes like cough syrup and should be avoided at all costs, but it’s too late.
She lifts a hand to the bartender. “I’ll take the Villroy breeze, please. With alcohol.”
I hang my head. This is terrible. Now she’s going to get all loose and relaxed, exactly how I like my women. If she gets wild, I’m a goner.
She grabs my beer, takes a sip, and sticks her tongue out. “Blech.”
“Right? Skip that. I bet your drink is bad too.” I turn away and take another long swallow of beer. As soon as I’m done with this beer, I’m going back to the poker game. I’ll drop her off with her sister and keep my distance for the rest of the night.
She elbows me in the ribs. “Don’t let me do anything crazy or embarrassing.”
I gulp. “Like what?”
“I don’t know.” She flutters a hand in the air. “Something.”
She can’t even imagine something wild. Excellent. Maybe the alcohol won’t have any effect on her. She’ll just giggle or something.
I relax and fill in the blanks of what wild could mean. It’s funny because she’d never do any of it. “Like dance naked on a table?”
She smiles. “No. I don’t dance.”
Perfect. Now I can have fun with her.
I lower my voice so the