Royal Ruse - Emma Lea Page 0,49

to the Andino estate. He told me he had a son, Griffin, who was studying in America and who he hoped would come home soon.

“Deacon,” I said as he opened the door for us to climb into the car.

“Yes, Ms. Davenport?”

“I told you to call me Frankie,” I admonished lightly. “Lucas and I want to see some of the town. Not the tourist bits, but the real bits, the places where the locals hang out.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea—”

“Of course it is,” I said, cutting him off. “Kalopsia isn’t dangerous, is it?”

“No more than any other city,” he replied. “But I’m sure Lord Andino—”

“Lucas, please,” Lucas said. “And I think it’s a brilliant idea. Frankie is doing a research paper on how the country is changing under the rule of the new king.”

Deacon nodded. “Okay. I know just the place to take you,” he said. “You might even remember some of the people,” he said to Lucas. “Or rather, they might remember you.”

We climbed into the car and I could barely sit still with excitement. The palace was lovely and meeting the king and queen and the other members of the royal court was great, but what I really loved about traveling was getting to know the locals. I loved finding out their stories and their backgrounds and what life was really like through their eyes and not just though the eyes of a travel blogger or tourism brochure.

“If we’re going to mix with the locals, you should probably know that the town has a name.”

I turned to look at Lucas. “Isn’t it Kalopsia?”

He grinned. “That’s the name of the island. The town surrounding the palace is called Kallos.”

“I knew that,” I replied with a sniff.

Lucas chuckled, and it made my heart light to know that I was giving him something to laugh about.

“There are other towns too, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, nodding. “We’re not as big as Limnos, but we are still bigger than Santorini and we can sustain several villages.”

I grinned at him.

“What?”

“You said ‘we,’” I replied, bumping my shoulder against his.

His cheeks flushed. “It’s weird,” he said with a sigh. “I feel connected to the island, to the town and yet…I still feel like an outsider too. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Of course it makes sense,” I replied, taking his hand and weaving my fingers through his. “You lived here for more than half your life and even though you left when you were young and you’ve probably forgotten a lot, that still lives inside you, here,” I said, using my free hand to tap his chest. His very firm chest. I may have rested my hand there for a little longer than entirely necessary.

“My life in Boston is so far removed from life here,” he murmured, his dark eyes on mine.

I hadn’t realized just how close I was sitting. I could practically climb onto his lap…not that I would. And I had one hand wrapped in his and the other pressed against his chest. I could feel the steady beat of his heart through his shirt and I swear it seemed to pick up its pace as I leaned against him.

He chuckled nervously and pulled back from me, untangling our fingers and turning to look out the window as the car descended from where the estate stood on one of the many hills in Kallos.

“You will be glad to get back to Boston and back to civilization,” he said. “I imagine by the end of the week you’ll be fed up with this place and begging me to let you go home early.”

His words struck deep, but they didn’t hurt as much as the way he deliberately distanced himself from me, even going so far as to shift over on the seat so our thighs no longer touched. I turned to look out the other window and to hide the disappointment on my face. There was no reason for me to be disappointed. This was all fake. Sure, we were friends, but friends didn’t hold hands and snuggle. Friends didn’t look at each other like they wanted to kiss. Friends didn’t imagine climbing on the other’s lap and nestling into the crook of their neck.

I huffed out a breath and watched the scenery. The car wound its way down through the narrow switchbacks toward the beach and the surrounding retail precinct. I admired the way the generations who came before had used the land so economically to build their homes. They’d created a natural