I’d wandered to her office at night, she could be found listening to the old songs—something about it reminding her of her mother. Personally, I preferred rock, but to each his own.
Now on to friends. Although, apart from her siblings and Reggie, she seldom mentioned anyone else. Surely, she had friends, though, right? How did I not know of them? I quickly scribbled down a new item.
11. The Green family
She’d been fond of that lot, according to Leo. It would be easy enough to fly them all here whenever she liked, and Ruby would surely be living here full time before long, so they could chat whenever it suited them. Now that I thought about it, though, a boyfriend would be a surefire way to keep her here.
12. New boyfriend
Perhaps not. He would only be a distraction. I crossed it off.
12. New boyfriend
I was being ridiculous. Reggie hadn’t been a distraction at all. Alice had spent most of her time with me when they’d been together.
12. New boyfriend
There. Now, what about hobbies? I gave it a few minute’s thought but came up with nothing but crossword puzzles—and I refused to encourage an activity as boring as that. Did Alice even have any hobbies? I suppose she’d never had time while working for me. Well, that would have to change.
13. New hobby
I surveyed my work and nodded in satisfaction. This would be child’s play making Alice happy, and she’d be begging for a permanent position in no time. Well done, me.
“This one will have to go.” Alice pointed her stylus at the silk throw pillow resting on an armchair in my bedroom. “The prince is allergic to feathers.”
My response of, “I am?” met Victoria’s simultaneous, “He is?”
Alice merely eyed us both over the top of her glasses as she tapped into the iPad propped in one hand. “Why do you think we always arrange for foam pillows when you travel?”
I could only shrug. “I don’t know. I suppose I assumed Leo convinced you they were better for the environment or… you hate geese?”
“No one told me this.” Both Victoria’s tone and the placement of her hands on her hips broadcast her ever-heightening defensiveness.
As I’d feared, this was not going well.
And Alice was offering Victoria no leeway at all. “Well, did you ask?” Not that I could really blame her after the disastrous introduction between the women thirty minutes prior.
Hindsight being twenty-twenty and all, I could have handled the situation better, not that it was entirely my fault.
I’d been minding my own business drying off from my shower when the sound of a door being opened and closed in the next room caught my attention. Wanting to intercede before the women made introductions on their own, I hurried to dress myself while moving toward my sitting room. “I’ll just be a minute!” I shouted, struggling to pull on my boxer briefs over wet skin and nearly careening into a wall.
Twig and berries swinging, I managed a single glance into my sitting room, confirming it had been Victoria who’d just entered my quarters while Alice sat on a sofa scrolling through her phone and appearing quite at home. Quickly retreating again, I yanked at my boxers, only managing to rip a hole.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Before I could utter another word, Victoria apparently took one look at the stranger on my sofa and came to her own conclusions, because the next thing I heard was a shrill, “Who are you, and what are you doing in the prince’s quarters? Did you sneak by security? I didn’t authorize any visitors! Stay where you are! I’m ringing security.”
Fuck. Fuck. Double Fuck.
Finally managing to cover the vital parts, I took another peek to find Victoria brandished her phone at Alice, who then stood—likely to explain her presence. However, this only prompted Victoria to remove one of her spiked heels with her free hand and threaten to blind Alice if she didn’t stop moving.
“Wait!” I swiped my jeans from my bed and pulled them on like the building was on fire, but not before the words, “interloping trollop” and something about “royal groupies and their crab-ridden honey pots,” were shouted by an incensed Victoria.
At least she took all aspects of my health and safety seriously.
By the time I hurried into the room, shirtless and still wet, bellowing, “She’s not a trollop!” I fear the damage had been done. Only, Victoria, not being an idiot, took one look at me and quickly reassessed the situation, turning slightly red in the