Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
I can’t help but think about the fact that I could have been that woman for the night. He could have come upstairs with me, and then we wouldn’t have this terrible sexual tension between us. Would we? Or would it have made it so much worse knowing? “No, when you get one on your hook, you let her go. You’re a catch and release guy.”
“I’m not,” he argues. “That’s what you don’t understand. What happened the other night was out of character for me. I don’t even know why I went down to the bar. I could have ordered room service, but something made me want to sit in the bar and pretend to be normal for a while. And then your friend pointed you out and I wanted to be the kind of man who could drop everything and join a bunch of strangers for an impromptu dinner. It made Hans a little crazy.”
“Your bodyguard? The one who did perimeter sweeps all day?” He’d looked totally out of place on our laid-back set. The women might be dressed to the nines—unless they were wearing perfectly appropriate for sports clothing—but the crew are typically jeans and T-shirts people. Hans looked like he was in the secret service. Which I suppose he kind of is, in a Ralavian way.
“Yes. He takes his job seriously. I tried to explain to him that no one is going to want to assassinate me, but he pointed out I’m technically dating ten women, so I should watch my back. He should have joined the comedy circuit when he left the army.”
I’m with Hans on that one. I get the feeling Shelby might try to take him out when he cuts her. “You have an army?”
“A small one. It’s mostly ceremonial, though we do some serious training.”
I’m so curious. “We? You didn’t mention military service.”
“Everyone in Ralavia serves two years in the military,” Luca explains. “Typically right after what you would call high school and before university.”
I don’t want to be curious, and I don’t want to remember all the things he’s told me, but I can’t help myself. “You said you went to boarding school in England. Is that why you have a British accent when you speak English?”
His jaw firms as he nods. I’m starting to learn his tells, and this one is all about being uncomfortable. Not necessarily with talking, but with the incident we’re discussing. “Oh, yes. I learned quickly to adopt an accent that helped me to fit in. British schoolboy culture isn’t what I would call inclusive. Not at that level. I went to Eton. I wasn’t the only royal there at the time, but I was the only one who sounded German.”
I remember my own slightly chaotic high school experience. “Why should that matter? I went to a school where everyone seemed to be from somewhere else. I would have thought your accent was cool.”
“Ich bin sicher, das würdest du, Liebling,” he murmurs. “Unfortunately, you were not there, and so when I speak English I sound like a Windsor. And like those famous men, I went into the military when the time came. That’s where I met Hans and learned how serious he is about his job.”
“Was he in the same unit?” I ask.
Luca’s head shakes. “No. He’s a few years older than me and I suspect he was planning a long career in the military before he got pulled out of his team and assigned to royal duty. He was going into the horse guards, an elite unit. They’re the only unit we send when NATO or the EU or other allies request assistance. But no. Hans got stuck babysitting, as he calls it.”
I try to imagine him in a military uniform. It wouldn’t make him less hot. “So you weren’t allowed to be a normal soldier?”
“Oh, no,” Luca says with a wave of his hand. “I was only allowed to serve because it was expected, but I had a guard on me twenty-four seven, and I would never have been allowed into combat. I did learn a few things, however. I love flying now. I can fly almost anything, including a jumbo jet. And I love helicopters. It’s fun to make Hans go the lightest shade of green.”
“So he was following us all night?”
“He never let us out of his sight. And I had the cab stop a block away to pick him up. He was very irritated with me over that. He had to jog.”
I would give it to the man. He’s good. I hadn’t seen him at all. Or maybe I’d been too wrapped up in Luca to notice anything around me. “What does he think of this plan of yours? Is he vetting the contestants? You should tell him I was a juvenile, and I don’t know how that cotton candy got in my mouth.”