I take the safe to my futon and sit with it on my lap, doing the combination and opening it. Stacks of hundred-dollar bills greet me with their reassuring presence. I should probably put these in a bank, but I fear looking suspicious showing up with so much cash. They might think I robbed a convenience store or something. At this point, I could even prepay next year’s tuition and still have some left over for rent.
I should upgrade to a one-bedroom apartment. This one is so small—one room with my futon sofa that pulls out to a queen-sized bed, a galley kitchen, and a separate tiny bathroom. Hard to believe until recently I shared this small space with Chloe. She’s not far, in a dorm at Columbia in the city, but I miss her terribly.
I pull out the stacks of bills, counting them and then spreading them out on the coffee table to make them look like even more. I smile and gather them up, carefully sliding them back in the safe. Oops. I accidentally flipped over my lucky dragon cards—a pair of red twos. I carefully place them facedown in the very back. They’re the only thing I kept from before my life turned upside down. They remind me of a simpler time when I believed a sweet boy with hazel eyes was my hero.
I’m sure Adrian has moved on. I was just the summer visitor. He’s a prince moving in elite circles. He tried to get in touch over the years, but I just wasn’t ready to look back to my time on Villroy. My parents were like a honeymooning couple in our rented summer cottage there. It was too heartbreaking to revisit those memories with a reality that didn’t include them. I needed to stay strong for Chloe. Eventually, Adrian stopped reaching out.
I close and lock my safe. Maybe I should ask Silvia for his number. I’m in a better place now. I saw Silvia here in Brooklyn and that went well. No expectations or anything. Just for old times’ sake.
~ ~ ~
Adrian
I stare out the window of the rented Mercedes, looking for numbers on the buildings we pass. Looks like it’s just up ahead. I tell the driver where to stop, and my guard, Jack, steps out with me a few moments later. He’s thirty with a blond buzz cut, tall and wide with a hard expression that lets everyone know not to try anything on his watch. After all my time sparring with the palace guards, I could defend myself, but I’m required to have a guard as part of the royal family. I chose Jack because he always presents a challenge when we spar. In any case, it’s smart to have someone looking over my shoulder for the rare times when there’s an overzealous crowd.
It’s Monday afternoon New York time, and I’m standing in front of a run-down concrete and glass building in a questionable neighborhood in Brooklyn. It doesn’t look like Sara’s swimming in money like Silvia said. I hope she’s home. I’ll sit on the front steps until she shows up if I have to. It’s warmer than I thought it would be for mid-September. I undo my cuffs and roll up my shirtsleeves. Then I hesitate, staring at the intercom button with her name on it—Travers.
I blow out a breath. Some part of me isn’t sure I’ll get the warm reception my sister got. Silvia and Sara were best friends in that tight way girls can be. I was an add-on to their friendship until that last summer when Sara and I got closer. I was her hero.
I shake my head at myself. The heroic efforts of a twelve-year-old boy. She’s probably forgotten all about it with the way things changed so drastically for her. I’m here to make sure she’s not in any danger with her poker game. That’s it.
Okay, I’m dying to see what she looks like all grown up in person. Her pic on social media was taken from a distance, and she wore a baseball cap with sunglasses.
I press the intercom.
A female voice carries through. “Yeah?”
I clear my throat. “Sara?”
“Who wants to know?” Her voice sounds tough just like Silvia said.
“It’s Adrian Rourke. Silvia gave me your address. I was in town and thought I’d stop by.”
Silence.
Shit. Am I getting the brush-off? Silvia showed up unannounced with no problem.
A moment later, the door opens and she’s standing right in front of me—Sara Travers all grown up.
My mouth goes dry. She’s even more beautiful than I remember. Her blond hair is down to her shoulders in a straight silky cascade; her thick lashes frame green eyes, her skin creamy. Her body is all woman, curvy and toned, in a faded pink T-shirt with white denim cut-off shorts, really short shorts, shapely legs, bare feet. Every nerve ending goes on high alert, my pulse thrumming through my veins. Straight-up lust. Guess that attraction we flirted with at twelve didn’t go away. Now I actually know what to do about it.
I force my gaze back to her face. The seven freckles across her cute nose are still there. My lucky number. The freckles are muted, probably with makeup, but they’re there. She’s still my Sara from the best summers of my life. I didn’t realize just how much I missed her until this very moment.
My voice comes out hoarse. “Sara.”
Her green eyes are wide, staring at me. “Adrian?”
I smile. “The one and only.”
Her gaze searches my features, her voice soft. “I can’t believe you’re here. You look so different.”
“All grown up. You look different, too, in a good way. How are you?”
She turns inside, gesturing for me to follow. “Come in.”
I follow her upstairs, my guard trailing me, and she opens the door to a tiny apartment. I turn back to Jack. “You can wait outside.”
“I need to take a look around, Your Highness,” Jack says.
“Is it okay?” I ask Sara.
She gestures him in. “Sure. Not much to see.”
Jack goes in and steps out a minute later. “All clear, sir.”
“Thanks,” I say.
“I’ll be outside, sir,” he says.
I nod at Jack and follow Sara into a one-room apartment. It’s clean but sparse—an old green futon, a beat-up wooden coffee table, and a small black end table with a lamp. Tiny galley kitchen. Maybe Sara’s version of “good money” from poker game tips is a lot less than Silvia’s version of good money. I don’t know what Sara’s used to since her parents died. They used to be well off, I think. At least enough to live in Manhattan and spend summers on Villroy, though her father never stayed the whole summer. He did something in finance. Her mother was headmaster at a private school, where Sara went for free, so her mother had summers off.
I study her face for a moment, trying to see the tough hardness Silvia mentioned. She sounded tough on the intercom, but she doesn’t look tough to me, more like an assured competency. Like she knows exactly who she is and what she wants to do. She has a much more serious expression than when she was a kid, but that’s to be expected, especially when she basically had to grow up overnight with the death of her parents. As the older sister by seven years, I’m sure she looked after little Chloe too. I like this look on her. I appreciate competent people.
She turns to the small refrigerator, opens the door, and bends down to look inside. “Can I get you anything to eat or drink?”
My gaze lands on her heart-shaped ass in short shorts, and my skin prickles with awareness, my hands itching to touch. I tear my gaze away, trailing down her smooth toned legs. Raw desire surges through me. Look away, look away. I remind myself I’m only in town for a few days. I need to fly home Thursday to be at the casino for the busy weekend time. I could never treat Sara like a casual fling, which means just friends. My gaze drifts up her legs to her sweet ass. Thong? Bikini underwear? Lace or cotton? My trousers get tight. Fuck.
She turns, and I jerk my head up to meet her eyes. She gives me an apologetic smile. “Maybe we should go out. I don’t have anything but condiments, old takeout, and wilted lettuce. I wasn’t expecting company.”
“Is it an imposition, me showing up here? Silvia said she just showed up, so…”
She plants her hands on her hips in a stance I remember well. “The Rourke twins within days of each other. So crazy. I just can’t believe you’re really here. So you just got in town?”
She was my first stop after the airport. Sorry, sis! “Got in today. Let’s go. Drinks on me.”
“Sure.”
Her cheeks flush pink as she reaches behind me to grab her purse from the futon. I love that her skin gives her away—getting closer to me made her pink up. Maybe this lust goes both ways.
“I guess Silvia told you about our visit?” she asks, tucking the strap of her purse over her shoulder.
“She mentioned it. I was coming to visit her anyway so thought I’d stop by and say hello.” I smile and say warmly, “Hello.”
“Hello.” Her voice is breathy. She stares at my lips for a moment, then my jaw—I’ve let it get scruffy—her gaze dropping to my shoulder and then my exposed forearm. Her cheeks and neck are flushed pink now. The attraction is definitely mutual. I’m secretly pleased, even though I’m not going to do anything about it.
I can’t help myself. “Like what you see?”
Her hand flutters in the air, her cheeks flaming bright pink. Embarrassed this time. “Sorry.” She rushes out the door.
I follow her out and watch her lock it behind us. I keep it light. “I don’t mind you ogling me,” I say as we head downstairs. “I’m shockingly manly, and you’re trying to reconcile it with how you last saw me.”
She bursts out laughing, and my chest warms. “True. I may remember you prepuberty.”
“I was in the throes of it last time I saw you.”
She stops on the sidewalk outside. “I’ll take you to the same place I took Silvia. It’s a nice restaurant with a bar, where your guard won’t be looked at with suspicion.”
“Drive or walk?”
“We can walk. It’s a nice night.”
“Lead the way.”
We head down the street at a brisk pace. Sara has that New Yorker stride, purposeful and fast, like there’s no time to waste. My guard trails behind us.
“Silvia’s exactly the same,” she says. “Still a bookworm. She even looks the same just taller.” She glances up at me. “I don’t mean to stare at you. I’m just trying to reconcile this look with how you were.”
“Guess it’s going to take some time to get over the shock of me in all my manly glory.” I pound my chest with a fist in a Neanderthal display.
She doesn’t laugh. Instead, she tucks her hair behind her ears, pink dotting her cheeks as she looks straight ahead. “It is a bit of a shock. So what’ve you been up to lately?”
“Should I give you the rundown since we last spoke?”
“Sure. Tell me about the past thirteen years.”
“Graduated from Cambridge, where I studied mathematics with a concentration in statistics and probability. I immediately put my degree to use as a stellar poker player. Important work, I know. Now I run a casino on Villroy and watch other people lose at poker.”
She nods. “Sounds perfect for you. How’s the casino business?”
“Well, it’s only been a month, but we got off to a flying start. It helps that we get the overflow of clients from the day spa next door, and they’re really busy in the summer. Now I just have to figure out how to keep visitors up, and how to be a little sweeter.”
She looks up at me quizzically. “Sweeter?”
“Silvia says I need to put more sweet in my voice.” I lift one shoulder. “Just because my assistant cowers from me and staff are afraid to come to me with problems.”
Her brows draw together. “Bad advice. The boss can’t be sweet. It’s good that they fear you.”
“It’s not like they’re terrified. They’re just intimidated by my title and the fact that I have no patience for incompetency.”
“And you shouldn’t tolerate incompetency. They can’t do the work—” she hitches a thumb and lets out a sharp whistle “—so long! Now the customers, that’s another story. It’s all light and fun for them.”
“Is that how you run your poker game?”
She stiffens. “Silvia told you about that?”
“Yes, she thought I might like to play while I was in town. You have room at the table tomorrow? She said you play Tuesdays.”
“No room, sorry. We’ve got our ten.”
“How about I just watch? I could rotate in if someone wants to take a break or leaves early. It happens.”
“I’ll let you know.”
My senses go on full alert. She’s being cagey, not even letting me watch. “You play twice a week, right? When’s the next game after that?”
“How’s the rest of your family? I heard Gabriel is king now. Crap. Sorry.” She winces. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
“Thanks. My family is doing well. Gabriel is doing a fantastic job as leader, along with his wife. They’re taking Villroy into the next century while still holding on to our history and traditions. It was a genius move to transition the commercial fishing industry to cosmetics manufacturing using stuff from the sea. Fish oil, algae, and the like.”
“That’s great to hear. Silvia told me a bit about it. She sounded really proud of her part in helping with research for the cosmetics and the spa.”
“It’s been a family venture, everyone involved. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished too.”
We walk in silence for a few moments. It’s comfortable like we’re walking along the beach again, some part of us remembering each other despite all the time that’s passed. I want to know more about her game, her life, basically everything, but there’s one thing I’m dying to know most of all.
“Do you remember our pact?” I ask with a smile.
Her expression goes blank. “Pact? We had a pact?”
“You don’t remember?” She must. It was an intense moment. At least for me. “We said we’d meet up again when we were twenty-five and get married.”
“I never said that.”
“Yes, you did. It wasn’t my idea. I was just angling for a kiss that summer.”
She laughs a little. “Sounds like the silly fantasy of a silly girl.”
“We are twenty-five now.”
Her jaw drops. “Are you serious? You want to marry me because of a pact we made as kids? You barely know me.”
I can’t help my laugh. “You should see your face. Horror show! Married to me. Although…” I flex a bicep.
“Stop,” she says on a laugh.
I elbow her. “We did make a solemn vow on my dragon cards. The plan was to play poker all night, every night as a married couple. I was pretty excited about that part.”
She shakes her head, smiling. “You remember a lot from when we were kids.”
I get serious. “I never forgot you, Sara. I always hoped you were doing okay. I really wanted to keep in touch.”
Her green eyes go soft, and she looks away. “I’m sorry I didn’t. Life was really rough for a long time, but I’m in a good place now.”
“Where did you go? Who took care of you?”
“Chloe and I moved to Brooklyn with my uncle Rob. My mother’s younger brother. No worries. Nice guy.” Her voice catches, and she points up ahead. “Ooh. This place has the best pizza in town.”
That’s why I couldn’t find her number or address listed. The apartment must’ve been under her mother’s maiden name since it was her mother’s younger brother. I was looking for Travers.
I focus back on her. “You want pizza?”
“No. Just pointing out the sights since you’re new in town.”
I let her give me the tour, which is mostly places she likes to eat as well as the best vintage clothing shops. I know when to drop a touchy subject. I’m enjoying getting to know her again. Now all I need is an invite to her game.
I’m betting I’ll have it by the end of the night.
Chapter Four
Sara
I’m in shock. Like I’m having an out-of-body experience sitting at this bar with Adrian, my brain slowly trying to keep up. It’s like I conjured him from my thoughts. My lucky dragon cards flip up, I think of Adrian and getting in touch, and suddenly he’s on my doorstep!
Adrian morphed from a sweet cute boy to a hot-as-fuck man. It’s really messing with my head. He’s got the same thick dark brown hair, same warm hazel eyes, but the rest! Jesus. My hormones are rioting. I pray he hasn’t noticed. It feels like I’m blushing head to toe. He’s six feet at least, wide shoulders, muscular and fit. There’s scruff on his square jaw. Dark, delicious scruff. His lips are sensual, kissing lips. And his voice! So deep and sexy. He smells like spice and sex. I mean, spice and man.
I’m not going to hook up with him. He was a good friend of mine before my life split into a sharp before and after. I could never treat him like a hookup, and I’m not up for a relationship. Too risky, too painful when he leaves, and I know he will. He’s tied to the casino in Villroy, a place I never want to see again, and I’m tied here to Chloe. She needs me. I’m her legal guardian and the only mother she remembers. Not to mention this fantastic game I’ve got going here, which will pay my sister’s tuition for undergrad and medical school. I can’t leave the best job I’ve ever had.
I’ve cyberstalked him over the years—a dirty secret I’ve never told anyone about, not even my sister. He was my weakness, my only soft spot, a fantasy that helped me through tough times. My hero, my prince, who would one day come for me. I bluffed earlier, too embarrassed to admit I remembered the pact. Some secret part of me fantasized it would come true and it would be like a romantic dream—my sweet prince and I would live happily ever after playing poker in a house big enough to include my sister. I always fantasized we’d get a house just outside the city, with a yard for our kids and dog. Such a simple normal fantasy to live in the burbs that I never believed would come true. He belongs in Villroy, that’s his kingdom, and I belong here. I never thought I’d see Adrian again after I didn’t respond to his initial attempts to get in touch. Yet, by some miracle, here he is. It’s like my fantasy came true.
Royal Shark (The Rourkes, Book 6) Page 4