Royally Not Ready(47)

“Nooooo,” Lilly says, her eyes nearly popping out.

“Yup. He was wobbling through the state dinner the next night, all because of me. I’ve never been more horrified.”

She throws her head back and laughs. “Oh my God, that’s so embarrassing.”

“Tell me about it. I offered to bring him ice anytime he needed it, which I did. He was cool about it, and glad I didn’t burn anything off, if you know what I mean.”

Lilly waves her hand in front of her face, catching her breath. “That’s amazing. I’m sorry, but that’s one hell of a story.”

“That we don’t talk about, right?”

“Right.” She winks again and then blows out a low breath. “God, that’s great. Not sure my next question can top that, but I’m going to ask anyway so we can finish out the night.”

“Anything to move on from this story.”

She smirks. “It’s a quick one. Let’s say you saw a girl that you thought was really pretty and you wanted to make a move on her, you know . . . get her attention, what would you do?”

“That’s your question?”

“Yeah. I think you’re a complex guy, but I’ve been able to break you down in different ways tonight besides the romantic side, and I’m just curious. I know you have that whole alpha side to you, but there has to be a softer side, right?”

“Not sure there’s anything soft about me.”

“That’s obvious from one look at you, but just play along. If you were to try to win a girl over, what would you do? My guess is flex in front of her until she passes out into your arms.”

My brow creases. “Do you really think that’s what I’d do?”

She tosses her arms up. “I have no idea. Educate me on Keller’s way of romancing.”

I scratch the side of my jaw. “Haven’t really had the time to do anything like that, so I don’t have much experience, but I guess I’d go about it the same way my dad would, by introducing her to my poems and—”

“Hold up, you write poetry?”

I nod, which causes her to clutch her chest and fall back on the blanket.

“Ugh, that’s so annoying.”

“Why is that annoying?”

She pops up again, but this time she stands all the way up.

“Where are you going?”

“This evening is over. I will not be forced to sit here and listen to you tell me about how you write poetry to woo women, not after spending the evening with you and learning about the love you have for your parents, your self-deprecating story, your love for cod, your sexual magnetism, or be subject to having to stare at your muscles anymore. It’s enough.”

“You’re the one who asked me,” I say.

“Yeah, and guess what, I thought you were going to say some cheesy pick-up line and be done with it. I wasn’t expecting you to tell me you write poetry. That’s a whole other level I don’t think I can take, because I already think you’re hot. I don’t need a sensitive poet attached to that. No, fucking thank you.” She moves past me, toward the hatch of the roof.

“But it’s the truth.”

“La, la, la, la, la,” she says, plugging her ears. “I can’t hear you.”

I remove her hands and hold them at her sides. “Stop it.”

“You stop it. Stop trying to make me yearn for you.”

“Trust me, that’s the last thing I want. I was just being truthful, that’s all.”

She grumbles and then says, “Fine, thank you for being honest. Your answer was appreciated, but I’ll tell you this right now, if you find me humping your leg in the middle of the night, you know why. You can only blame it on yourself.”

I chuckle. “I’ll take the blame.”

“Good.” She smiles up at me. “Well, I’m serious, thank you for sharing tonight. I had fun, Keller. I think this little break is just what I needed.”

“Yeah, I had fun too.” I pull on the back of my neck as I stare down at her beautiful face.

“Ah, come here, you big lug.” She loops her arms around me and gives me a big hug while pressing her face to my chest.

Stunned for a moment, I don’t know what to do, but when she wiggles against me, I realize she’s looking for an embrace as well, so I drape my arms around her and offer her a hug. We stand there for a few moments, just holding each other. Two kids who lost their parents, who miss the simple act of an embrace. I can’t help but think how this night just brought us a thousand times closer, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.





The smell of smoke seeps into my nose.

The heat of a fire warms up my face.

The glow of flames stains my eyelids.

I try to open them, I try to get a better look, but I can’t see anything. Just a glow. A deep orange glow, and then . . .

A scream.

A horrific, bloodcurdling scream that has my body breaking out into a sweat.

They’re . . . they’re in there.

I know they are.

But I can’t get to them. I can’t see them.

Fuck.

Just open your eyes. Open your eyes and you’ll be able to—

“Keller.”