Royally Not Ready(7)

She stares at the card and then waves it at me. “Did you get these printed for this one-time occasion? That’s really freaking weird.”

“Good night, Miss Campbell.”

“It’s Lilly.”

Brimar follows me as we head toward the door that leads into the main hotel.

“And don’t wait around for me, Fitzy. You don’t tell me what to do. Do you hear me? You’re not the boss of—”

The door shuts behind us, silencing her.

Brimar places his hand on my shoulder and says, no doubt with an eye roll, “Americans.” He shakes his head. “Good luck with that one.”

Fuck, I’m going to need it.





Chapter Three





LILLY





“Holy shit. Look, right here it says ‘Margret Edwina Ingrid Strom, Princess of Torskethorpe’—woof, the country name is awful to say.” Tell me about it. “‘Is the daughter of King Theodore and Queen Katla.’” Timmy sets his phone down and looks me in the eye. “Girl, you’re royalty.”

“What? No, I’m not . . .”

His smile stretches from ear to ear, like the Cheshire cat, as he nods. “Yes, you are. If your mom is a princess, that makes you a princess as well.” And then, before my eyes, he lowers himself into a curtsy and bows his head. “Your Majesty.”

I push at his forehead. “Men don’t curtsy, and I’m not royalty.” I pick at one of the fried plantains on our shared plate and plop it in my mouth.

“What does it feel like to just sit there in denial?”

“Comfortable,” I answer while chewing on my plantain.

Timmy leans on the apartment island, where we’re sharing a late-night snack. When I left the Moxy, I told him to meet me at my place ASAP. I know Keller said our conversation was confidential, but let’s be honest, it’s all such a fictional farse, so how could I possibly keep that confidential? I couldn’t. I told Timmy, who of course I swore to secrecy, you know, just in case there is some sort of legal action that could be taken against me.

“Lilly, you know I love you, right?”

“Oh boy, here comes the heart-to-heart,” I say.

“You can’t deny the facts, and the facts are—your mom hid you away from a world where you have grandparents, an aunt, uncles, and well, a family. And correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? A family?”

“I have a family,” I say, reaching out and taking his hand in mine. “You’re my family.”

“As much as I like claiming you as my own, this is your chance to get answers. This is your opportunity to see where your mom is from, to see the place she grew up. Haven’t you always wanted that?”

Yes.

I have. It’s been one of my biggest life questions.

That, and why I wasn’t blessed with any sort of rumba hip action. No matter how hard I try, my hips just don’t sway like everyone else’s.

“I have, but, seriously, Timmy, do you really expect me to fly off to some foreign island with a man who looks like Thor’s brother?”

“Sounds like a dream to me.”

I roll my eyes. “What about the Wagon? With your DJ schedule picking up, you can’t cover all the shifts.”

“You admitted even yesterday how Shari and Carrie need more shifts. The days they work, our sales are always double. You can’t deny the power of a pair of Latina twins in bikinis.”

He’s right. My boobs have nothing on theirs.

“And they’ve been looking for more shifts as well. What other excuses do you have?”

“Uh, how about I just signed up for a monthly Pilates membership? That’s just careless money management if I don’t go at least once a week.”

“I know Karen down at the shop. I can get her to put your membership on hold.”

“Yeah, well, what about my apartment? You know there’s an ant problem. If I’m not here, watching over the invasion, they very well might take over. And then what? I come back to an empty apartment? You know ants can carry up to fifty times their weight? Have you heard about furniture gone missing around here? It’s the ants. They’re selling people’s possessions on the black market, and to hell if I will be subject to such behavior.”

Timmy places his finger under my chin and forces me to look him in the eyes. “We just got this place sprayed. No ant will be penetrating these walls. And I promise to stop by to make sure none of your furniture is sold on the ant black market. Face it, Lilly, you have no real excuse to not go.”

“How about getting on a plane with a stranger to a weird country I can barely pronounce, let alone heard of, to meet my so-called grandparents? That’s not making smart decisions. And, seriously, you really believe this royal thing?”

“Only one way to find out.”

“This seems really irresponsible. We don’t know these people.”

“They know you.” He heaves out a heavy sigh and grips my hands. “Listen to me. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if you don’t end up going, you know you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life. So, let’s grab your suitcase, fill it up, and get some rest. You’re catching a flight tomorrow morning.”