Once Upon A Prince. Holly Jacobs
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he’d sloshed water on it when he’d rinsed the last load of dishes.
Either way, the day hadn’t gone the way he’d thought it would.
He’d thought he was in control when he’d outwitted Shey and was waiting for her by her motorbike. He’d even felt rather triumphant when she’d taken him to his hotel so he could shower and change while she waited in the lobby.
But she’d thrown the first kink in his plans when she’d tossed a towel at him and taunted, “I don’t suppose a prince such as yourself has ever had to clear his own table, but I’m thinking you’re bright enough to figure it out.”
She shot him a grin that said she doubted he was, in fact, bright enough.
That taunting smile should have made him angry.
Instead, it made him wonder what it would be like to kiss her.
A highly inappropriate thought.
So, he’d ignored the fact that when she smiled she stirred up embers of feelings best forgotten and taken her challenge to heart. That’s why it was dinnertime and he’d not only mastered the fine art of bussing tables, but had also learned to run the monstrous dishwasher, and work the cash register.
He still had a tendency to splash himself when he used the nozzle to rinse the dishes, which is why his shirt was damp, but otherwise, he’d had a productive day.
Productive at least from the busboy end of things.
In terms of the prince finding his fiancée, he hadn’t been nearly as successful.
“Hey, if the ruling-a-country thing doesn’t work out, you might just have a career in the food industry,” Shey said as she joined him. “You surprise me, princy. I thought you’d sit around and mope all day, but you really pitched in and helped. Thanks.”
“A prince doesn’t mope. And believe it or not, I’ve put in a hard day’s labor in the past.”
“Right. Signing royal decrees and proclamations can give a guy writer’s cramp.”
“Do you work at being abrasive, or does it just come naturally?”
“What can I say?” she said with a shrug and a smile. “It’s a gift.”
He couldn’t help but smile in return. He could trade barbs with Shey all day. He rather enjoyed her prickly nature. Most of the women he’d dated in the past had bent over backwards to be agreeable, hoping to snag a rich prince.
He was pretty sure that Shey didn’t have an agreeable bone in her body. If he said black, she’d say white just to have a good argument.
He glanced at his watch. He’d been here all day. “When does Parker arrive?”
“Oh, didn’t I mention,” Shey said slowly, “that today was her day off? Tammy’s here to close up shop.”
She grinned, obviously she’d had this planned all along.
A moment before, sparring with Shey had delighted Tanner, now it had him gritting his teeth as he said, “No, you didn’t.”
“So sorry. But today is Parker’s day off. Guess you wasted time helping out here, didn’t you?”
She looked completely pleased with herself.
“You let me slave away all day on purpose, knowing she wasn’t coming in?”
“What part of ‘I’m Parker’s friend and would do anything for her’ did you miss? That doing anything includes putting up with you all day.”
He glared at the redhead. Somewhere along the line he’d lost sight of his ultimate goal and lost a whole day.
Now what?
Shooting an evil glance at Shey, he pulled out his mobile and called Emil to ask him to bring a car to the coffeehouse.
“You’re giving in?” Shey said. “Wish I could say I’d miss you, but I don’t tell lies.”
“Never?” he asked.
“Never.”
“I don’t either. So if I said that despite the fact you’re a highly annoying woman, I’ve been thinking about kissing you all day and that I find you to be a very attractive woman, what would you say?”
Tanner heard the words spill out of his mouth. He couldn’t seem to stop them. He waited, expecting some sort of outburst from Shey, sure she’d take offense.
Instead, she laughed and said, “I’d say you wouldn’t be the first to think I’m annoying, and you’re also not the first to think about kissing me, or to think I was attractive. I’m sure you won’t be the last to think any of them. But I’d add, I’m not interested in kissing you, although you’re more than welcome to continue thinking I’m annoying and attractive.”
“And what if I said that I don’t believe the not-wanting-to-kiss-me part of your little speech? That I felt your eyes on me all day.”
“I’d say, quite truthfully, that you were right. My eyes were on you. You know the old adage about not trusting a fox in the henhouse? Well…” She let the sentence hang.
“I’m familiar enough with American slang to know that you thinking I’m a fox could easily lead you to fantasize about kissing me.”
She didn’t even bother to respond. She just snorted and laughed again.
Tanner was thankful he’d never had problems with low self-esteem or else that snort might have put a dent in his psyche.
“I don’t know why I bother,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re easily the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met. And if you knew the last woman I dated you’d realize that’s saying something. So, as much as this has been interesting,” he said with just the proper sneer added to the word interesting, “I’ll have to say goodbye.”
She wasn’t laughing or snorting now. She suddenly looked all serious. “You’re still going after Parker, aren’t you?”
“Maybe,” he said with a shrug.
“Then I’m going with you,” she said, throwing down her dish towel like some cotton gauntlet. “Tammy, I’m leaving now.”
“No, you’re not,” Tanner said.
“No problem,” the young student said. “It was nice meeting you, sir.”
Shey gave a quick wave to the girl and smiled at Tanner. “Yes, I am going with you. You owe me.”
“How did you reach that misguided conclusion?”
“I not only met you at the airport, but I let you stay at my house. I even gave you the pillow and blanket off my own bed.”
Ah. That explained why her scent was so strong.
“So now I’m cashing in. I’m coming along.”
“Fine.”
He tried to sound disappointed, but for some reason, he wasn’t.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
“This isn’t much of a surprise,” Shey muttered as she sat in Tanner’s living room. “It is decadent, though. I mean, most people stay in a hotel and are lucky to get cable TV. You’ve got an entire floor. I mean, this suite is bigger than my whole house.”
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