Maid For You

Chapter 21

"Oh my gosh!" shrieked Girl A. "Prince Coleman?!" She and her friend rushed up.

"Oh my goodness! I've wanted to meet you for the longest time!"

"We love you so much!"

"Can we take a picture with you?"

"No." Prince Coleman was blunt. "You there, tour guide...whatever your name is..."

"Ernest," I told him.

"Ernie." He pointed to him. "Don't charge Miss Cassie here for this tour."

"I already paid, though." I looked up at Coleman.

"Well then, figure out how to refund her money." Prince Coleman shrugged. "If your superiors or whatever get mad, then they'll have to deal with me."

"You know him?" Girl B approached me, wide-eyed.

"Yes. Of course she does." Coleman snapped. "You think I'd bother with this if I didn't know her?"

"Ees she your girlfreend, your highness?" asked that maybe-German girl.

"Of course not!" He boomed. "She's my maid." With that he snatched my hand and began to pull me away.

"What are you doing?" I scowled. "That's my tour!"

I acted mad, though in reality I had...mixed feelings on the matter. Part of me was irritated that Prince Coleman just waltzed in, on my day off, and dragged me away, and yet another part of me was more than a little smug. All the girls and tourists gushing over his royal hotness had watched him talk about me and take me away. The vain and showboat part of me was pleased, though the rest of me was genuinely annoyed.

"Taking a tour is stupid." He answered simply. He was still pulling me away, his large, warm hand on mine. I'd always wanted to hold a boy's hand.

This wasn't what I had imagined.

Yet it was thrilling.

"Well I don't think it was stupid. I got to learn about the history of the place where I work! I got to learn more about this country. I know who your great-great-grandfather is now!"

"You could have always googled that if you were so curious."

"I learned a lot more than just that too!" I defended. "And where are you taking me?"

"I'm going to take you on a better tour."

My eyes widened slightly, and I flushed a little. It was really kind of roman—

"You are so utterly stupid that you would pay like $60 to traipse around my castle. Dumb little maid."

Maybe not so romantic.

I snatched my hand out of his. "Why do you care? Why are you taking me on a tour? And where is Lu—Mister Lucas, why isn't he with you?

"Lucas isn't my babysitter," growled the Prince. "In fact, he's younger than me."

"Okay, well why the heck are you offering to show me around?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"I snuck off." He looked irritated.

"Snuck off from what, exactly?" I folded my arms.

"Paperwork."

"Paperwork?"

"Yes." He flashed me an irritable stare. "It's dreadfully boring. Trust me, I have no desire to spend any sort of time with you."