“I’m sorry I bumped into you,” I said.
“You are?”
“Yeah, I should have paid more attention. I was looking at the…” I didn’t finish my thought. What would I say? The truth? No way.
Shit. My meeting.
I spotted the coffee shop on the other side of the road as I looked around. “I’m so sorry, I have to go.”
“Oh, okay.”
I glanced back at Troy. He almost sounded…disappointed? Was he happy to have bumped into me?
How bad would it be if I canceled the meeting with Elite?
My phone dinged with a message. I didn’t need to look farther than the preview on the screen to know Elite had canceled again.
“Meeting someone?” Troy asked.
“No. Not anymore.”
“I guess it’s your lucky day.”
“How so?” I chuckled.
“Have you ever been to a barcade?”
“A what?”
He grinned. “Do you have anything else to do today, and do you have a car?”
“No, and no, I walked.”
Troy grabbed my hand and pulled me in the direction I’d just come from.
I tried to ignore how amazing his touch felt, even if it was just my hand and only to guide me to wherever we were going.
“Wow, this is your car?” I asked when he stopped in front of a black Lexus SUV.
“No. Like I could afford this. I had, um…something to do in this area and borrowed the car from a friend.”
I got into the passenger seat and immediately wondered how I would survive the drive when Troy took up so much space. His cologne alone made my head spin and my dick swell.
“I do the same. My dads wanted me to have a car, but the only models Uncle Sergei said I was allowed to drive were too big and flashy. We fought over it until I put my foot down and said I’d just walk everywhere. Jett is great and lets me borrow his car when needed.”
“I can imagine how that went down with Sergei.”
“It wasn’t pretty.”
“You still haven’t told me how you convinced them to let you come to the States without a security team on your tail.”
“Uncle Sergei is still sulking over it, but I don’t doubt they can somehow track my every move.” I loved how close my family was. It had been just what I’d needed at fifteen when my dads adopted me. But I was an adult now, and Sergei, the head of the royal guard and one of my dad’s best friends, was almost worse than my parents when it came to my safety.
Still, they’d let me come to the States on my own, and that’s exactly how I felt.
I kept my eyes on the road so I wouldn’t give my real emotions away. My stupid teenage love-sick heart had wanted a better reception from Troy, but we were here now, and I planned on making the most of it.
“Where are you taking me again?”
