“Willowyn?” Ugwyll gaped at me. “You called herWillowyn?”
“She and I…we have spent time together. I care about her. That is why I am asking you to keep your mouth shut and not tell anyone you saw us.”
The other orc stared at me for a few minutes, then slowly nodded. “I should at least tell Ozar. His mate is good friends with her. He should know.”
“It is not his business to know,” I shot back. “This is betweenWillowynand me. If she wants to tell her friend, and her friend tells Ozar, then I will accept that. If she does not want to tell anyone, then this should remain secret.”
Ugwyll nodded again. “Fine. But if this explodes and we are all covered in dung, it will be your head we are tossing back and forth instead of those medicine balls. Do not make that female angry.”
Too late.
“I will do my best not to anger her.” That was the most I could promise. I was unable to resist her. And while I didn’t regret kissing her, I worried that it might have put the nail in the coffin of any chance I had of getting her back.
As soon as Ugwyll left, I went to the locker room, retrieved my cell phone and texted the shrew.
Eng: Ugwyll will not tell anyone. He is an honorable orc and I trust his word.
I waited a few seconds. When there was no reply I sent another text.
Eng: I am not sorry for kissing you. I will never be sorry for kissing you. But I apologize for doing something that could have put your job at risk. Ugwyll will say nothing, and he knows you were not at fault. Anyone who implies otherwise will find my hockey stick up their ass.
The little dots on my screen came and went, then came and went. Just as I doubted she would reply, words appeared on my phone’s screen.
Willa: Thank you.
Six elderly humansstared at me, reproach coming off them in waves so thick it nearly choked me.
“Boy, you done messed up big time,” Benny told me, breaking the silence. “You seriously thought you was gonna go away for two weeks for work and not call your woman, and she was gonna be waiting for you when you got back?”
“Um-hum.” Edna nodded. “I’d ‘a found myself a new man and made sure you saw me all over him at that bar. You’re lucky she just yelled at you.”
I felt my shoulders sag. These elderly humans were the ones I trusted most to give me advice. Most of them had been married or with their partners for a long time, and their experience and knowledge was invaluable. If they thought this was hopeless, then it probably was. I’d still try, because a prince didn’t give up at the first sign of adversity, but I wanted at least a slim chance of success to motivate me in my efforts.
Piotr patted my shoulder. “There will be another woman, Enzo. And you’ll do better with her.”
“I don’t want another woman.” Mountain gods, how that sounded whiny. “I did not know I’d done wrong, but I’m working hard to do better and to win her back. She is the woman I want to marry. She is the one I want to be my princess.”
They all nodded, but their skeptical expressions told me how they truly felt about my chances of success.
“I know her name, and I have spent hours ensuring I can pronounce her difficult family name correctly. I spent two hours crawling around the dusty floor of the room in my hovel known as a kitchen to find a slip of paper with her phone number on it that had fallen off and slid underneath a large appliance. I have texted her apologizing. I have sent her texts reminding her of the wonderful dates we shared. I have gifted her with meat. Should I text her and invite her to dinner? Should I send other gifts to her house?”
“Gifts first,” Helen advised. “Send one gift, then another one the next day, then call her the following day. If she doesn’t pick up, leave a message, and text her that you are very sorry and would like to take her out to dinner as a very small step in your efforts to make it up to her.”
Frank nodded. “That sounds like a good plan to me. Helen knows her stuff. Listen to her.”
I was absolutely listening to Helen. And the rest of them as well.
“What kind of gifts should I send to her?” I thought of when Ozar was wooing his mate. “More meat? A Starbucks’ gift card? One of my teeth in a box?”
Mountain gods, I hoped not a tooth in a box because I really didn’t want to have to yank out a tooth to win the shrew back. I’d do it, but I wouldn’t like it. Could I gift her someone else’s tooth instead? That would prove I was a skilled warrior in addition to being a prince, and I was sure I could accost a drunk human and pull a tooth from his mouth before he managed to call for help.
They all stared at me again. Edna made a choking noise.
“I’m gonna recommend flowers,” Benny said. “The most expensive flowers you can afford.”
“It’s a good breaking-the-ice gift, but you need to have the flowers come with something more personal,” Edna told me.
“Like a tooth?” Mountain gods, please not a tooth.
