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“It doesn’t matter. We’re in the forest. A little dirt is to be expected. I just hope it won’t show up in our selfies.”
“Here’s my question,” Xander said as he led the way into the rental building. “If we don’t have cellphones, how are we supposed to take selfies?”
Maisy’s eyes lit up. “Safa must have forgotten that we don’t have phones. That means no pictures and no publicity for the rest of the day!”
“Exactly. It’s just you and me.” Xander grinned at her. “Shall we, my lady?”
“Oh, yes.”
Inside, Xander and Maisy rented an ATV for ninety minutes. Xander paid with one of his many royal credit cards, knowing the transaction would pass without any raised eyebrows. Outside, the rental shop’s owner offered Xander a quick rundown of how to work the ATV, then gave them helmets and suggested a route through the backroads.
“Thanks!” Xander tipped him, then mounted the ATV. “Your chariot awaits.”
“Um, right.” Maisy adjusted the strap of her helmet, then climbed on behind Xander.
“You might want to scoot a little closer and hold on around my waist,” Xander suggested. Maisy was so far back that she would probably fall off as soon as he accelerated.
“Right!” Maisy scooted closer and hesitantly put her arms around Xander’s waist. Despite himself, Xander felt a rush of warmth at the contact. She held on only loosely, but he could still feel her warmth behind him.
“Ready?”
“Ready!”
Xander piloted them slowly out of the parking lot and down the road to the gravel path the ATV owner had suggested they take. Once they reached the road, he accelerated slightly as the road climbed higher and wound through the trees.
“Are you okay back there?” he called.
“Yeah!” came Maisy’s enthusiastic reply. “This is great! I feel so free!”
“Do you mind if I go a little faster?”
“Go for it!”
Xander gunned the throttle and they shot forward. Maisy gave a little shriek of surprise and happiness, then tightened her arms around him. As focused as he was on the road ahead and on the fact that this woman was his brother’s fiancée, Xander couldn’t help noticing how good that felt. Maisy’s soft curves were pressed fully against him, and her head rested on his shoulder.
“Hold on tight! We’re about to cross a river!”
“Okay!”
The dirt road they were following descended slightly into a shallow stream, sending a great curtain of water up on either side of them. Maisy laughed and held tighter as they emerged from the stream and the road began to climb again.
“This is awesome!”
“I told you!”
It really was awesome, as Maisy had said. Xander hadn’t felt this free since before the wedding. For all that he was the carefree “spare,” while Niko was the heir, Xander felt a heavy weight, as well. He was still one of the faces of his country. He still had responsibilities. And lately, he’d had even heavier responsibilities, as Niko’s best man — and as the guy who’d foolishly taken his brother’s place in the wedding. Xander worried about the future, his and Niko’s and Maisy’s and his country’s. That wasn’t easy to put aside.
Yet now, bouncing over bumps and flying around corners and climbing up and down rolling hills with Maisy’s arms around him and the fresh air in his face, none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was this moment. They could have been the only two people in the world.
After a while, they passed a viewpoint and Xander slowed, then pulled over.
“Shall we stop and look around?”
“Sure.” Maisy released him and swung her leg over the side of the ATV. Her cheeks were pink, her hair was messy under her helmet, and she was smiling wider than Xander had ever seen. “I loved that.”
“It was pretty fun.”
“I’ve never done anything like that before.” Maisy spun as she walked toward the viewpoint, her arms lifted to the side and her face turned up to the tropical sunshine. “I know that sounds dumb, but I’ve always done what I was expected to do — studying and ballet and photo opportunities and work. I never do things just because I want to.”
