"No. I also thought you should know that your mother is convinced Nick and Siobhan are hiding you. In his closet or maybe in the garage. Not sure which. She might interrogate Nick in person, or she might call in a favor somewhere and have Interpol hunt you down."
"Interpol? I'm not an international crime lord."
"No, you're something much worse." He lowers his voice to a sarcastic whisper. "An escaped crown prince with a mother who will scour the earth to find you."
"Bloody hell. I only left Mithoria a week ago. And I left a note."
"Apparently, whatever you wrote did not appease her."
"Tell Nick I'm sorry. I'll sort this, I swear."
"Don't worry. Nick can handle himself." Chance pauses, then asks, "What about this new friend of yours? Is she a potential princess?"
"I met her yesterday." And I've already had sex with her two and a half times. Or maybe it's one and three quarters, considering that we didn't go all the way the first time. "I'll tell you more about that later. Cheers, Chance."
"Cheers, Ben."
I set my mobile down on the bar and turn around.
Sam is standing near the sofa, still naked. "Should we finish what we started in the hot tub?"
"Yes, absolutely."
We both grin.
The doorbell rings.
Sam groans, her shoulders sagging. "That might be important. I'd better grab a robe."
I watch her scurry down the hall as the doorbell rings for a second time. I grab the first thing I see in my suitcase, a pair of boxers, and pull them on. My trousers are in the other bag. I rummage around for a shirt.
Sam emerges from her room wearing a terry-cloth robe and makes a beeline for the front door. She swings it open—and gapes at the people standing outside. "Mom? Dad? What in the world are you doing here?"
Oh bloody hell. Her parents are here.
And I'm half-naked.
Chapter Ten
Sam
My parents are standing in front of me, smiling, while I'm pretty sure Ben is behind me somewhere dressed in only a pair of boxer shorts. No, that won't make my parents suspicious at all. So what if I never mentioned having a boyfriend? Ben doesn't qualify for that title anyway, since we met less than twenty-four hours ago. But I so do not want to explain to my mom and dad why a half-naked Brit is standing in my living room.
Why did I open the door when he wasn't dressed yet? That man turns my brain to mush.
"Hi, Mom," I say while grinning like an idiot. "Hi, Dad."
They both squint at me.
Dad speaks first while pointing in the general direction of Ben. "Who's that? And why isn't he dressed?"
"Well, uh, see…" I'm off to a great start, stammering and gaping at my parents while my heart pounds. I glance over my shoulder at my British guest. At least he's got pants on now, but he's still shirtless. "That's my friend, Ben. We met yesterday when his car got stuck on the road, just down the hill from here."
"She rescued me," Ben says. He pulls on a T-shirt and saunters up beside me, offering his hand to my father. "Bennett Montague. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
"Chuck Lockhart." Dad shakes Ben's hand. "And this is my wife, Judy."
Ben shakes my mom's hand too.