Royal Dilemma

Chapter Thirty

(Charli's Point of View)

Caleb comes into the restaurant again the following week.

Our hostess comes to find me before I even see him, pulling me aside. "The prince is here again. He asked to sit in your section."

This doesn't surprise me because I think I'm the only one in this whole building who hasn't looked at him like he's a sideshow at the circus.

When I come to a stop next to his table he looks up from the drink menu and smiles at me.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

He looks back down at the drink menu, then up at me. "How's the blueberry thing?"

"Depends, do you like blueberries?"

"I love blueberries."

"Then, it's great." I write it down on my pad. "Personally, I think it tastes like vomit, but that's just me."

"Do you eat vomit often?"

"My best friend likes to feed me snacks like she's a mother bird. She just opens her mouth and projectile vomits chocolate into mine."

Caleb wrinkles his nose. "That's not a great image."

"You're the one who asked," I chirp. "I'll be right back."

I go to put his drink order in and bring another table their food. When I get back to him he looks up from his phone.

"Your blueberry vomit," I say, setting his drink on the table.

"That's a new tactic." He slides the drink towards himself and takes a sip. "Usually my waitress doesn't try to make me lose my appetite right before I eat."

"You're welcome. Do you know what you want to eat?"

"Crab cakes, please."

I shake my head. "You've already had those twice. Try something new."

"What should I try?"

"I like the lobster roll."

Caleb seems to debate for a moment. "Okay, I'll get that."

"Much better."

I smile at him then go to put his order in. When there's a lull I find myself wandering back over to him.

"Need anything?" I ask, coming up beside his table.

He looks up from his phone. "No, I'm good."

"Wrong answer."

"Wrong?"

"Yes, wrong. Order me around, I'm bored. Tell me you want some jelly beans but I have to take out all the popcorn flavored ones before I give them to you."

"I'm not that spoiled." He laughs.

"What are you looking at?" I ask, nodding to his phone.

He glances down at it. "Nothing, I'm just texting my brother. He wants to throw my other brother a surprise party, I'm trying to talk him out of hiring elephants."

"Elephants? Is your other brother really into them or something?"

Caleb shakes his head. "No, Joey just wants to ride in on an elephant."

I snort. "I thought the party was for your other brother."

"It is. Joey's just an attention whore."

I laugh and Caleb grins.

"Why's he want to throw your other brother a party?"

"Julian's getting—" he cuts himself off. "Julian had something pretty big happen. So Joey wants to celebrate."

"Maybe Julian can ride on an elephant too," I suggest. "Then they both get attention. Plus all the people will think it's cool."

Caleb leans back against his seat. "There probably won't be very many people. Joey's all about keeping events to family members only."

"Why?"

Caleb shrugs. "I think he doesn't trust anyone else. And he always says he doesn't want someone coming to a family event if they're not going to stick around so he wouldn't even let Julian bring his girlfriend until recently."

"That's cold."

"He goes a little overboard."

"So what you're saying is, I can't come to the party."

Caleb smiles. "I can try to get permission but I wouldn't get my hopes up."

I snap my fingers. "Darn. I was really looking forward to smelling all that elephant poop."

"You'll really be missing out." He nods.

"If it's just a small celebration you should get him to hire a magician or something." I tuck some hair behind my ear.

"A magician? Julian is twenty-four, not four."

"Magicians are awesome," I argue. "You can afford to get a good one, not the kind that does kid's birthday parties."

"You like magic?"

I shrug. "It's cool. I like that I can't ever figure out how they did it. It makes it feel actually magical."

Caleb tilts his head slightly and seems to study me. "I'll try to push the magician but I'm not sure he'll go for it."

I lean on the booth in front of him. "His loss. Tell me about Colin."

His eyebrows knot together. "What about Colin?"

"Is he a piece of shit? Should I be worried about my friend?"

Caleb seems to hesitate, shifting in his seat. "Colin has a long history of disregarding other people's feelings. But if he likes you, and you matter to him, he'll treat you with respect."

"Does Piper matter to him?"

"A lot," he says, without any hesitation. "I'm not gonna lie and say he's the nicest guy in the world but he's also not a bad guy, he's really cool. And girls usually have his attention for all of three minutes so the fact that he's been after Piper for months tells me he's not going anywhere."

I cross my arms over my chest. "Guys love the chase, right?"

Caleb shakes his head. "That's what I thought at first, but that's not it."

I raise an eyebrow.

"Really, it's not. He likes her."

I study his face for signs of deception. He looks earnest. For some reason, I'm inclined to trust him which makes me kick myself because I already got a lesson in what happens when you give men your trust.

"Just so you know I took mixed martial arts a couple of years ago," I tell him.

Confusion takes over his features.

"So if he hurts Piper I can hurt him a whole lot more."

Caleb laughs which I find odd because I wasn't joking.

"I think you're the first person I've seen openly threaten a member of the royal family to someone who could actually report it."

I shrug. "What're you gonna do? Throw me in the dungeon?"

A boyish smile lights up his face. "My dad says we don't have a dungeon. I'd have to throw you somewhere else, like in Levi's shoe closet."

"Stinky feet?"

"They smell disgusting."

I wrinkle my nose. Then we're just looking at each other and he's still smiling. He looks so happy and easy-going. I feel something twist in my gut.

"I'll go check on your food," I say, straightening.

I start walking towards the kitchen but stop at the doors and look back. He's on his phone again, a small smile still on his face. It reminds me of CJ who always seemed to be smiling or laughing.

An invisible fist squeezes my heart.

I push through the kitchen doors.

It's hard to forget about someone who brought so much good into your world.