Page 44 of The Princess and the SEAL

“Just be cool. And tell Dax to behave. We’ll be outside in a few minutes.”

“Gotcha.”

I headed back over to Giselle, who looked effortlessly beautiful. I took our bags, and we went outside.

A few minutes later, Erik pulled up in his huge truck. He and Dax hopped out, hugged me, and threw our luggage into the bed.

Dax walked over to Giselle and knelt before her, his hand across his chest. “At your service, Your Royal Highness. Would you knight me?”

Giselle smiled at me. “Your friends are charming.”

I shook my head. “No, they’re not; they’re jackasses.”

I opened the front passenger seat for Giselle and climbed in the backseat with Dax.

“So, a real-life Princess. I’ve actually been to Santa Cariña, it’s a beautiful country.”

Of course he had; Dax had been everywhere.

She turned her head around. “Really, when?”

“Ten years ago. When I was on tour.”

“Tour? A military tour?”

He shook his head. “No. I was in a band. I doubt you ever heard of us.”

And that would be all he would say. Dax never told anyone that he wasn’t just in any band. He was the former lead guitarist of Gold Whiskey, one of the biggest bands of the millennium.

But that was his secret to tell, not mine.

“Do you want to come over to our house for dinner? Aria cooked up a feast.”

I didn’t want to tell Erik no, that I wanted to keep Giselle to myself a bit longer. With all of Aria’s endorsements, they purchased a beautiful home in Coronado right next door to Dax’s mansion, which he bought with his rockstar money. I didn’t want Aria to see their places before she saw my tiny digs.

“We’re a bit jet-lagged. Maybe in a few days.”

“Sounds good.”

Erik pulled up outside of my apartment. It was small but homey. I didn’t have any money. I came from nothing. Anxiety consumed me.

It didn’t matter how hard I was falling for Giselle; she was way out of my league.