“You are being unnecessarily difficult” King Robert Rimmer yelled at his daughter. This wasn’t so hard, he thought. He never complained when it was his turn. So why was it so hard for his own child to come to terms with it.“How the hell am I being difficult” his daughter Bonnie Rimmer yelled back. “I’m standing up for what I believe in…just like you taught me to do”“Don’t take that tone with me young lady, and definitely not that language either” Robert said, “When I said ‘stand up for yourself’, I didn’t mean defying everything I have taught you to be including the traditions of this kingdom”Bonnie scoffed. “Kingdom?” she repeated. “Dad, I know you are old, but you are not that old. It’s not eighteen, sixty four anymore, Dad. What you are asking me to do is stupid. No offense.”“Oh, I take offense. I take a lot of offense. You act like I’m sentencing you to death.”“You are asking me to get married to a man I barely know, so yes. You are sentencing me to death’ Bonnie retorted.“Y
Prince Marcus Walker, her future husband and her father’s latest business partner, someone who could ensure more fortunes for generations to come, should have been a dream come true. He seemed to have everything a woman should want in a man. He was handsome, wealthy, charming. Oh, so very charming. …But for some reason he wasn’t what she wanted….and truth be told, she didn’t even know what she wanted.Maybe he was even too charming… Bonnie thought and frowned…in an annoying kind of way.Prince Marcus had turned his attention on Bonnie the instant he’d seen her at her father’s birthday a year ago. Marcus had been exciting and different…but he wasn’t to her, and she didn’t quite understand why most of the ladies had their heads spinning over him. Maybe she was just different , but given his interest, her father had probably been thrilled and most definitely been charmed by him.Right now, she was neck-deep in sleepless grief over having lost her grandmother, Bella Rimmer who had been on
The truth was that she didn’t even know what exactly she wanted to do with her life. As a princess, she had everything she ever wanted. She had lacked absolutely nothing throughout her life and she wasn’t even sure she had any purpose, but she knew that this wasn’t it. A life time with Prince Marcus definitely wasn’t it.She shouldn’t have waited so long to listen to the doubts. She should have confided in one or more of her friends, asked for their advice, but they were all so busy with their own lives, their own relationships and jobs. She didn’t want to bother them with something she should be able to work out for herself.A cool breeze drifted in through the side door. The early spring rainstorm that had crossed through the area last night had long since moved on, leaving in its wake the promise of blue skies and crisp, refreshing days.The sunshine beckoned her, like a beacon of escape she only now realized was within reach.She walked to the door, set the bouquet on the nearby t
It was annoying and discouraging to just be there watching all that, but he wasn’t giving up. He never gave up, and he had completed phase one of his mission, which was finding the princess.There was no going back now. When king Robert had come to him with panic in his eyes and a huge sum of money, he had been unable to say no to the offer. The man was very rich and willing to spend any amount of money to find his beloved daughter, the princess, and David loved jobs like that….Jobs that paid that much were his favorite because he needed the money. Although he had asked the king why he didn’t go the police to find his daughter.“My daughter isn’t missing” the king had said. “She even sent us a message a day after she left telling us that she was fine. The thing is that she doesn’t want to be found. She is an adult and has the right to go away if she wishes. She is not a prisoner, but I know what is best for her and this isn’t it. She has to come back home, so help me find her, please
“There you go, fellas. The lady doesn’t find you to her liking. Turn her loose and go find something else to do.” David said. “I got somethin’ to do already.” The man who held her said. Her captor’s hold seemed to loosen just a bit as he spoke, and taking advantage, she suddenly jerked free. Then she did the dumbest thing David had ever seen. She sent her knee into the man’s groin.Unbelievable. David shook his head, even as he yanked her behind him, trying to protect her from the ensuing chaos. He couldn’t do any real damage to the men without attracting more spectators, which was something he didn’t want. And the woman was gasping behind him, scared out of her wits from the sound of it. But damn it all, he definitely did not want to lose his pants out here scuffling in the middle of the sidewalk with common drunks. One of the men started to throw a punch. David cursed loudly as the Bonnie Rimmer ran around him, evidently not as frightened as he’d thought, and leaped onto his attac
Her eyes were even larger now, huge and luminous and filled with shock and disbelief. When the man slowly backed into the center of the floor, slid the zipper down on his leather jacket. He saw her gasp.Her intent expression, of innocence mixed with curious wonder, annoyed him, making him feel ….He wasn’t even sure what this feeling was. That he could feel his face heat angered him. He was too old, too cynical now, and oh, too professional to actually get jealous over a client. Damn her.Bonnie Rimmer was no longer a picture, but a real breathing woman. The lights in the bar illuminated her face and David let himself stare at her for a while. The pictures he had seen were clearly a shoddy portrayal of the woman because the real life version was so much better.The man on the stage seemed to notice her staring and focused his gaze on her, obviously enjoying the attention he was getting. David decided he didn’t have the time to watch her flirt with some stripper guy, so he held her jaw
She had pondered many disguises for this night, disguises ranging anywhere from that of a frumpy homeless lady, to a streetwalker. Somehow, she couldn’t imagine herself making a convincing hooker. She was slight of build and her body had never quite…bloomed, as she’d always hoped for. She did, however, think she made an adequate transient.She cleared her throat. Stiffening her spine, which already felt close to snapping, she said again, “I can't go with you”“Your little trio of drunks didn’t scare you enough?”“No. They didn’t. And It’s not like I come here all the time. I just wanted to….”His brows lifted. “You wanted to?”Bonnie stared at him for a while and decided that she couldn’t discuss her feelings and activities with a total stranger. She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter” she said. “But I can't go with you. My father can’t just tell you to bring me home. I am an adult and I sure as hell can do whatever I want to do.”He closed his eyes, his mouth twisting in an ironic sm
“You mean I should leave without doing the job that I was hired to do? “Bonnie felt a little uncertain with him glaring at her like that, but she said nothing.“I did get the impression you could handle yourself in almost any situation. Look at how well you took care of those drunkards? You didn’t even get bruised, and there were three of them.” He said in a tone laced with sarcasm.“I know what you are trying to do, and it’s not going to work. I did need your help, but I managed to lay one of them low.” Bonnie said, absolutely proud of herself.“That was after I showed up”She could feel the blush starting at her hairline and traveling down to cover her entire face.“Yes, well…”He seemed to give up. One minute he was rigid, his posture so imposing she had to use all her willpower not to cower. Then suddenly, he was idly rubbing his forehead. “Let’s get out of here first.”Bonnie hesitated. “Where to?” she asked.He gave her a puzzled look, “Well, you didn’t plan to spend the night