He already wore the jeans and flannel shirt provided by the excursion guide when he emerged from the bathroom. The princess still wore the robe though she’d clearly been working on drying her hair.
“I know you need a bit more time in the bathroom to get ready than I do,” he told her. “I’m done.”
“Thanks.”
She didn’t wear much makeup. Ryker didn’t think she needed any. It could be that she’d wear much more on a regular basis when she had access to her normal things, but for now she didn’t.
A knock on the door sounded. Ryker opened it to find a bellman with two shoe boxes.
He handed over a bit of cash as he took the boxes.
“Who’s that?” The princess called from the other room.
“The boots.” He opened the larger of the two boxes and put the boots on. They were nice, but not so nice as to draw attention. He suspected hers would be the same way.
They’d been provided as part of the package, which was a good thing since Ryker hadn’t even considered that when they shopped before leaving.
A few minutes before they needed to leave, the princess emerged from the bathroom.
“How’s this?” She held her arms out from her sides and twirled. The skirt of her long dress swirled around her legs.
“You look very nice.” He wanted to stare, to take in how it accentuated all of the right places, but made himself look at her face.
At the green eyes that had the power to mesmerize him if he let them.
In an effort to change the subject, he spun much the same as she had. “How about this? Do I look about like I’m supposed to?”
She shrugged. “I guess. I have no idea what kind of place we’re headed to this evening. The itinerary said it would be a surprise, didn’t it?”
Ryker nodded. “I’d guess some sort of American location with the clothes and boots they provided for us, but I don’t actually know.”
Together, they left their suite and headed for the elevator. In the lobby, they found the other couples already waiting for them, wearing similar clothes.
The tour guide corralled them all into the van for the drive to one of the local hot spots. He promised they’d have a great time, but Ryker sensed most of those in the van were a bit dubious.
He certainly was.
After a short drive, the van pulled up in front of theBoot Scootin’ Boogie Bar.
“A country bar?” One of the other women started to laugh. “We’re from Nashville, the country capital of the world. This should be fun. I hope there’s line dancing.”
The princess leaned toward Ryker. “What’s line dancing?”
All he could do was give her a smile. He only knew because he’d been part of the extended detail when the Queen Mother went to a country bar in Akushla. “You’ll see. She’s right though. This could be a lot of fun.”
They exited the van as Ryker prayed he was right.
This could go very well... or it could go very, very wrong.
* * *
Line dancing wasn’tsomething Amalia had learned growing up.
Her mother had made certain she learned quite a few dances, but they were all of the formal variety and definitely didn’t involve cowgirl boots.
They started with dinner on the restaurant side of the building.
The other couples came from the States and were much more familiar with the offerings of a BBQ restaurant than Amalia and Ryker were.
