Part of His Royal World, page 1
If the Fairy Tale Fits...
She’ll live happily ever after!
In these contemporary twists on classic fairy tales from Harlequin Romance, allow yourself to be swept away on a jet-set adventure where the modern-day heroine is the star of the story. The journey toward happy-ever-after may not be easy, but in a land far away, true love will always result in their dreams coming true—especially with a little help from Prince Charming!
Get lost in the magic of...
Their Fairy Tale India Escape
by Ruby Basu
Part of His Royal World
by Nina Singh
Cinderella’s Billion-Dollar Invitation
by Michele Renae
Beauty and the Playboy Prince
by Justine Lewis
All available now!
Dear Reader,
What would the world be without fairy tales? Those classic stories we all grew up loving are such a huge part of culture and worldwide lore. I wrote this book as a nod to one of my personal favorites.
Prince Eriko Suarez finds himself in need of rescuing after his boat is capsized at sea. His rescuer happens to be an enchantress he could swear appeared to him as a mermaid. Arielle Stanton can’t believe the drowning man she pulled out of the water is an honest-to-goodness prince.
So begins their fairy-tale romance as they fall in love.
I hope you enjoy their story.
Nina Singh
Part of His Royal World
Nina Singh
Nina Singh lives just outside Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband, children and a very rambunctious Yorkie. After several years in the corporate world, she finally followed the advice of family and friends to “give the writing a go, already.” She’s oh-so-happy she did. When not at her keyboard, she likes to spend time on the tennis court or golf course. Or immersed in a good read.
Books by Nina Singh
Harlequin Romance
A Five-Star Family Reunion
Wearing His Ring till Christmas
How to Make a Wedding
From Tropical Fling to Forever
Spanish Tycoon’s Convenient Bride
Her Inconvenient Christmas Reunion
From Wedding Fling to Baby Surprise
Around the World with the Millionaire
Whisked into the Billionaire’s World
Caribbean Contract with Her Boss
Two Weeks to Tempt the Tycoon
The Prince’s Safari Temptation
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
To RJ, a true prince of a man
Praise for Nina Singh
“A captivating holiday adventure! Their Festive Island Escape by Nina Singh is a twist on an enemies-to-lovers trope and is sure to delight. I recommend this book to anyone.... It’s fun, it’s touching and it’s satisfying.”
—Goodreads
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
EPILOGUE
EXCERPT FROM CINDERELLA’S BILLION-DOLLAR INVITATION BY MICHELE RENAE
CHAPTER ONE
PRINCE ERIKO RAFAEL SUAREZ had to get away. He couldn’t stand one more minute under the same roof as his family. He loved them, he really did. But sometimes they could be a bit...well, much. Especially about his need to eventually succeed his father on the throne. Recently, it seemed his ascension was all the king wanted to talk about. The conversation at breakfast this morning had Riko approaching his breaking point. So he’d made his excuses and left before the second serving of coffee.
Now, he made his way down the sandy beach toward the dock. He was breaking all sorts of protocol. He’d slipped his bodyguards’ attention and hadn’t told anyone where he was going. Doing so would have only invited argument and the insistence that someone else join him. When all he wanted was solitude and a few moments of peace, sailing on the wide-open sea.
Still, maybe he should have notified Manny of his intentions. His twin could often be the proverbial thorn in Riko’s hindquarters, but he’d always been trustworthy.
Too late now. Riko had no intention of going back to the castle and in his haste to get away, he’d left his cell behind. Besides, there was no need to tell anyone what he was up to. He was an experienced sailor, having manned boats since he’d been a preschooler. He even raced competitively once or twice a year. Plus he’d be back in no time.
The sky above was clear and sunny, the wind a gentle breeze and the waves of the water lapped gently on the beach. It was the perfect time for a quick sail. It would be a sin to waste such an opportunity.
Within minutes, he was off, guiding the cruiser smoothly over the water, the shore growing distant behind him. Right away he felt the tension slowly leaving his tight shoulders, the knot of frustration in his gut gradually loosening. Being on the water always had this effect on him. Nature’s therapy.
The enormous responsibility of the future that awaited him wasn’t lost on Riko. Did his father, the king, really not see that? Of course, Riko knew all that responsibility would land on his shoulders within a few short years. He knew he would have to get married and start a family. His people expected it of him. They expected a royal family to replace the current one on the throne. It was essential for the stability of the kingdom. A smooth transition to the throne was an absolute, following centuries of history.
Not for the first time in his life, Riko had to marvel at the utter randomness of it all. The slight twist of fate that had him being born mere minutes before his twin brother. A humorously short period of merely 120 seconds that settled the very history of Versuvia and made him the firstborn son of the king and hence the heir. In her usual manner of efficiency and competence, the queen had delivered both the heir and the spare within the same small window of time.
Riko gave his head a shake and inhaled the salty sea air deeply. Later. He would worry about all of that later. Heaven knew, he’d be back at the palace soon enough to face his responsibilities. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy these precious moments of solitude.
But Mother Nature apparently had other ideas.
If Riko was a superstitious man, he might have figured some cursed form of magic had brought about what happened next. A thick gray cloud appeared in the sky not far from where he’d anchored, seemingly out of nowhere. After drifting like a stealth plane across the sky for several minutes, it dropped like a rock directly over the boat. Riko could only stand frozen to the spot, watching helplessly. Then the heavens opened up. Torrents of rain dropped like mini golf balls, pounding against his cheeks and forehead. His hair plastered against his scalp. A claw-shaped bolt of lightning lit up the now darkened sky, followed moments later by a sudden crack of thunder that split the air.
The shock of it had him stunned.
But only for a moment. Riko’s expertise and training finally kicked in. With the waves growing larger by the second, he knew he couldn’t stay anchored much longer. He was bound to take on water. Or worse.
Fighting against the wind and the punishing rain, Riko pushed his way across the deck. Wasting no time, he lifted anchor and ran across the deck to the wheel. It was like wrestling with a sea monster. Riko exerted every bit of strength he could muster to try and turn the wheel to give the sailboat a chance against the blustering wind and violent waves attacking the craft. He knew there was no way to steady her. He just had to keep her afloat and try to take on as little water as possible.
Streams of sweat ran down his face, mixing with the wetness from the pounding rain. The muscles in his shoulders and upper back cried out in protest at the strain. As an ardent gym enthusiast who made sure to put in regular punishing workouts, the strain of effort surprised him. He didn’t have time to dwell on it. The next instant, a powerful wave surged toward the boat. Riko gritted his teeth and braced his feet on the deck preparing for impact. The boat was almost completely on its side. Nothing to do now but pray to the gods above that somehow it righted itself.
How stupid of him not to have worn a life jacket. But it had been such a clear day with the water so smooth. And he hadn’t intended to be out here long. None of those were excuses for how unprepared he was. And how foolhardy of him not to have told anyone where he’d be or what he’d be doing.
For one spirit lifting moment, the boat appeared to be righting its position. It didn’t last. Another massive wave rose out of the water, and Riko knew there would be no escaping this one. He managed to reach for the flotation ring hanging by the wheel just as the monstrosity of water came crashing down.
What came next felt as if it were happening in slow motion. The primitive part of his brain suddenly went on high alert, trying to process exactly how much danger he was in. All in all, he was a fairly competent swimmer, but he’d never swum in weather even remotely this dangerous. As far as visibility went, he couldn’t see past the bridge of his nose. His only hope was to swim to the nearest shore, which he would guess was Majorca at this point. Whatever he di
Then the world went black.
* * *
This had to be the strangest weather she’d ever experienced. Such volatile shifts certainly didn’t happen where she came from. Chicago certainly had its share of windy days and dramatic dips in temperature from one day to the next, but nothing like this.
Elle promptly gathered all the children out of the ocean and then back onto the beach to the water sports cabana several feet away. No easy feat given her costume of the day. The chosen book today happened to be The Little Mermaid. As a result, she was clad in a shell-covered halter and a lengthy silicone fish tail with the narrowest slit at the bottom. Thanks to the storm, character-led story time had just been cut short.
With the seven toddlers under her care in tow, she led them to the shelter just in the nick of time. The lightning and thunder that immediately followed made her jump in her tail. More than a couple of the children began to sniffle in fear. She felt a gentle tug on one of her scales.
As best as the costume allowed, she crouched to a lower position so that she was at face level with the child, one she recognized as belonging to the American family who was staying at the resort.
Large, brown eyes full of anxiety met hers. “Miss Elle, is the lightning gonna hit us?”
Elle pulled the child closer and gave her a reassuring squeeze around her shoulders. “No, sweetie,” Elle answered, making sure to keep her voice calm and steady. “As long as we stay put right here, we should be just fine.”
The little girl gave her a skeptical look, clearly not convinced. The other children looked equally as apprehensive. Elle gave a silent prayer that the unexpected storm wouldn’t last much longer. The children appeared ready to start crying at any moment. She could hardly blame them. One moment they were enjoying story time in the water, and the next they had found themselves in a scene straight out of a disaster film.
“Que es eso?” The question came from a small boy, spoken in his native Spanish. He thrust a pudgy, sand-covered finger in the direction of the water. Elle saw immediately what the little boy was referring to. She had to blink to make sure she was seeing it too.
What in the world?
In the distance, a few yards from the shoreline, an orange-and-white object was bobbing in the water. To her former high school lifeguard’s eye, there was no mistaking what it was. Someone was in trouble out in the ocean, apparently floating on a safety rescue ring.
Elle glanced around in desperation. Aside from Señora Rita, the sweet little old lady who sold custom jewelry out of a kiosk on the beach, Elle and the kids were the only ones remaining in the immediate area. No one else was there to help the stranded swimmer. She didn’t have her cell phone. There was nowhere to carry it in her shell-covered halter or her mermaid tail.
Elle’s breath caught in her throat as a wave rose in front of the person floating in the water, blocking her view. Had he or she just gone under? A surge of relief ran through her when the person reappeared a second later. But it was tempered by the fact that there was still someone in trouble in the ocean.
“Is dat a person?” Chloe, the American child, asked.
“It certainly is.” And what was she going to do about it? There hardly seemed to be much of a choice. She couldn’t just leave the poor soul out there to drown. How would she ever live with herself?
Frantically, she began waving in Señora Rita’s direction, several feet away. The woman was crouched under the roof of her kiosk, doing her best to stay dry. A futile attempt. The wind was blowing the rain in all manner of directions.
Finally, Señora Rita looked her way. Elle made the universal motion of “come here” by scooping her hand back and forth. The older woman appeared confused but finally stepped around the kiosk and began the perilous journey toward the cabana. It took so painfully long that Elle began to grow nauseous with concern for the stranded swimmer.
At last, Señora Rita made it into the cabana. The poor woman was soaking wet. In broken Spanish, Elle explained that she needed her to stay with the children for a few moments. Thank heavens Señora Rita seemed to understand and nodded her head.
Crouching again to the children’s level, she gave them all a serious glare. “I’m going to go try and help that person. I need you all to promise me that you’ll stay right here with Señora Rita. Understood?”
She repeated it all in Spanish. Several tiny heads bobbed up and down seemingly in agreement. Still, not terribly reassuring. More than a couple of them looked confused and, heaven help her, more than a little anxious. But it would have to do. Elle didn’t want to risk wasting any more time.
“I’ll be back in no time,” she reassured them, hoping fervently that it wasn’t a lie. “Promise.”
She was met with another round of nods that didn’t do much to ease her discomfort. Again, she would have to believe that they understood. Bracing herself against the wind and rain, Elle hurried out of the small hut as best she could and made her way toward the water, discarding the cumbersome lower part of her costume along the way. Expertly, she dove into the waves. Childhood swim lessons and her several medal-winning years on the school dive team made the motions second nature. Nevertheless, her heart pounded in her chest with fear and doubt. Despite her one-year stint as a lifeguard at the country club pool, she’d never actually had to rescue anyone before.
The current was surprisingly strong. But Elle hardly noticed, her sole focus on making it to the person in trouble out there. Keeping her strokes smooth and long, she opened her eyes long enough to locate her target. To her horror, they seemed to be drifting farther from the shoreline. Taking a deep breath, she ramped up her speed. Several agonizing moments later, she finally found herself within a few feet of the drifter.
Even with the terrible visibility, two things struck her at once. The person on the life ring was a man. One with ebony dark hair. Even with the slight tinge of purple shadowing his face, she could tell he was sporting a glowing tan.
Something tugged in the vicinity of her chest. A weird attraction that came out of nowhere and took her by surprise.
So not the time.
Focus!
Elle forced her attention back to the task at hand. Whoever he was, she’d reached him just in time. He seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness. One moment, he appeared to be giving her a grateful smile, the next his eyes drew shut and his features grew slack.
Elle wrapped her arm around the rim of the rescue ring. Thrusting her legs as hard as she could, she did her best to propel them both toward the shore. Lord, it was strenuous work. He was heavier than she would have imagined. Between his weight and the strength of the oncoming waves, she had her work cut out for her. Luckily for both of them, she had well developed lungs given the years of swimming. Her parents and sisters often referred to her as a fish. If they could see her now.
Elle lost any sense of time as she made her way to the shore. Her chest was on fire and her limbs were on the verge of cramping. But she somehow managed to hang on and keep going.
By the time she finally reached the sand, every muscle in her body was screaming. Still, she wasted no time getting the man on his back and beginning chest compressions and alternately breathing into his mouth. One...two...three...
Please let him be okay.
Elle couldn’t even be sure how much time had gone by before she felt a hand on her shoulder pushing her aside none too gently.
Help had finally arrived. A couple of EMTs began working on the stranger. Several agonizing seconds passed as she watched them resume what she’d begun. Finally, the man gave a wet sounding cough and began to heave. Moments later, he was loaded onto a stretcher and taken away.
Elle dropped to her bottom onto the sand, adrenaline still surging through her blood.
It took a while to get her breathing back to normal but when it finally did, she turned back to face the children and Señora Rita. Thank heavens, they all remained exactly where she’d left them, watching her with a combination of awe and horror. She hadn’t even noticed until that moment that the storm had ended as quickly as it had begun. The sun shone bright once again in a clear and cloudless sky. As if none of it had happened.
