Red.
That’s all Greg saw when he walked out of the bedroom to find the royal security manhandling Aziza. He may have overreacted, but he wasn’t sorry for stepping in. It took everything in him to hold back from knocking their lights out, and he wasn’t satisfied with that. In fact, he felt close to taking it out on Reginald until Aziza spoke.
Her question cooled him off quickly. He was so consumed with anger over her treatment that he didn’t notice when Reginald revealed who he was to Aziza. This wasn’t the way he wanted her to find out; he wanted to tell her himself. However, the reaction that she had was not what he expected.
He stared at her as she laughed, holding her stomach. She obviously didn’t believe that he was a prince.
“This is a joke, right,” she guffawed, her shoulders shaking. Looking around, she asked, “Where’s the camera?”
“Aziza, I’m being serious,” he frowned, as he continued to stare at her.
“Good one, Greg…oh, I mean, Your Highness!”
She curtsied in a sloppy manner, holding her hands out to her side as if she were slightly lifting up a long skirt. Shaking her head, she straightened up and swatted his arm, still bubbling with laughter. She looked over in Reginald’s direction and started laughing harder.
Looking at Reginald himself, Greg saw how the usual stone faced and composed Royal Secretary was glaring at her with a horrified look of shock. That was the first time he ever saw the man show any type of emotion.
“Your…haha…face,” Aziza choked, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she pointed at Reginald.
“Aziza…” Greg began, as he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.
“Haha ha…you’re really…”
“Aziza!” Greg said, raising his voice as he grabbed both her shoulders.
Stunned, she looked at him, her eyes widening and her laughter dying down. She looked at him as though she couldn’t believe he just raised his voice at her. It hurt him to have to do it, but he needed to get her attention. Staring at her intently, his eyebrows knitted together, as he searched her face.
Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes briefly before looking at her again and saying, “Sorry…but, this is not a joke. I’m telling you the truth.”
Aziza shook her head as a wry smile crossed her face.
“No…no…” she half chuckled, stepping away from him. “That’s…that’s not right, ‘cause that would mean…”
Greg nodded solemnly; she was finally starting to understand.
“Ha, no…this has to be a joke,” Aziza continued, turning to walk back to the seating area. “It just has to be. I mean with all the other surprises, it only makes sense that this is all a joke. Lacy put you up to this, right,” she guffawed once again, glancing back at Greg.
Ok, maybe she doesn’t understand yet, Greg thought, rubbing his forehead.
“This was all planned by her to get me to forget about Travis, right? Of course it was! I bet she has cameras set up somewhere and she’s in another room watching it all unfold. Pew, married to a prince. Ha! Like a real prince would ever get himself so wasted that he would make a ridiculous decision to get hitched to a random girl he barely knows. That doesn’t even happen in any of those Hallmark princess movies!”
“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think,” Greg interjected, as he walked further into the room.
“Can you imagine that? What a joke! Me…marrying a prince! What’s next, am I going to find out that I’m secretly a princess in a foreign land,” she ranted, barely paying attention to Greg’s words.
She’s definitely not listening to me anymore, he had to admit to himself. She’s also starting to talk faster. This isn’t good.
Aziza was starting to become a bit hysterical. Greg only saw her get like this one other time since he’s known her and it didn’t end well. He needed to find a way to snap her out of it before it got worse.
“Reginald, you better leave,” he said, turning towards the man. “I need to speak to her alone. Maybe I’ll get through to her then.”
“Yea, Reggie,” Aziza said, turning to look at him. “The Prince and me have to talk. Hey…that’s the name of another princess movie!”
Reginald scowled at Aziza, before turning towards him. Greg turned his head toward the door, covering his mouth with his hand. The look on Reginald’s face when she called him by a nickname was priceless, making it hard for Greg to hold in his laugh. This was not the time to be funny let alone encourage it.
“Very well, your Highness,” he said, glancing periodically at Aziza. “We will not be far if you need us.”
“I won’t, but I’ll keep that in mind,” Greg said, nodding his head.
Reginald glanced at Aziza one last time, then bowed deeply to Greg before leaving the suite. Now, Greg just needed to get the situation with his bride under control.
“He’s good,” Aziza remarked, pointing towards the doors Reginald left out of. “He stayed in character the whole time. I hope y’all pay him well.”
Sighing, Greg rubbed his temple as he said, “He’s not an actor. He’s the Royal Secretary, and this isn’t a joke or a prank. I’m really a prince.”
“Yeah right,” she chuckled, as she covered her mouth with her hand, “and I’m Princess Diana!”
“Well,” he said, nodding his head to one side. “Maybe not, but now, you’re Princess Aziza.”
There was a brief pause, as they stared at each other. Tension began to rise between them, until it seemed like something would explode. Then, she shook her head slightly, waving him off and said, “You know, I have to admit, you’re a pretty good actor yourself. I almost believed you just now.”
Greg watched her walk around the room once more, looking under and behind items as she continued, “So, where’s the camera? It’s got to be around here somewhere.”
“Aziza, will you just stop for a moment and listen,” he asked, following her.
“You know Greg, this is another side of you that I didn’t expect. Why aren’t you majoring in Theatre or at the very least going to a prestigious acting school?”
He combed his fingers through his hair. Why was she so hard-headed? Taking a deep breath, he said, “You still won’t listen, huh?”
“Not if you insist on this charade. I mean, really, I know you. You’re my really good friend, the same carefree guy that…”
He had enough.
Grabbing her by the arm and turning her to face him, Greg pressed his lips against hers. She made a tiny sound of protest, before giving in and kissing him back. He was surprised for only a moment before he deepened the kiss. He hadn’t planned to make a move on her. All he planned to do was lightly shake her in hopes that it would get her to stop and listen. However, the moment he had her in his arms, he couldn’t help but take it one step further. Her reaction was all he needed. Maybe she wasn’t too against their marriage. Now all he wanted to do was to make sure she forgot about her ex boyfriend.