Free Royally Lost by Angie Stanton Page A

him.
    “Uh-oh. Did he stand you up?” Dylan held a rolled-up magazine.
    She frowned, frustrated and angry that she’d been so easily played. “Yeah, you could say that.”
    “Well, I think you should see this.” Dylan held the magazine under her face, forcing her to look at the glossy picture of a guy who looked exactly like Nikolai. She took the magazine and examined it closer.
    Her breath caught in her throat.
    “That’s Nikolai!”
    On his motorcycle and wearing the same dark gray T-shirt he’d worn two days ago with his baseball cap on backward. She’d recognize him anywhere. She couldn’t read the foreign headline, but it ended with an exclamation point.
    Becca looked at Dylan. “Where did you find this?”
    He grimaced and shrugged. “It was at every newspaper stand I saw today.”
    “Why is he on the cover? Did he do something wrong?” She paged through the magazine, holding her breath. Confusion turned to shock when she saw a two-page spread filled with pictures of Nikolai.
    Nikolai at the beach with other guys and girls; a picture of him playing polo; a picture of him in a tuxedo with another girl wearing a gown. Then Becca’s eyes landed on a formal picture of Nikolai in uniform, with a sword at his belt, standing next to a young girl. A stern man and austere woman sat in gilded chairs; both adults wore crowns.
    Her jaw dropped open.
    “Why is Nikolai in that picture with people wearing crowns? Who is he?” she asked. And who were the girls laughing and smiling with him in those photos? Her heart pumped so fast she could feel the blood pulse through her temples.
    “I don’t know, but it looks like he’s related to some royal family.”
    He wasn’t an average guy. He was . . . she didn’t know who he was. Important? Royal? Rich? “Why did he lie about his identity?”
    “I don’t know. Based on all the pictures of him with girls, he doesn’t need to do it to pick up women. No offense.”
    No, it appeared he had plenty of gorgeous women in his life. Becca stared at the glossy photos of stunning young women. She needed to find out who he was, but she couldn’t read the foreign words.
    “I’ve gotta get out of this room. I can’t breathe.” She stood, leaving the magazine on her bedside table.
    Dylan picked up the magazine and held it out to her. “Becs, try asking one of the crew members. I bet they can read it.”
    She snatched the magazine and escaped the suffocating room.
     
    Becca snuck in early to the dining room and found their waiter, Melenka, setting tables. With one quick glance at the magazine, he answered her question. “That’s Prince Nikolai.”
    “A prince?” Becca looked to Melenka for confirmation. “As in, the kind who becomes king some day?”
    “Yes. He is Crown Prince of Mondovia. He is very well-known, or how do you say in America? Famous for the ladies.”
    She took a hit in the gut. “Can you tell me what this says?” She pointed to the headline.
    “It says, ‘Nikolai, the Runaway Prince.’”
    So, when he said he took off without his parents’ permission, he wasn’t lying. Becca couldn’t believe it. She’d been hanging out with a real prince who was hiding from his parents—the king and queen. She shook her head, struggling to digest it all.
    “Does it say how long he’s been missing?” She recalled the sadness in Nikolai’s eyes when he flippantly said he was just another derelict kid avoiding family responsibilities. It had sounded so normal at the time, but now she knew it wasn’t. He was different.
    Melenka scanned the article. “It says here, since last Saturday, so that makes it four days. Oh, the picture was taken outside Budapest.” Melenka glanced up. “And we were just there! But this publication is gossip. It isn’t real news.”
    “Thank you, Melenka. I appreciate it.” Becca took the magazine and headed for the top deck.
    Once there, she looked out over the Danube as the ship cruised by picturesque farmland and