Free Royal Opposites by Lori Crawford Page B

snickered in a very un-‐-royalty-‐-like manner. “Meaning, no one could pick on me except him.”
    Joan raised an eyebrow and looked at him. Who was he kidding?
    “You’re asking way too much here. First, you tell me you’re royalty and now you expect me to believe you were anything less than epitome of the ‘in’ crowd?” She glanced out the back window again. “How does a prince manage to not be popular?”
    “It’s pretty easy if you’re a scrawny little fellow with huge teeth who’s sent off to boarding school where princes are a dime a dozen.” Joan turned to look at him again. Even though his tone was flippant, it didn’t quite hide his distaste for those memories. “After months of enduring my complaints, my parents sent Jai to the school.”
    “The two of you became fast friends and you no longer cared what anyone else thought of you.”
    Tom slanted her a look and laughed. “I wish. Jai had everyone on campus charmed within five minutes of his arrival.

    That’s when the comparisons started. ‘Why can’t you be more outgoing like Jai, Tomas?’ or ‘Jai has already completed his assignment.’ Then there’s my favorite, ‘Analee is going to ask Jai to the Fall Dance.’”
    “Let me guess. You were in love with this Analee and couldn’t bear to see her dancing the night away with someone else.
    So you declared your love for her at the worst possible moment, she dumped Jai and because you deigned to continue speaking with him afterward, he was forever in your debt.” Joan settled in her seat to listen to the story, almost forgetting they were being pursued by two men who’d accused them of being bank robbers.
    Tom took an onramp to a freeway and slowed to merge with the thickening traffic.
    “I think I like your version better.” Tom gave her a smile while they inched along in the rush hour traffic. “I worked up my nerve to confront Jai.” He paused in thought. “Although, you are right about the worst possible moment. I confronted him at the dance.” Joan cringed. “Bad move.”
    “Tell me about it. I accidentally on purpose spilled red punch all over his white tuxedo. I knew my parents were footing the bill for his tuition even if no one else did. I taunted him that I’d be happy to replace it since I knew he didn’t have money for a new one.”
    Joan cringed and focused out the passenger window. Once again, the obvious class difference between them reared its ugly head. “To my surprise, he didn’t get upset at all. Instead, he laughed, took me up on my offer and went back to dancing with Analee like nothing had happened. Everybody else acted like it didn’t matter to them either. That’s when I knew they didn’t like me because of me. Not because my kingdom was smaller or whatever else I’d assumed.”

    “Then what? How did he get to be your head of security?
    And good friend if the affection in your voice is any indication.”
    Joan couldn’t help but ask. She’d never admit it out loud, but she was curious how Jai had gone from his low lot in life to hobnobbing with a prince. If he could do it, then maybe there was hope for her. Despite everything, she had to admit she kinda liked Tom. The jury was still out on how he felt about her. Sure, he was going out of his way to help her, but that was only his well-‐-
    developed sense of honor.
    “After the dance, he treated me like a pal despite the fact that I’d tried to embarrass him. If anyone said anything bad, he was quick to defend me. Even when there was no reasonable defense.”
    Tom tapped the steering wheel. “I’ll admit, I was, without a doubt, in the wrong on many of those occasions. In public, he stood with me. In private, he read me the riot act.”
    “So he was a true friend to you?” Joan nodded her understanding. Maybe there was no hope for her after all. She was the one who needed help. Not the other way around.
    “Yeah, he was. Is,” Tom corrected. He looked at her. “I’m nowhere near