Free A Player for A Princess: Dirty Players Duet #2 by Tia Louise Page A

luxury space and doing likewise.
    “Then I’ll drive you into town and pick you up when you’re done.”
    We’re finished, and I get a minty kiss. “Deal,” she says with a little grin.
    I catch her before we leave in a long hug, closing my eyes and memorizing the feel of her small body against mine. My fiancée. My Zee. It’s perfect.

9
    Betrayal
    Zelda
    W e’re in Road Town at the very spot where Seth left me our first night on the island. That night, at two a.m., it had been deserted and empty, with long shadows and ominous, dark alleys. I’d been so angry at Seth for walking off and leaving me here alone.
    Now, in the light of day, it’s simply a bustling tourist market. The streets are lined with souvenir stores, clothing stores, jewelry stores, and little kiosks with hair wraps and alcoholic slushies. I look ahead two blocks to where my old hotel was situated while Cal peruses the signs.
    “Samarkand or Little Switzerland?” he asks.
    Our fingers are entwined, palms pressed together, and I evaluate the competing jewelry stores. “Exotic or more conservative?”
    “Switzerland has a higher GDP, which means I might get the better deal at Samarkand.”
    That twinkle is in his eye, and I step into him, lifting my chin for a kiss. “Surprise me.”
    “Here.” Pulling us up short, I watch him take a small gold coin from his pocket and place it in a red gumball machine.
    A few twists, and out pops a clear plastic container. Inside is a copper band with an American flag etched on it in red, white, and blue.
    “It’s so pretty!” I exclaim.
    “It’s tin,” Cal says as he slides it on the third finger of my left hand and presses the adjustable band until it fits. “How does that feel?”
    Tilting my hand side to side, I admire the painted enamel. “It’s so cute for something in a gumball machine.”
    “Does it fit?” he asks, and I nod still admiring the trinket. “Take it off.”
    My chin jerks up. “I want to wear it!”
    He laughs, catching my waist. “You can wear it after I use it to size your real ring.”
    “It’s the first piece of jewelry you’ve ever bought me.” I make a little pouty face, and he laughs.
    “It won’t be the last, and I’m not giving you a tin engagement ring.”
    “It’s like the one they had engraved in Breakfast at Tiffany’s .”
    “I think that one was plain tin.”
    “Get another one.” I clutch my hand to my chest. “I want to keep this one.”
    Digging in his pocket he laughs. “It’ll turn your finger green.”
    I watch as he repeats the process of small coin, turn the dial, out pops another plastic container. This time when he opens it, it’s a dull silver ring. He frowns at it.
    “See! It’s one of a kind! I’ll never take it off.”
    “Must’ve been in there fifty years.” He reaches for my hand and pulls the first ring off, using the second, dull one for sizing before sliding it back.
    “Zelda Wilder, will you take this American flag ring, which isn’t even the flag of my country, to be my wife?”
    “Since I am an American, and it is my flag?” I put my arms around his neck and peck his lips. “I will!”
    His hands slide down and cup my butt, and I laugh as a tingle of heat surges in my lower stomach. “Text me when you’re done. I’ll be here.”
    “This shouldn’t take long.” Another brief kiss, and I head off in the direction of Seth’s hotel. “Five blocks this way,” I say to myself, lifting my hand and examining the cute little ring.
    It might be tin, but it has so much significance to me. I kiss it and continue walking, looking up at the palm trees, the blue sky overhead. Optimism is a new mood for me, but I love the feeling. Even thinking about the coming months doesn’t scare me. I’ll see Ava again. I want to talk to her and see her well and happy—not like the last time I saw her.
    The memory of my beautiful little sister pale and weak in a hospital bed dampens my otherwise happy mood, but I hastily shake