Passenger Princess: A Grumpy Sunshine Bodyguard Pageant Queen Romance (Evergreen Park Book 1)

With five days left in the tour before the final event in California, Jaime wakes me up early, tells me to get dressed with little to no extra information, driving me absolutely insane, and then gets me and Peach into the SUV.

‘Where are we going?’

‘We’ll be there in ten minutes, Ava. I think you can wait that long,’ Jaime says.

‘So it’s not too far,’ I say, tapping a finger to my lips as I try to think. But I know nothing about Washington other than yesterday, when we visited a woman-owned romance bookstore, and I decided I wanted to move and live there forever. Everything was pink and gorgeous, and it was packed to the brim with books—some I’d read, some on my to-be-read list, and others I’d never read.

Jaime’s hand reaches out, grabbing mine and pulling it up to his lips before pulling it into his lap, his thumb brushing on the back. ‘Stop overthinking. We’ll be there soon.’

I can’t argue, instead smiling at him, his head moving to look at me as he rolls to a stop sign before reaching over and pulling me into him, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

‘What was that for?’

‘You looked too beautiful not to kiss.’

My cheeks heat, and he smiles at me before sitting back once more, his hand in mine gripping tighter as he drives off to a destination unknown.

‘What are we doing here?’ I ask, staring at the cutesy pink bookstore we were at yesterday, and he puts the car in park ten minutes later.

He doesn’t answer, but instead, he steps out of the car and goes into the back to grab Peach in her harness and leash before walking around to my door, opening it, and helping me out.

‘Going shopping.’

‘But…’

‘You wanted to spend a decade in here yesterday, Ava.’

He’s not wrong— we were here for barely an hour, promoting the business, taking pictures, and talking to local press, but all I wanted to do was peruse the aisles for hours. Of course, I didn’t because the last thing I needed was some reporter getting a shot of me buying a why choose or an Omegaverse romance and making me out to be some horrific role model. So instead, I looked on in wonder, taking mental notes of books to check up on later.

‘Hey, you two,’ Rosie, the bookstore owner, says as she opens the door, waving us in. I smile at her, still confused, as she closes it behind me and locks the door. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m…I’m great. I…’ I pause, looking around again in wonder, before shaking my head. ‘I’m sorry, I’m so confused.’ I turn to Jaime, who is setting Peach on her leash on the floor, where she starts rolling around like a goof. ‘Can someone explain what is happening?’

‘Yesterday, your man pulled me aside.’

My heart sinks to the floor, and all blood drains from my face as we’ve not told anyone but Harper and Jules about there being an us.

‘Oh, we’re not⁠—‘

‘She knows, Princess, it’s all good. She’s good people,’ Jaime says, pulling me to his side with an arm on my waist.

‘And he made me sign an NDA before we talked.’

Now, my eyes go wide, and I push him on the shoulder. ‘Jaime! I can’t believe you made her sign an NDA! I’m so sorry, I’m not actually a drama queen, he’s just very protective,’ I say to the smiling owner.

‘We are five days from this chaos being over. I’m not risking that now,’ Jaime grumbles.

‘I didn’t mind at all. I love love. Forbidden romance is a top-tier trope.’ I fight the blush burning on my cheeks. ‘So he pulled me aside and asked if I could open later or close for a few hours so you could shop. I, of course, said yes. I’m so grateful for you coming here yesterday and promoting my bookstore. The area isn’t the most well-known, and getting the name out there… It meant a lot to me. What you’re doing for small businesses is amazing.’

I open my mouth but don’t speak because I’m unsure of what to say. Whenever someone talks to me like that, I feel wildly uncomfortable, like they think I’m making some grand gesture when I’m just living my life.

‘Anyway, I’m going to head into the back, give you two some privacy to wander and shop.’

‘Two o’clock, right?’ Jaime asks, and Rosie nods.

‘Yes! We open at three today, and with the press from yesterday, I want to make sure you two have privacy before people come here.

‘Perfect. Thank you,’ Jaime says, and he nods, heading to the back.

‘What…’ I look around. ‘What is this?’

‘I’m taking you shopping.’

‘You’re…you’re taking me shopping?’ He smiles wide and nods, crossing his arms on his chest. ‘You’re taking me shopping, and you closed down the entire store so I could buy books in peace?’

‘Exactly. Whatever you want, it’s yours, Ava. You already filled a duffel bag with the books you’ve read on this trip. What’s a dozen more?’

‘I have money, Jaime. I can⁠—’

‘This is a date, Ava.’ The words stick in the air around us, seemingly to twinkle in this pink store with gorgeous books all around. ‘We haven’t had one of those yet. I don’t know when we’ll get a chance, so I’m taking this one. And I figured.’ A blush blooms on his cheeks, and he suddenly looks almost…shy. ‘I figured it would be a good first date to remember, letting you go crazy in your favorite kind of place.’

‘Oh my god,’ I whisper, and he suddenly looks on guard.

‘What?’ I take a step closer to him, closing the gap between us. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing, nothing at all. It’s just…you’re so into me,’ I whisper, letting a hand trail up his front until my hand is on his shoulder.

‘You have no fucking idea,’ he says before leaning down and pressing his lips to mine. It’s a sweet kiss, not completely devoid of the fire that always seems to be burning in the background, but this time just a press of lips on lips. His are soft and warm, the scruff of his chin grating along mine as my hand moves to his neck as his hand moves to my waist, pulling me in tight.

We stand like that, gently kissing like we have all the time in the world, before he finally lets my lips go, pressing his forehead to mine.

‘But we don’t have all day, so I can’t just kiss you in a bookstore indefinitely.’

‘Bummer,’ I whisper, and he smiles. ‘That would be a really good first date.’

‘Maybe our second one,’ he says, pushing my hair behind my ear. ‘Now go shopping.’

‘How many books can I get?’ I ask, stepping back and bouncing on the toes of my shoes in my sneakers.

‘However many I can hold, Princess.’Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

‘Is that a challenge?’ My eyes move to his arms before leaning in to grip his bicep that my hand could barely get a quarter around. ‘I bet you could hold a lot of books.’

He shifts closer again, stepping into my space and wrapping an arm around my waist to tug me close. ‘If you promise to read some of your favorite scenes out loud to me, I’ll buy the whole damn store.’

Heat runs through me as I remember doing just that. ‘Deal.’

He smiles like there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that I’d be game before turning me and smacking my ass.

‘Go.’

‘So… our first date,’ I say with a smile as we walk through a small suburban park Jaime took us to after the bookstore.

We’re hand in hand, Jaime holding Peach’s leash as she chases a butterfly. It’s hilarious seeing big, bad Jaime Wilde holding a pink, glittery leash attached to a harness with tiny strawberries on it, a kitten prancing around, but somehow, it works.

Everything with Jaime always seems to just work.

I can’t decide if it’s because I’m so damn into him or if we were both made to be right here with one another. Being a hopeless romantic, I’ve always believed in love at first sight, but maybe in reality, it works a little differently. Maybe my constant need to bug him, his bone-deep desire to protect me is just that: love at first sight manifesting in reality. It’s been there since the beginning and has refused to be ignored.

‘Did I do okay?’ A blush creeps over his cheeks and down his neck, and I push my shoulder into him, rolling my eyes.

‘You know you did great. Don’t go digging for compliments. But it’s going to be a hard one to beat.’

‘Mmm, well, hopefully our next date won’t have to be so cloak and dagger.’

My belly tumbles at the thought. In five days, the tour will be over, and we’ll be headed home. While I’ll still have the title of Miss Americana and I’ll be expected to attend a handful of events during my reign, it’s nothing like this intensive three-month tour.

‘So you’re saying we’re going to have a second date?’ I ask with a smile.

‘Ava,’ he says, half irritated, half entertained. ‘What part of the last month makes you think we won’t have a second date?’

I shrug, but decide to give him a real answer. ‘I don’t know. You won’t be attached at the hip to me anymore, and you’ll probably get a new assignment…’ I say, my voice trailing off to his discomfort, but as is his way, Jaime stops walking, seeing it and pulling me into him.

‘Ava, I would move in with you tomorrow if it wasn’t too much or too fast for you. We’ve spent three months at each other’s side, every waking moment together. The thought of not having that when we get back makes me sick, though I’m willing to take this at your pace. So yeah, there will be a second date. And a third date. If I get my way, a one-hundredth date. A take-my-last-name-and-put-a-ring-on-your-finger, date down the line if I’m really lucky.’

‘Oh,’ I whisper.

‘Why are you so surprised by this?’ he asks with a laugh.

‘I…I don’t know. I don’t know.’

He stops my mumbling by pressing his lips to mine. Taking it deep until it pulls a soft moan from me. When he pulls back, he presses his forehead to mine.

‘You so like me,’ I whisper.

‘I really fucking do,’ he says back.