Traveling to the United States was not my cup of tea, especially this time of year. Lizzie, my cousin, and confidant insisted we come here to ‘attend a concert’.

Yeah.

Right.

We could be on our way to the Maldives right now, or better yet, Japan. We were two Raplen royals bitten by the travel bug. I had no idea why Lizzie chose to come here of all places. Sure American guys were easy on the eyes but I was looking forward to exotic men with caramel skin and sexy accents.

“So, are we going to stand out here until the next solar eclipse?” I asked, fanning my face with our tickets. “Because it’s getting hot and you know I hate sweating. I hate it with a passion.”

Lizzie ignored me and checked her phone for the hundredth time. “Stop complaining. You’re starting to sound like the spoiled brat they write about in tabloids.”

I studied her face, knowing she was keeping something from me. Her freckled face looked uneasy. Everything about her body language screamed uncomfortable and anxious. She tapped her ankles on the ground and blew out a frustrated breath.

“Lizzie.”

“What?”

“Spill the beans already.” I nudged her with my elbow. “Since when do we keep secrets from each other? I used to play Ken to your many crazy Barbies.” I pouted, giving her my best puppy dog eyes. “You owe me complete and utter transparency.”

She flashed me a tiny smile in return. “Promise me you won’t yell at me for being naive or foolish.”

Uh-oh. This must be serious. “Oh, you know me. I’m the last person to judge anyone, especially you. So spill your guts already.”

“Fine. If you insist.” She gave me another sheepish smile. “So I met this American guy online. Danny, he is so handsome and incredibly witty. We clicked almost instantly.” She gushed. “We made plans to meet tonight at the concert. I brought you along for selfish reasons. I didn’t want to come here by my lonesome. You know your cousin can’t survive without her wing man.” She winked at me.

“Oh hell to that.” I frowned. “We need to leave now. Nothing good ever comes out of online relationships. The guy probably wants to meet you because you’re a princess.”

“Thanks for raining on my parade.” She pouted.

Lizzie was officially out of her mind. Coming from a royal family, it was hard to make genuine friendships. People were only interested in our titles and lifestyle, not actually interested in us. It had always been this way. It took ages for me to differentiate between fake and real friends. Lizzie had her fair share of ups and downs when it came to relationships too.

“Sorry, but have you learned nothing after watching all those episodes of Catfish on MTV?” I asked. “The last thing I want is for you to get hurt by some random asshole who smokes weed all day and lives in the basement with his mother.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted like we were back in kindergarten. “Wow. You are nothing but a dark, pessimistic cloud right now. I have no idea what to do at this point.”

Just as we were talking, a guy walked up to us with a nervous smile on his face. “Liz?”

“Mark?” Her jaw dropped open as he reached out to shake her hand. He seemed awfully dazzled by my cousin. “Oh my goodness. You came!”

He pulled her into a hug. “I really am sorry for being late. Traffic was awful.”

Lizzie blushed like a virgin and linked her arm through his. They sure seemed to be hitting it off.

She introduced me as her fantabulous cousin, smiling from ear to ear now that she was finally with her internet boyfriend. Mark was smitten as a kitten. I allowed myself to relax and told her to stay in my line of sight. Kidnapping royals and asking for hefty ransoms was a very lucrative business those days.

The three of us made our way to the VIP area where large posters of The Moonstones were plastered all over the walls. I was not really a fan of rock music but the lead singer was hot as hell. I stood and stared for what seemed like hours at the dark haired man with the glint of danger in his emerald eyes. Now that was one fine specimen.

The crowd erupted into loud cheers as the band took the stage and started playing their first song. I dragged my eyes away from the poster to glance up at said stage. That’s when I saw him. He looked better in real life than the poster. Pictures did not do the guy justice. He was ridiculously gorgeous. He had long, disheveled hair and a deliciously husky voice that made my cock jerk to life. I was hypnotized by his presence and charisma.

“Hey, Lizzie, I have two questions for you. One, what is this hunk’s name? And two, is he gay by any chance, because-” My voice trailed off the second I realized she was no longer there.

“Oh, rats!” I spun around, searching the crowd for her. She was nowhere to be found.

If the Queen found out that I lost her only granddaughter, she would disown me. Lizzie was the only hope for the family bloodline to continue. She held the keys to our kingdom’s future.

Where the hell did she go?