My Royally Cute Enemy: A YA Sweet Romance (Sweet Mountain High, Year 2: A Sweet YA Romance Series Book 3)

by Lacy Andersen

  That sounded like a challenge. And I could never turn down a challenge.

  “We shall have to see, lovely Tori,” I said as the school came into view through her window. It was a simple stone-faced building that took up much of the block. Beyond a neatly trimmed green lawn was what appeared to be an American football stadium and track. To anyone else, it would’ve looked like a simple collection of buildings, but to me—it was full of potential.

  There was no doubt I would win the kids of Sweet Mountain High over to my side.

  And just maybe . . . that would someday include Tori.

  6

  Tori

  August had been on his own all morning.

  We’d split after I’d dropped him off at the office and made my way to turn in my NHS application. With that out of the way, I thought I would be more chill. But no—now, a million different things weighed on my chest. Would I get an interview? When would I hear back from the NHS committee? And would our new houseguest ruin the carefully crafted reputation I’d built to get in?

  I’d agreed to be civil with August for today, but that didn’t mean I approved of him. He was still a major snob. Anyone could see it. I’d warned him this morning, but he’d laughed me off. In fact, I was so sure that everyone would see right through Prince Charming’s cocky attitude that I’d practically envisioned August sitting alone at a lunch table all by himself—leaving me to come to his rescue.

  That wasn’t quite the picture I got when lunch finally came around.

  August was at a table, all right. But not alone. In fact, his table was overcrowded with some of the most popular kids at Sweet Mountain High. And he sat in the middle of it, like some noble figure presiding over his loud and rambunctious court.

  The sight of it was like a punch to the gut.

  “Tori!” Erin waved at me from August’s table. She sat straight across from him, smiling as if she’d won herself a prize at the fair. “Come join us!”

  It felt like I was walking through mud as I made my way over there with my tray in hand. I came up behind August’s perfectly mussed head of hair and grimaced at my best friend.

  “Sad day. No room,” I said with a fake sigh.

  “Nonsense.” August turned to the boy sitting next to him. “Make room for my hostess, will you, Jeremy? It’s not right to leave a lady standing, especially one as lovely as Tori.”

  Jeremy scooted over on the bench, making just enough room. I closed my eyes for a solid second, steeling myself against this alien invasion of my classmates. If anyone had asked me this morning, I would’ve thought they’d all take one look at Mr. High-and-Mighty and then walk the other way. Everything I’d said on the bus this morning had been true. I’d grown up with these kids. They were nice enough, and thankfully, they didn’t judge me like the rest of the town. But they usually didn’t take quickly to outsiders. Apparently, August was different.

  That was harder to swallow than Olive’s homemade cough syrup.

  “Girl, when you texted me this morning about your new guest, you didn’t mention how sexy he was,” Erin said as I took my place next to August.

  She was whisper yelling across the table at me, but clearly, not intending on keeping any of this information to herself. One side glance at August’s face was confirmation enough. The cocky grin sitting there made me want to pour my glass of water over his head to cool him down. We’d agreed to be civil, but still, I couldn’t help myself.

  “I’m sorry.” I stirred my cup of chili slowly with a spoon. “I must’ve been too tired to think straight. Someone kept me awake all last night with his snoring coming through the walls.”

  He stiffened next to me. “Excuse me, madam, but I do not snore.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Maybe you were dreaming it.”

  I laughed mockingly. “Believe me, the last thing I would do is dream about you.”

  He didn’t have a reply to that. All he could do was chuckle and bite into his roll. I smiled victoriously across the table at Erin, but my excitement dwindled a bit when I saw her grinning at us like a devious madman. With the slight twitch of her eye toward August, she stared pointedly at me. I knew what she was asking. It was girl-code for, Are you into him? I shook my head violently, threatening to give myself a sprain. The slight arching of her brow did not convince me that my message had been received.

  “So, August, what it is like where you’re from?” she asked with an innocent smile. “And more importantly, do you have a girlfriend back home?”

  I could’ve sworn all the girls at the table went silent at the same time, each one of them leaning in closer to hear August’s answer. There were a couple girls there from Erin’s dance team, a cheerleader, and a few girls from the pep band. And they all seemed to have a special interest in August’s homeland.

  “I wouldn’t bore you with a description of my home,” he said, finishing off his bread. “As for your other question . . .”

  Taking a long and drawn-out swallow from his water glass, he made the girls squirm in their seats for his final answer. I couldn’t help but smirk. It seemed I’d underestimated August and his power over our fellow classmates.

  “No.” He wiped the back of his mouth with his hand. “No girlfriend. I’m officially a free man.”

  A collective giggle went through the table as one of the football players fist-bumped August in celebration. Erin seemed a little too happy with this information. She was smiling at me, her pale, freckled cheeks tinged with pink.

  “Well, I think you should come to the basketball game on Friday,” she said, pushing her tray away from her. “It’s gonna be a good game, and the girls and I are doing a new routine during half-time. It’ll be fun. You can bring Tori.”

  Fire burned in my cheeks as I glared at her. She knew very well that I hardly ever made an appearance at Friday night games. Basketball wasn’t really my thing. And there was always a party afterward that Tori would beg me to attend. It had become easier to just skip the whole thing together. I felt guilty missing my best friend’s routines, but it was for the best. It was hard to say no to her pouty looks.

  “Of course, I’m coming. Tori, too.” August wrapped his arm around me, pulling me in tight to his side.

  A strange tingle went through me. It started where his fingertips brushed against the tender skin of my upper arm and cascaded along every surface of my body. The same thing had happened on the bus this morning when he’d shaken my hand. There was something strange about this boy. How I’d gone from totally hating on him to agreeing to keep his secret was beyond me.

  August had looked totally sincere when he’d confessed about this being his last chance to do something for himself. I hoped he hadn’t been lying. He seemed to be able to wrap people around his little finger—as proven by this little lunchtime gathering. He knew exactly what he was doing.

  That was the danger with boys like him. I had to stay vigilant and not fall for his act.

  I had to be better than my mom.

  “I will not be attending the game,” I said, peeling his hand off of my arm and untangling myself from him. “I’ve actually got plans.”

  Erin smirked. “What is it this time? Bingo night at the old folks’ home? Reorganizing the order of the schools on your list of potential colleges to attend?”

  “Something like that.” I thanked my lucky stars that I didn’t blush as much as my pale best friend because lying to her was making my cheeks warm. “You’ll just have to go yourself.”

  August didn’t seem too beat up over my refusal. He shrugged and stole the roll from my tray. “Your loss, my lady.”

  It wasn’t really my loss because I was perfectly happy to be at home on a Friday night preparing for the interview for the National Honor Society. There was nothing more important right now than crushing that interview. Once I was in, everything else in my life would fall into place. And no one would doubt me anymore.

  Erin sighed, resting her elbow on the table. “Are you related
to Prince William and Henry? You talk just like them. Or at least, what I would think a nobleman would sound like. It’s so utterly romantic.”

  The girls around us hummed their agreement. A strangled noise came from August, and he started coughing violently as he choked on a piece of my bread. I hit him hard on the back, hiding my smile. Guess August wasn’t as smooth as he thought he was. At this rate, he was going to reveal his identity all by himself.

  Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

  It certainly would’ve made things easier for me.

  “No.” He took a quick swallow of his drink, his face bright red. “No, I’m definitely not related. That’s just how we talk in Valta.”

  “Oooh, sign me up for an exchange program there,” Erin said dreamily. “I’m totally going to look up how much it’ll cost to study there next year.”

  August’s face was still beet red. He stood up from the table, pulling me along with him. “Would you ladies excuse me? I’ve got an issue I need to discuss with Tori here. We won’t be but a moment.”

  I couldn’t have stopped him from pulling me from the room if I’d wanted to. His grip on my hand was so tight that I was afraid of losing feeling in my fingertips. He led me from the cafeteria, down the hall, and around a corner to an empty classroom before he stopped to face me.

  “What just happened?” His eyes were wide and wild.

  I couldn’t help but snort. So much for cocky Prince August. Apparently, he wasn’t so perfectly put together as he pretended. “You almost blew your cover with your smooth-talking, Your Majesty.”

  He ran his fingers through his hair, causing it to stand on end. “I did, didn’t I? What am I to do? What if she discovers the truth?”

  It was kind of funny seeing cocky and confident August coming apart in front of me. But it also confirmed to me that what he’d told me on the bus this morning was true. This exchange program really did mean a lot to him. If anyone knew what he was going through, it was me. I had to take some pity on him.

  “Relax, she’s not really going to look into Valta.” I gestured over my shoulder at the cafeteria. “I’ve been best friends with Erin for ten years, and the only reason she’s ever passed an English assignment was because of me. She’s not going to take the time to research anything. Not when she could be spending time learning viral dances on TikTok.”

  His jaw twitched in response. “Still, that was a little closer than I wanted.”

  “Well, if you’d stop calling me things like Lady Tori, maybe people wouldn’t get so suspicious. You talk too pretty. And you’re still way too proper.”

  The desperation in his eyes grew stronger, and he glanced back down the hallway toward the cafeteria. “You’ve got to help me, Tori. I can’t let them know who I am. Everything will be ruined. I can’t go back to Valta. Not yet. I need your help.”

  I leaned against the doorframe and ignored my grumbling stomach. “I already told you I wouldn’t give up your secret. It’s safe with me.”

  “No, we have to do more.” He rubbed a hand over his chin, his eyes narrowing in thought. “What I really need is for you to babysit me. Make sure I don’t flub this. Where I go, you go. Please, Tori. Please say you will.”

  The wall around my heart had trouble standing tall as August stared expectantly at me. This was twice in a single day that he’d sounded so desperate. It would’ve been so easy to tell him no. To watch this tragic little act play out and reclaim my home when August was finally sent back to his home. He’d barely lasted a few hours without blowing his cover. There was no way he’d make it until graduation.

  It was soooo tempting.

  But at the same time, I had to think of the bigger picture. August was here because Grandpa’s job depended on it. Gramps was the only one that mattered. And keeping August around was helping Grandpa. Even if he was a total pain in the rear.

  Grandpa was the one thing worth putting myself on the line for.

  I wet my lips with my tongue, preparing myself for a negotiation. No way would I settle for less. “If I agree to help, can you promise me something?”

  He slashed his hand through the air. “Anything. Anything at all. What do you want? A racehorse? A Lamborghini? A VIP tour of Europe?”

  “Your family owns the Winery in town, right? It’s part of your larger company in Valta?”

  A flash of confusion passed through his eyes, and he hesitated. “Yes . . .”

  “Then, when this is all over, can you get my Grandpa the credit he deserves at the Winery?” I stared him down hard, making certain not to break eye contact. It was an interview tactic I’d been practicing for NHS. “He’s worked there most of his life, and he’s never complained, but I know they don’t appreciate him. He holds that place together. He deserves better.”

  There was a slight hint of surprise in his expression. He pulled back, his brow coming together. “That’s what you want from me?”

  I nodded firmly. “Yes. If I do this, I want you to help him. Promise me.”

  It didn’t take him long to break into a smile that stretched ear to ear. He worked his jaw, a glint of that same cockiness returning to his features. “You keep me off the radar, help me to blend in, I’ll put in a good word for your grandfather. That’s a promise.”

  “Fine.” I took a step back, looking him over from head to toe. There was only so much I could do about the funny accent and the way he talked, but we could work on the rest. “We’ll start after school today. Just try not to mess it up until then.”

  He nodded, his shoulders slumping with relief. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Princess.”

  It wouldn’t have been my first choice of how to deal with this foreign intruder in our lives, but it was better than sulking around and waiting for August to blow his cover. At least this way, we could help Grandpa. So with a handshake to seal the deal, I made my side of the promise.

  And that was when Valta and Sweet Mountain finally came to a truce.

  7

  August

  Sweet Mountain was most certainly growing on me.

  Its people weren’t nearly as hard to charm as Tori had made them out to be.

  Even old Earl waved me off the school bus when Tori and I arrived back at her home. The kids at school had made me feel far more welcomed than I had ever felt at any soiree or event. These kids were real. They hadn’t spent their lives being groomed for a job they didn’t want. They went to school. They occasionally failed tests. They ate what they wanted. They hung out with their friends, and they went to their activities. Their lives were simple and free. They had no idea what a blessing that was.

  “Come on,” Tori called, marching in front of me toward the door. She glanced over her shoulder, meeting my eye. “We don’t have all evening. I’ve got things to do.”

  I picked up my pace and bounded up the porch stairs behind her. This beauty always seemed to be in a rush. There was never time to just lie back and smell the roses. It was positively anxiety-inducing. “This doesn’t have anything to do with your National . . . whatever society? Does it?”

  “National Honor Society.” She shot me a thin smile that warned I was already on thin ice.

  “Right. That. Is that what you’re tied up in knots about?”

  I hadn’t been here for more than a day, but already I could tell how obsessed Tori was with this society. She’d hidden the application from me yesterday at supper, and this morning I would’ve bet my golden cufflinks that it was what she was carefully cradling in that purple folder. It didn’t make sense. The kids at school didn’t seem all that excited about it. One of the footballers had mentioned that it was a club for overachievers. Tori seemed to have that role down pat. Why was she so stressed about it?

  “It doesn’t hurt to be prepared, that’s all.” She opened the front door and hung her backpack on a wall hook. “The applications were due today. They’re supposed to tell us soon if we get an interview. The interview is everything. And I have a lot of prep left to do.”


  It seemed strange to me that this little club was so important to her, but I kept my lips sealed as I followed her lead up the stairs and into my tiny bedroom. The truce we’d claimed in the name of international cooperation was only going to last if I could keep my opinions to myself. There was no need to press her on something I had no idea about. And besides, as was evident from my noon-time meal with my new cohorts, it was obvious I needed Tori. Everything about me screamed royal. I needed to keep my secret, and Tori was part of that.

  “Now, first things first,” she said as I sat on the edge of my bed. Walking to the middle of the room, she braced her hands on her hips and carefully scanned me over with those brilliant-blue eyes of hers. Finally, with a click of her tongue, she jutted out her lower jaw and nodded firmly. “We need to come up with a background. Not something too far-fetched that you can’t remember it. But something believable enough that people won’t go looking for details. A cover story. Sound good?”

  Excitement burst in my gut, pushing away the dread I’d been feeling today when I wondered about Tori’s plans. This was starting to sound a bit Bond-ish. I’d always had a secret fantasy of being 007. With a bow in her direction, I flourished my hand. “That sounds perfect, lovely Tori.”

  “Actually, first, you’ve got to stop the bowing thing.” She laughed as I sat up and made a face. “And no more calling me lovely Tori. Beautiful Tori. Lady Tori.”

  I smirked at her. Try as she might to make herself drab with those old-lady sweaters, Tori couldn’t hide that she was, without a doubt, a gorgeous girl. She didn’t even have to put on a speck of makeup. The dark lashes lining her eyes were more than enough to catch any man’s attention. Still, if this was going to help me fit in better, I’d follow her direction.