​The border town of Melchor de Mencos sat on the banks of the muddy Mopan River, and that’s the nicest word Aaron could find in his vocabulary to describe the smelly brown stream. He was used to the crystal-clear sparkling waterfall that ran quite literally through his New York treehouse.
Aaron grew up in the elegant foothills of the Hudson Valley in a four-story home built within and around the forest with a foundation that crossed the top of a waterfall. Pure elegance and beauty compared to this poverty-stricken city. He wished he could bottle the purity in his world and bring something positive to this region.
The strange realization was that these people seemed happy. Aaron had never met a woman as happy to be alive as Felicia. At least until she learned Aaron and his brothers were planning to stay the night at a fancy hotel in Belize. He would need to drag that story from her. But for now, he would enjoy getting to meet the remainder of her family.
With directions from Felicia and Dominic, the limo driver maneuvered through the narrow streets and up the hills to a rural neighborhood.
Where Felicia’s family lived wasn’t in the slums but was not the kind of place where a limousine would casually pull up and let out three American guys.
Their home was smaller than a farm but had a large garden area with a few chickens and a goat who Aaron remembered was named Lui. The property seemed well-maintained but lived in. With all the kids who came running from inside, Aaron was glad to have a hotel reserved across the river rather than encroach on an already crowded residence.
Not all of the children belonged to Dominic and his wife Yris, but it was nearly impossible to keep track of them so Aaron didn’t try. The adults were all considered aunts and uncles, and the children were all considered cousins.
Felicia seemed to live in the world in between the aunts and the cousins. Not quite an adult, but not one of the children either. Aaron wasn’t sure what to think about his relationship with her. She was purity and youthfulness and light wrapped in a colorful, flowing dress that hugged her curves in all the right places reminding him she was definitely not a child.
Although Aaron was a man—an experienced man—Felicia reached into his heart and made him wish he could turn back time and return to the innocence he saw in her eyes. He felt unworthy of the hero worship that emanated from her and all her little brothers and sisters and cousins. They all wanted to hug Aaron and his brothers. They all wanted to climb inside the limo, which their driver, Joab, graciously allowed.
Aaron was glad Joab had been willing to stay here for the night and suddenly wondered how he would travel around once Joab headed back to Flores. Would he need to rent a car? Take public transportation or a taxi? None of those sounded like something he wanted to do. He wished he could keep a driver, but certainly didn’t want to travel around in a limousine for days or weeks. Maybe there was a local service. For now, he tried to concentrate on his new friends, or more accurately described, his new family.
After many hours on an airplane, and almost two hours in a car, Aaron was thankful to hear that Yris had prepared a big meal. She served a thick and spicy stew called pepian that boasted a strange combination of pear, squash, carrots, potatoes, and corn, and was served with homemade tortillas and chilled soda in bottles that had not been opened. Aaron was thankful for that. He wasn’t prepared for the horror stories relating to drinking water in third world countries. He hoped at least the food would not make him sick but didn’t consider the possibilities until halfway through his meal.
Joab was included in the meal and the conversation and treated like one of the family. The adults all sat around talking and enjoying the cooling evening, excited to have American cousins visiting. Aaron wished he didn’t have to leave but he and his brothers kept yawning. They promised to return in the morning and tour the city and the area and get to know them better.
When the time came to head to their hotel, Felicia grew quiet as she walked Aaron to the limo. Hayden and Owen climbed in the car, and Joab waited in the driver’s seat while Aaron stood near the back of the car, holding one of Felicia’s hands.
“I don’t want you to go over to Belize,” she finally admitted in Spanish. “They are bad people.”
“We’re going to stay there tonight, but tomorrow I want you to tell me the story about why you think they are bad people,” Aaron said. “Help me understand.”
“Okay, I will tell you tomorrow,” Felicia said.
“And I want you to show me everything fun about your town and this area and take me to see things that most tourists don’t get to see.”
“Okay.” She chuckled and reached up to place a quick kiss on Aaron’s check.
Aaron wished he could pull her into his arms and give her a real kiss but was keenly aware that they had an audience of her mom and dad and aunts and uncles and grandparents watching. Some other time. He leaned forward and kissed Felicia on her forehead, then waved lightly as he tucked himself into the limo. His brothers chuckled at him when he sighed with a cheesy grin. He was losing his heart to that girl, and they all knew it.

Prologue to Billionaire Hero - Monroe
“Why would any sane person want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?” Monroe’s dad used to say.
Yet here he stood—again—in full gear, heart racing, stomach tumbling, waiting for the final go-ahead. Not that Monroe wanted to jump; he was compelled to jump.
The United States flag sewn onto his uniform and the Special Forces Insignia on the sleeve of his shoulder added the extra layer of necessity. Knowing the importance of the mission was the final driving force that gave him the courage to take that last step.
His team was counting on him.
The rush of air pressed against his body as he plummeted toward the earth. So far below. Veiled in the black of night. Monroe could barely see what he knew was the canopy.
Monroe dove in the direction where his men would be gathering, grasping one another’s hands in a tight circle, keeping them together. They separated with barely enough time to deploy their parachutes and silently slipped between the trees. And behind enemy lines.

Part One: Aaron's Story - Chapter One
Prince Aaron Sayid stepped out the door of the small airliner and into the Guatemalan sunshine. He slipped on a pair of black shades as he glanced around the tarmac, not really expecting to see Felicia, but hoping, nonetheless. He started down the stairs, followed by his younger brothers, Owen and Hayden.
The Mundo Maya-Flores International Airport was anything but international, unless the distance between Cancun, Mexico and Flores, Guatemala counted. Technically, the four-hour flight crossed over the border between the two countries, and that’s what warranted the designation.
The princes rarely flew commercial. Although their family estate was worth over a billion dollars, they didn’t want to wait for someone to charter a private jet. So, they booked first class seats on the earliest available flight and came to meet their feisty third cousin who was brave enough to reach out to them by telephone.
The Sayid brothers had lived in New York State all their lives even though they’d known they were heirs to the throne of the tiny Middle Eastern Kingdom of Madain Saleh. Their father, Prince Marcos Sayid had served as Crown Prince until Aaron turned twenty, at which time the Crown had been conferred upon him during a simple coronation.
Aaron had claimed the title of Crown for just over a year before King Sayid died at the age of 106 and Aaron realized he didn’t really want to move to the desert. He and his three younger brothers willingly abdicated the throne to one of their cousins who already lived in the kingdom.
Now they were merely spoiled, rich kids with time on their hands. Fly to Guatemala to meet a pretty girl? Sure, why not? What else would a twenty-one-year-old guy want to do for the summer?
Although royalty, Aaron and his brothers hadn’t shown their faces on international television in several months and knew they probably wouldn’t be recognized. They needn’t have worried. Three hot guys of Middle Eastern descent blended right in with the Hispanics in the tiny Guatemalan airport. All of them had thick, dark hair, caramel skin, and sultry, brown eyes.
They had arranged for a limo to take them to their hotel, so they expected to look amongst a crowd for their names on a professional sign held by a driver.
Instead, a few friends and family members held homemade signs and amongst them was a petite ball of energy with long, black hair and a colorful dress that bounced along with her excitement. Her hand-drawn sign had Aaron’s name spelled wrong and the ‘S’ backward.
Aaron knew the minute Felicia recognized him because she broke rank with the other people waiting for family members and rushed forward, throwing herself into his arms and dropping her sign on the floor. Owen bent down to pick up the sign as Aaron swung Felicia around and they hugged like long-separated lovers rather than two people meeting in person for the first time.
They had texted and spent time together on video chat multiple times since the day she called him last week. He’d been introduced to her sisters and brothers and parents and best friends and her pet goat. He knew that her favorite breakfast was some sort of chocolate slop that he couldn’t pronounce made from black beans and soaked up by homemade tortillas. He knew she was an expert at weaving and made textiles that the family sold at market. And he knew that she smelled like some sort of natural essential oil that he could get lost in.
He closed his eyes and held her there in the airport lobby while his brothers found their limo driver and waited for Aaron so they could all go retrieve their luggage.
“I have missed you,” Felicia said in Spanish, her cheek pressed to his, her feet dangling around his knees, her arms around his neck. Although size was not indicative of age, combined with her youthful energy and excitement for life, she seemed too young to be twenty-one.
“We Facetimed this morning,” Aaron answered in Spanish, not releasing her from his arms. He’d taken a crash course refresher of his high school Spanish in preparation for this trip.
“That was many, many hours ago,” she said, pulling back to look him in the eye.
He thought for a minute she was going to lean closer and kiss him and he would have kissed her back without hesitation. Instead, she slid down and he kept his hands on her waist until she regained her footing.
“Hola Felicia,” Hayden said, reaching for a hug. She hugged him back but not with the same enthusiasm as with Aaron. Then she reached over to hug Owen.
“Are you here alone?” Aaron glanced around for anyone else he might recognize from their video chats and found her father, Dominic Cohen, waiting nearby. Aaron was glad he hadn’t kissed Felicia with her dad watching and stepped over with his hand extended. “Senor Cohen, good to meet you.”
“Pleasure to meet you as well, Your Highness,” Dominic said, shaking his hand and subtly bowing his head. Aaron had grown up with the haughty attitude of royalty and he was done with that.
“Please, just call me Aaron,” he said, also bowing subtly, bringing himself down to equal standing with the man who was his mother’s cousin. “And these are my brothers, Hayden and Owen.”
“Nice to meet you,” Hayden said, shaking Dominic’s hand.
“Thank you for welcoming us to your country,” Owen said, also extending his hand to Dominic.
“How did you get to the airport? Do you have a car here in the city? Or would you like to ride back with us?” Aaron kept one arm around Felicia’s waist as he spoke to her father. He couldn’t seem to resist connecting with her now that they were together.
“We took a bus from Melchor de Mencos,” Dominic said.
“You should ride with us in our limo.” Aaron glanced around to find their waiting limo driver. “How much room do we have?”
“We have seating for eight, sir,” the limo driver said. “But… your hotel is only ten minutes away.”
“We could get a different hotel,” Aaron said, turning back to Dominic. “Are there any hotels near your home?”
“There is one right in town,” Dominic said, puffing out his chest proudly.
“Sir, my rates are quite high,” the limo driver said in accented English, almost whispering as if to give Aaron an opportunity to decline without embarrassing himself in front of his friends. “The fare would be much greater than taking the bus.”
“How much?” Aaron asked in the same conspiratorial whisper, knowing the money didn’t really matter.
“There and back, plus the gasoline, and my time, an hour and a half each way…” the man gave him a figure that was less than Aaron had paid for a new suit to wear to his brother’s graduation.
“I’ll double that if you treat this lovely young lady as if she’s a royal princess, and this gentleman as if he’s your honored guest,” Aaron said, still whispering in English.
The limo driver pulled his shoulders back and lifted his chin. “Thank you, sir.”
Aaron watched the man hurry to Felicia and hold out his arm, switching to Spanish and offering to escort her to the limousine.
“You sly dog,” Hayden said with a chuckle.
“Uh, guys”—Owen pulled them aside, showing them the screen of his phone. “The only hotel in Melchor de Mencos is a complete dive.”
“Are there any others close?” Aaron asked.
Owen was already scrolling. “This one looks nice, and it’s only twenty-five minutes further. The San Ignacio Resort. Ooh, they have a suite called the Royal Suite. It’s like the hotel knew we were coming.”
“Ha, let me see that.” Aaron took Owen’s phone and strode over to where the driver was helping Felicia and Dominic into the limo. “Do you know where this hotel is located?”
“Yes, sir, but that’s even further.” The driver’s eyes grew wide.
“Would it help if I put you up in a room for the night?” Aaron asked.
“In that hotel?” The man looked as if he was holding a winning lottery ticket and wasn’t sure if it was real. He seemed to catch himself and realize how his professional persona had slipped. Lifting his chin again, the man said, “That would be acceptable.”
“Perfect,” Aaron said, then hurried over to climb in the car beside Felicia. He held the phone closer to her and Dominic to show them the website for the resort. “Look, we found something with more room and the hotel’s only twenty-five minutes away from your house.”
“But… that’s in Belize.” Felicia shrunk back and curled her lip.
“Is that okay?” Aaron wasn’t sure what to think of her reaction.
“I’m sure it will be fine.” Her voice squeaked at the end of her sentence as if she wasn’t convinced.
Still, the resort seemed amazing from their website. He handed the phone back to Owen. “Book us a couple of rooms. And cancel our reservation here in Flores.”
Felicia glanced at her father then plastered on a fake smile and that’s how they spent a very uncomfortable hour and a half on the way to their home.

Good news! Billionaire Crown Prince is now available on Amazon!
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​Great news Catching Waves with You is now available on Amazon!
 

Great news Catching Waves with You is now available on Amazon!

Great news Catching Waves with You is now available on Amazon!