Royal Opposites by Lori Crawford

hobby.
    Getting to know him better, not to mention discussing her favorite subject, took her mind off of her current predicament.
    Truth be told, if she had to be on the run after being accused of such a serious crime, she couldn’t think of a person she’d rather be with.
    Close to midnight, after they’d put over four hundred miles between them and Phoenix, she pulled out her phone and considered it for a minute. “We need a phone charger.”
    Tom glanced her way and said around a yawn, “Just one?”
    “We have the same phone.”
    “I hadn’t noticed.” He yawned again. “Wait a minute there, your Royal Highness of Coupons. How did you manage that? I know you didn’t pay the full six hundred dollars for it. You would’ve had a heart attack on the spot and died.”
    Joan tossed a smile his way in the darkened car interior and began a search for hotels. “You think you know me, don’t you?”
    “Am I wrong?”
    She kept her attention on the map. There didn’t seem to be any well-‐-known chains close to the highway they were on. This late at night, she didn’t want to risk getting too far away from the main thoroughfare and get lost. “What’s so bad about getting a good deal?”

    “How much did you pay for the phone, Joan?”
    At last she looked his way. “You’re not going to drop this are you?”
    “No, I’m not.” He stretched his neck. “I just want to know exactly how bad I got hustled out of eight hundred grand.”
    “I never expected you to give it to me anyway. It’s fine.” She returned her attention to the phone. Sure, she could use the money, but the last thing she wanted was for him to think she’d do less than pay her own way. It’s how she’d always been and she couldn’t imagine being any different now. “And I didn’t hustle anybody.”
    The fact he thought she had hurt more than anything else. If not for the stupid bank, they wouldn’t even be together right now. Heck, they wouldn’t have even met. The last thing she wanted him to think was that she’d set him up as some kind of mark.
    “I know you didn’t hustle me, Joan. It was a joke.” She turned to look at him when she heard his serious tone. Gave him a small smile.
    “Thirty dollars out of pocket.”
    “You’re kidding, right?” He gave a low whistle and shook his head. “I sure could’ve used you a couple weeks ago when my funds started to run low.”
    “Run low?” What was she missing here? He was royalty.
    And loaned money to the world. And what about the eight hundred grand he’d just bet?
    “Yeah. We’re allotted a certain amount to live on during our year away. I don’t think the amount has been updated in decades. I almost had to get a job.”
    Joan laughed. “A job? Oh, you poor thing.”
    “Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. Isn’t that what you Americans say?”
    “How much did you have left?”
    Tom scrunched up his nose. “About seven thousand.”
    Joan cracked up. “And that wasn’t nearly enough to survive on for another couple of weeks.”

    “I’m glad you understand.”
    “Do you know how much I earn in a month?”
    He gave her a once over. “You are quite capable so I’d say at least fifteen thousand.”
    She snorted. “Dude? Are you hiring?” Joan found a hotel on the map and zoomed in on the details. “Twenty five hundred.”
    “Hundred thousand you mean.”
    “No. And that’s before taxes. After taxes and rent, I have about nine hundred dollars a month to pay my bills. Then, I can eke out about twenty five dollars a month for groceries and miscellaneous items.” She nodded towards the back seat. “That’s why I have to know how to make a few dollars go so far.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “I didn’t tell you this so you’d feel sorry for me. I wanted you to understand that it’s possible to live on a whole lot less.
    People do it all the time. I’m glad I don’t have kids and a husband to take care of so I get by.” She pointed out the