The Unlikely Spare2025

Nicholas I’m the spare, the younger brother of the Prince of Wales. Ever since I was propelled up the order of succession, my job description has been: Exist. Don’t embarrass the Crown. Repeat. After a security scandal, I’m assigned a new bodyguard. A hulking, brooding Irishman who glowers at me like I’ve personally offended his ancestors. He’s the first to be completely immune to my charm, which is rather inconvenient when you’ve always wielded wit like a defensive weapon. And why I feel the need to continue trying to impress Officer O’Connell is anyone’s guess. My upcoming royal tour of Australia and New Zealand should be a nice chance to escape the British winter and bask in some Southern Hemisphere sunshine. But it turns out that representing the monarchy in former colonial countries means confronting some uncomfortable truths about how all those Crown Jewels ended up in my family’s vaults. And the whole visit would really be far more enjoyable if someone wasn’t trying to kill me. Eoin I’ve clawed my way from the slums of Ireland to the top level of Scotland Yard’s undercover agents. But a deep security breach within the force has me investigating my own colleagues while playing bodyguard to a privileged prince on a tour Down Under. Something about Prince Nicholas gets under my skin like shrapnel I can’t dig out. Still, I’m a professional. I can handle one posh git with a smart mouth. But as we navigate koala cuddling sessions, didgeridoo lessons, and deadly spiders in hotel rooms, I see beneath Nicholas’s princely façade. I’m supposed to uncover which of my fellow bodyguards is a threat to Prince Nicholas, not become obsessed with the most complex, fascinating pain in my arse I’ve ever met. The line between duty and desire blurs with each passing day and the danger to Nicholas intensifies. How can I maintain my cover, protect Nicholas, and resist the urge to press him against the nearest wall and kiss that smirk off his face?