Felix and the Prince (Forever Wilde 2)

I’d tried for the millionth time to reach Felix, but he wasn’t answering the damned phone.

“Lior,” Hen said to get my attention. “Can’t you see Felix is trying to do the right thing? He’s trying to give you some space while you get your legs under you in your new job.”

“It’s been three months since he fucked on out of here, Hen! And he sends me another fucking text asking for more time? What the hell? He can’t just talk to me on the damned phone for five minutes? We had a deal. What if something’s wrong with him? What if he’s not okay?” The very idea he could be sick or hurt—

“He’s fine. I talked to him last night. Stop being melodramatic.”

I snapped my head around to glare at her. “What? He talks to you?”

“Not willingly. I have to call Doc and get him to force the phone into Felix’s hand.”

I couldn’t believe what she was saying. “What? You can do that? How did you get Doc’s number?”

She stared at me. “My brother is the leader of an entire freaking country. I can find out the phone number of a man named Dr. Wilde in Hobie, Texas, for god’s sake. I think it took all of two seconds on Google.”

“Dammit!” I paced back and forth in my sister’s cozy family room. Jon had moved in with her quietly about a month ago and was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, dozing off in front of the television. At my shouted curse, he jumped awake.

“What the hell?” In true royal guard fashion, he came fully alert in half a second, ready for action.

Hen laughed at him. “Stand down, sweetheart. It’s just Lio bitching about Felix again.”

Jon rolled his eyes before closing them again. “Wake me when something new happens.”

“What did he say?” The question was directed at my sister, and she knew I was asking about Felix.

“The usual. That he’s trying to give you space to get accustomed to your new role. But the truth is, he’s feeling unworthy, brother. I think he’s scared.”

I knew she was right. I’d seen it in his face that last night before he bolted. The coronation had overwhelmed him, leaving us in a stalemate.

He was avoiding me because he worried about not being good enough to be the king’s partner, and I was hesitant to push him because I worried about forcing him into a life under the microscope.

Which meant we were right back where we started, except we’d switched sides. Now it was Felix who feared tarnishing the monarchy, and me who feared attracting the tabloid press.

“I have to do something,” I roared. “This is bullshit. I’ve spent three months with my head down proving I know what I’m doing, when all the while I feel like I don’t know what the hell I’m doing! It’s like I can run a fucking country, but I can’t get one damned glassmaker to return a freaking phone call!”

Hen’s eyes sparkled at me, and I could tell she was trying her best to hide a smug grin.

“Stop being a pest,” I grumbled. “You don’t understand what it’s like not to have the person you love in the same continent as you.”

“Why do you think I came to Gadleigh for Christmas,” she teased.

I looked over at Jon and saw him gazing at her with a stupid lovestruck puppy face.

“Don’t make me puke,” I warned them both. “Help me solve this, dammit.”

This time, it was Jon who spoke up. “Why don’t we just fly over there and get him?”

I opened my mouth to tell him how ridiculous that was when I realized he had a point.

“No,” Hen said firmly. “You need to come out first. I think half his fear is ruining things for you here. He feels responsible for messing up the plans you had for taking the throne and marrying Sabine like a good little king. He needs to know that you coming out to the country is for you, not because of him.”

“But it is because of him,” I argued. “If not for him, I would have never even considered it. He needs to know it’s because of him, I realized it’s worth it.”

“What if he rejected you now? Would you stay in the closet forever?”

Her question made me stop and think. “No. I don’t think I could pretend again the way I tried to with Sabine. Knowing there is someone out there who makes me feel the way Felix does… no. I think I need to come out regardless of what Felix decides to do.”

“So, you see,” Hen said proudly, “I was right. You need to come out. Prove to him this is the right thing for you, regardless of what he decides. It might take some pressure off him to be worth it all the time. Does that make sense? What if you came out ‘for him’ but then things didn’t work out? If he felt like he was the reason you came out, he might feel pressured to stay.”