Dating the Duke (The Aristocrat Diaries 2)

Where was Alex?

And what time was it?

I rolled over and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. It wasn’t even eight yet, and that explained why I still felt so tired.

I really hadn’t had enough sleep. All I remembered at the end of the night was falling asleep midway through the second episode of The Queen’s Gambit, and it was a miracle I’d made it that far. I was pretty sure Alex had fallen asleep right after episode one.

He was a terrible TV-watching partner.

I sat up and looked around again. “Alex?”

I waited for a response.

Nothing.

So he wasn’t in the bathroom either.

Where was he?

I had no messages from him or anyone else that would say where he was, and worry snaked its way through my body as the clock ticked over on my phone and there was nothing from him.

ME: Where are you??

I sent the text and put my phone down. Worried or not, my bladder was not going to hold out much longer, and I was going to blame that on the sheer amount of wine I’d consumed last night.

It was a miracle I didn’t have more than the most minor of headaches. I guessed that was what crappy takeaway foods did for you—soaked it all up while you slept.

Thankfully, I did have a strip of paracetamol and ibuprofen in my toiletries bag, so I popped two pills of each out of the blister strips and fetched a bottle of water from the mini fridge so I could take them.

Literally the only bright spot right now was that my boob hadn’t popped out of my pyjama top.

The lock clicked on the door, and I started, almost dropping the water bottle. Alex stepped inside with a bag from a nearby bakery in his hand and looked up at me.

“Oh. You’re awake. I didn’t disturb you when I left, did I?”

“No, I’ve not been awake long.” I looked at the bag in his hand. “Isn’t there room service?”

“Yes, but I went to speak to George before he finished his shift, and he was eating from here. It smelt so good I had to go and get some. A pot of tea is on its way up, though.” He set the bag on the table right as there was a knock at the door. “Ah, that’ll be the tea.”

I grabbed a cardigan and threw it on so my nipples weren’t quite so prominently on view—my thanks to the air conditioning unit—and peered around Alex.

“Gabi. What are you doing here?”

“Have you seen this?” she asked, holding something out.

“Seen what?” I wrapped the cardigan around me. “What’s going on?”

“Come in,” Alex said. “Where’s Eva?”

“Matthew’s room, I assume,” Gabi replied, closing the door behind her. “I texted her, but she hasn’t replied yet.”

“What’s going on?” I walked over to them and reached for the phone, but Alex snatched it away.

He met my eyes. “Remember those photographers last night?”

“I think I’m still seeing stars thanks to all their flashes. What about them?”

Gabi grimaced. “Hope you don’t see Charlotte on your way out. You’re the lead story on all the society pages.”

I stared at them. “We’re a what now?”

“You’re dating,” she said quickly. “According to Richard Andrews, at least.”

“We’re not.”

Alex winced and handed me the phone. “Apparently, we’re hot.”

“We’re not.” I slowly took it from him and tapped in Gabi’s passcode, then stared at the screen.

Yep.

There it was.

In big, bold, black letters.

Was this a news app or a newspaper from the nineteen-fifties?

I blinked.

It was still there.

ALEXANDER, THE DUKE OF WORCESTER, AND ADELAIDE ASTLEY ARE THE ARISTOCRACY’S HOT NEW COUPLE!

“Is it just him? Everyone knows Richard talks shit,” I said, tapping back to the bloody Google search she’d done.

I answered my own question.

It was not just Richard Andrews.

Literally all the society pages were discussing our supposed new relationship.

This… was not good.

I stepped back and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Oh, dear.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Gabi said. “What were you even doing? Wait—you got takeaway? You didn’t get me anything?”

“Is that really your concern right now?” Alex asked her.

“There’s leftovers in there. It’s cold but help yourself.” I stared at the wall. “Oh, goodness. What do we do now?”

“Let me in!” Eva’s voice sounded outside the door right before she hammered against it.

“Bloody hell!” Alex rushed over there and quickly opened it. “Are you trying to wake the entire hotel?”

“Gabi said it was an emergency. What’s going on?” She tugged up the top of her jumpsuit, and wow.

She really had come directly from Matt’s room.

Gabi snorted. “I love that you took the time to get changed.”

I pointed to my suitcase. “Clothes in there.”

“Thank you. Give me two seconds.” Eva rushed over, grabbed a pair of leggings and an oversized t-shirt, and hurried into the bathroom. We didn’t move until she re-emerged, using my make-up wipes to remove hers from last night. “What’s going on?”