She avoided telling Jules where she was going and why. Jules, while far more street-smart than Ele, would always be her younger, wilder sister. Walking around a hotel by herself was a normal occurrence for Jules. There was no reason it couldn’t be .for Ele. She reached for the door again.
“Are you sure he’s worth it?”
Ele stopped in her tracks. It was the simplest of questions. Her conversation with the queen came back to her. They’d all been patiently waiting for Ele to be normal. Twelve years of waiting. For the first time since that day, Ele found something she wanted. Maybe he wasn’t perfect for her. Maybe he wouldn’t end up being worth it. But in the end, it didn’t really matter. If she walked out this door and tried to do something by herself, for herself, then the question was answered. Because Tristan might not end up being for her. But she wanted this right now.
So, she answered the only way she could, “Yes.”
Then, she pulled open the door.
Because, most importantly, she was worth it.
11
19 June
The Michigan Inn
Tristan threw the controller and raised his hands in the air. “Victory!” Then, he looked at Caleb. “Again.”
“All right, Junior, out of the way.”
“Ro, you have to get out of the losers bracket before you can take on the champ,” Tristan said, lifting his training shirt at the chest, emphasizing his number. He snickered. “Grumpy Gramps is going to try to take me down for you,” he teased them with a wink at Caleb.
“Whatever. I can’t help it that you have five years more practice time,” Caleb responded with far more indignation than necessary.
“That’s right, Junior. I will always have more experience than you.” Tristan wiggled his eyebrows, and Rowan threw a pillow at his head.
“Go grab a couple of drinks for us. I’ll handle you when you get back,” Rowan commanded.
“I got you, Skip,” Tristan said before he turned and bounded out of the room.
The hotel had a hospitality room available for them, filled with approved snacks and drinks. Tristan strolled down the hallway, scrolling through his phone. He pulled up his photos and picked one of the us-ies he had taken with the boys, playing video games. Quickly, he loaded one and wrote, Downtime well spent. Adding a couple of smiling emojis, he posted. He flipped back through his pictures, searching fruitlessly, knowing what he was looking for didn’t exist. He had zero evidence of his relationship with Ele.
Relationship? He shook his head.
The day had been lighthearted and fun. Cavorting around Chicago with Caleb’s family and playing video games all evening should have steamrolled the epic finale of the night before. Around midday, he’d realized he’d been an ass to Ele. But by then, it had been too late to do anything about it.
He slipped into the hospitality room and rummaged through the offerings. Grabbing a couple of drinks, he headed back to Caleb’s. He was about to knock when the Exit door closed, drawing his attention, but when he looked, there was nothing there. As ridiculous as it seemed, something continued to hold his interest. He rapped on Caleb’s door, and when it opened, he handed the drinks to Rowan.
“Be right back,” he said.
He walked to the stairwell door, peering inside. A flash of pink darted around the corner to the floor below.
“Ele?” Tristan whisper-yelled.
A squeak of trainers on the rubberized floor alerted him to the person’s presence. He let the door close silently behind him, and he followed the steps down. Against the wall on the landing below stood a wide-eyed princess. Tristan remained where he was, seven or eight steps above her.
He tilted his head in question. “Where’s Robert?” he asked.
Ele bit her lip, and her eyes skittered away from his. “Probably outside of the suite.”
“And what are you wearing?” he asked. He tried to disguise the mirth in his expression, but she looked so unlike herself that he couldn’t help but tease.
Ele glanced down at her outfit, and her head leaned back against the cement wall. “I ordered Juliana to give up her clothes.”
Tristan chuckled. “You are just full of surprises.”
She peered up at him. “Are you still mad at me?”