16
2 March
Xavier Hall
Rowan was sweating. Literally. Under his arms, dampness pooled, making the crutch doubly uncomfortable. He kept his gaze focused on the crown prince as he engaged his skipper tone.
He could almost hear Tristan in his head, laughing as he teased him. “Uh-oh, mates. Must be something big. He’s pulling out the skipper tone.”
Rowan forcibly pushed Tristan’s annoying teasing out of his head. The last thing he needed right now were unnecessary distractions. Rowan knew this right here—these people who meant the world to Juliana—was the biggest hurdle to their little charade. Quite frankly, he wasn’t around many people on such a consistent basis that he formed deep relationships. He had Nico and Tristan. And he tolerated Caleb in an annoying little brother fashion. He’d never been one to claim he could read people, mostly because he didn’t care to.
Yet he already had this sixth sense when it came to Juliana. She was a bit of a badass, he reluctantly admitted to himself. More independent than he would have guessed. And also, a bit naiver. He’d assumed her time gracing the catwalks would have exposed her to some unseemly behavior. But she seemed innocent at times. Mostly, he’d come to realize, whenever their bodies came in contact with one another. She’d exposed herself to him in ways he was sure she would have liked to keep hidden. Like her insecurities about her place in her family. Even now, as Ele and Robert moved to Jamie to provide this united front, Juliana sat apart from them and made no effort to join.
He tried to will her to walk to him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Jamie, sensing this was a game of chicken. Out of his peripheral, he could see Juliana sitting, watching. He contemplated going to her. A purposeful stride to stand by the woman he’d just claimed to love. But he couldn’t envision being anything but clumsy on his crutches, and he didn’t want to highlight his weaknesses in the face of this show of familial strength. So, he waited and hoped she would understand this for what it was. A showdown.
“It’s serious?” Jamie asked.
Despite himself, Rowan liked the people forming a human shield in front of him. He’d given Tristan a hell of a time, especially after Ele disappeared from his life for three months. But he admired Ele for coming to him after the press conference and bearing her soul. She had a quiet strength, which had been buried beneath a mountain of anxiety. She’d overcome all kinds of adversity.
And as Rowan thought over what his life had become, he could respect her more for fighting her way through it. He was going to need that kind of fortitude, and every night, before he fell into fitful sleep, he wondered if he possessed that kind of strength. He also liked the effect she had on Tristan. He’d been trying to get Tristan to grow up for years. All it had taken was Ele coming into his life to tap into the maturity Tristan liked to bury under jokes and pranks. He’d watched from the distance of a television screen as Tristan had grown up these last two and a half months. Rowan had left a void on his team, and although Tristan hadn’t been part of the leadership group, he’d stepped into the abyss. Even though Rowan was in hiding, he’d noticed. Yes, Ele was okay in his book.
“If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be here.”
“Why keep it a secret then?” Jamie asked.
The man was good. He managed to keep his gaze and tone mild so that Rowan could work up no annoyance, even as he felt compelled to answer.
Looking over to Ele, Rowan framed his response. “You understand secret. Right, Your Highness?”
Ele’s lips twitched, like maybe she wanted to smile. But she maintained her placid yet interested demeanor. “I do, Mr. Beckwith.”
Jamie smirked and elbowed her, which Rowan found oddly charming. It unsettled him. He didn’t want to like them too much. The more he liked them, the harder this would be to pull off, so he needed to continue to maintain distance.
Jamie refocused. “Ele’s situation was different.”
Rowan tilted his head at Jamie. He hoped Jamie took it like he meant it. An are you serious look that Violet had perfected and Rowan had come to be familiar with. But the prince maintained his questioning gaze, forcing Rowan to explain himself.
“As you can guess, by the way the press and the world have reacted over the last twenty-four hours, if we had seen each other in the open, we wouldn’t have stood a chance against the mounting interest.”
“Death by overexposure?”
The statement surprised a chuckle out of Rowan. What was it about the Altamirano family? Were their ancestors snake charmers or sorcerers? It was no wonder they’d been in power for so long. They were all this combination of cunning, humor, and empathy. It was fucking irresistible and insanely irritating.
“Yes, I suppose.”
“But now, you are secure enough in your relationship to handle outside scrutiny?”
It would have been easier for Rowan if Jamie had held up a shotgun and threatened him. This cat and mouse, making Rowan into a bald-faced liar scenario, was going to make Rowan twitchy. He was so engrossed in holding eye contact with Jamie that he hadn’t realized Juliana had moved until she touched his shoulder and motioned with her head to the chair behind him. Anger raged through him. She wouldn’t come to him in a show of support against her family, but she’d make him remember his weakness by trying to get him off his feet.
She tensed slightly but hid it quickly. “You should sit.”
Rowan slid the crutch out from under his arm and sank into the chair. He set his leg out in front of him before he leaned down and placed his crutches on the floor. Juliana moved behind him and her hands finding his shoulders. She gave one perfect squeeze, pushing his frustration out of him. He turned his head up and looked over to her.
“Thanks,” he said softly.
He hadn’t realized his leg was throbbing, but now that he was sitting, it pulsed through him. Thump, thump, thump. Gritting his teeth against the incessant pain, he returned his attention to Juliana’s siblings.
He could tell Juliana was about to speak, but he reached across his body and grabbed her left wrist with his hand. He gently pressed against the underside of her arm with his thumb, silencing her. With her other hand, she dug into his shoulder, and he felt her displeasure, but she remained quiet, letting him handle it. They hadn’t discussed this part for some reason. They’d gone over their “history” and the reason behind the sudden release of their relationship. He was compelled to add some truth to the lies.
“The duke has wanted me to be part of the family for a long time. With my injury, they were able to force my hand.” He refused to call the duke his father. He’d never applied that moniker to him, and he didn’t think he would ever be comfortable with it.
“That’s interesting,” Jamie said.
“How so?”
“There’s a legitimate heir. Most people would let the bastard go about their own life.”
Ele reached over to grab Robert’s hand.