The Sinful King (Naughty Royals 1)

“For his wedding,” I said blandly. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

“Adeline! What is the matter with you? I thought you’d be jumping and shouting over this. Don’t tell me this has to do with Thomas Evans.”

“No. No, why would it have anything to do with Thomas?”

“I don’t like how distracted you sound. This is the event you’ve been waiting for your entire career,” she said. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to pass up being there on account of the leaked video.”

“I’ll be there, Mother.” I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Good. Can you meet Joss and me in Versailles this upcoming weekend?”

“Sure.”

“Splendid,” she said and I could tell she was smiling wide. “I’m so incredibly excited about this and you should be too. Your hard work has paid off and that nonsensical video didn’t deter them from hiring you.”

“They probably didn’t hear about it.”

“Trust me, the Crown hears about everything.”

My stomach coiled. Did that mean Prince Elias had heard about it? And if so, why did I care? He didn’t even remember me. I finished talking to my mother and tried to sound as enthusiastic as I could about the entire thing, but part of me really didn’t want to have any part in an event like that. What did impending engagement even mean? Would he propose at the party? If so, to whom? And again, why did I care?

Chapter 4

I paused, exhaling heavily as I leaned over to set the basket down and catch my breath. I wasn’t used to carrying heavy things and this wicker basket filled with everything from fresh white towels to bath salts and champagne was definitely amongst the heaviest I’d carried. I opened and closed my hands to stretch out my red fingers. My grandmother, who lived her entire life in the service of families, carrying things, washing clothes, and cleaning houses, would have been disappointed in me. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and took in the soothing scent and sound of the beach, and opened my eyes as I crouched and lifted the basket once more to continue my trek. The golf cart I normally used was being replaced and therefore, I had no choice but to walk across the lawn and deliver the basket by hand.

When I arrived here, I knew I’d be serving penance for my sins, and I was ready to do whatever my uncle assigned to me as a job. As far as jobs went, delivering this basket should have been the easiest thing I had to do, but ever since yesterday’s experience I’d been trying to figure out a way to hand the job to someone else. My uncle only asked me for two things: a few hours at the bookstore each week and help with the rental villas on the property. He was very specific on one rule—I could not speak to the prince. Too late, but I couldn’t tell my uncle that. I’d planned to make good on that promise from here on out though. The last thing I wanted was to drag the prince into an unnecessary scandal, and if we were seen talking to each other, people could easily make up rumors.

It wouldn’t look good if we were caught appearing friendly. Not with who my father was and how he was notorious to speak out about the injustices of the Crown. His way of thought was the reason people started to question the monarchy and the purpose it served. The fact that the king no longer killed those who spoke up against him was huge and something everyone had come to respect, but some people felt the monarchy was antiquated. Those people thought Prince Elias should not acquire The Crown once his father passed away.

I was on the fence about the whole thing. Probably because unlike a lot of those people, I had not been directly impacted by the economy. As the old saying goes, the poor stay poor and the rich keep getting richer. That didn’t mean I didn’t want to see people thrive though. I just wasn’t vocal about things like that. I was raised in the States most of my life and later, moved to a neighboring country with another set of royals, so it wasn’t my place to speak out on things. I left that to my parents. I finally got near the villa and slowed down at the sight of the security guards around the premises. They were dressed in all black, from the hats on their heads with brims that covered their eyes, to the boots on their feet. The one near the door, a tall, GI Joe figure-looking one, with a fit physique and rigid stance, nodded at me in approval to approach.

“There’s a lot more security today,” I said to the one standing beside the door. Because of the hat and the darkness, I couldn’t see much of his face, but his fingers were long and his hands seemed strong as he lifted the basket out of my hands, so I focused on those.