The Wicked Prince

I let the realization of what had just occurred wash over me, let the sound of the door closing register, and finally turned around to look at David.

“Seriously?”

“She spent the night, but we did not sleep together.” He shrugged.

“Get the fuck out.”

“Oh, now you want to kick me—”

“Get out,” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

I could no longer hold back all of the emotions that were running rampant inside of me—the confusion, the mortification, the anger. David seemed to read all of this correctly, because he walked out quickly without another word. I shut my eyes and gripped the edge of the bathroom counter, counting my breaths 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. And again. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. I did this two more times, until I knew for certain I’d calmed down, and once I did, I undressed, showered, put on the pajamas I hadn’t worn last night, and slunk into bed.

Chapter Twelve

Aramis

“Where’s Joslyn?”

“How should I know?” I looked over at Adeline.

“Her cottage is next to yours. I thought maybe you’d seen her.”

“Oh.” I shook my head, dunking the fresh croissant in my hand into my hot chocolate. “I haven’t seen her since last night.”

“Maybe she’s with David,” Elias said.

“Not a chance,” Pilar answered. “David left half an hour ago. He looked upset.”

“He was upset,” Ben said beside her. “I guess they had a spat.”

“What kind of spat?” Adeline asked, frowning.

“The kind that leaves people upset.” Ben shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”

“How could you not ask?” Pilar looked aghast.

“Not everyone is nosey.” Ben winked at her. She jabbed him in the ribs. “Ouch.”

“You deserved it,” I said, shrugging. “Everyone is nosey, especially at this table. You should know that by now.”

“Do you know what happened?” he asked.

“No idea.”

“Hm.” Ben’s long stare made me wonder how much he was keeping from us on the matter.

I wondered if I’d been the reason for the fight. The thought made me smile a bit. I didn’t want Joslyn to be hurt by anyone, but I definitely wanted that relationship to be over sooner rather than later. Her being with David meant she couldn’t entertain the idea of being with me. When I finished my breakfast, I looked over at Oscar’s nanny, Rose, and told her to take him around the gardens for a little while, and proceeded to plate some breakfast.

“Who is that for?” Elias asked.

“Joslyn.”

“You’re taking her breakfast?” Adeline’s eyes widened.

“I’m impressed at the fact that he can serve his own breakfast.” Pilar grinned, then laughed when I lifted my middle finger to her.

“I might as well take her something to eat. I don’t want her moping and complaining and then getting hangry on top of it,” I said.

“You sure that’s it?” Eli’s brow raised.

He looked completely amused by this. My jaw twitched. Normally, I wasn’t one to hide things from my brother, but this felt like something I had to keep to myself for the time being, until I was certain that it was even a possibility. Besides, they weren’t wrong. I wasn’t one to plate my own food, let alone plate it for someone else.

“Will Joss be okay?” That was Oscar, brows pulled in, green eyes concerned.

“She’ll be fine, buddy.” I shot him a smile. “We’ll meet up with you later in the stables. How does that sound?”

“Will we be able to ride?” He perked up in his chair.

“Sure. This is probably the best weather we’ll be getting while we’re here.” I patted his hair and he went back to his croissant.

“Good luck, Romeo,” that was what Ben called out when I was leaving the room, as all of them laughed. I shook my head but couldn’t help my smile. My family was ridiculous.

As I reached Joslyn’s cottage, I took a deep breath and braced myself. I wasn’t really sure what I was walking into. Would she be mad I was here? Would she be sad about her riff with David? Would she be crying? God, I hoped she wasn’t crying. I’d never been good at dealing with tears and sadness. We were taught to compartmentalize our feelings and push them as far away as possible. Perks of being a royal in a country where everyone was ready to move on from monarchy. I knocked on the door twice before checking to see if it was locked. It wasn’t. I let myself in. I was already bringing her food. She couldn’t possibly expect me to stand outside with it.

“I was just coming to open it.” Joslyn appeared in the living room wearing a long-sleeve, oversized white and blue shirt.

A pajama. It looked like one of my dress shirts, but I could tell it was much softer by the way she grabbed on to the sleeves.

“I brought you breakfast.” I walked over to the small table in the kitchenette and set it down.