Destroyed Destiny (Crowne Point 4)

Some kind of wordless communication passed between West and Gray, and they stood to their feet.

Were we caught? Our grand plan over already?

Mrs. du Lac smiled at Grayson. “We were wondering where you’d run off to. You have everyone positively out of sorts.”

Grayson Crowne, the imprisoned prince, who’d ditched his royal guard—again.

“That’s my fault,” West supplied.

Lynette’s brow arched. “Your fault?”

“Grayson is the only one in this whole fucking place who knows how to play Call of Duty.”

“Mmm.” Lynette stared at me until it felt like my lungs would pop with a single pinprick, then she turned back to her son with a smile. “Good to see brothers getting along. Well.” Lynette folded her hands. “Perhaps he should return to his wife. We have a busy day ahead of us.”

“Of course,” Grayson gritted.

Lynette’s stare lingered on me a moment longer, then she left.

We let out a collective breath.

“Good job, Crowne,” West gritted. “It’s barely day one and she’s already suspicious.”

Grayson held my hand, helping me off the floor. West reached for my other to do the same, but Grayson blocked him.

West folded his arms, eyeing us. “We have to announce it’s my baby.”

Grayson laughed, bitter and biting. “Fuck off. And Call of Duty is shit.”

“She’s suspicious, she’s been suspicious, they all are. You know it.”

I wish his words came as a surprise, but all they did was fan the flames inside me. The doubt. The creeping certainty that everyone around me knew more than I did.

I covered my stomach with my hand, as if that would protect my little Meyer lemon.

“They are?”

Grayson looked away.

“You knew?”

“I suspected,” he gritted. “I saw what I thought was Lynette try to trip you. My grandfather…my mother…they’ve said a lot of cryptic, fucked-up shit. I didn’t know for certain. We still don’t know for certain.” Grayson’s glare slashed to West.

West rolled his eyes.

“For how long?”

“Thanksgiving.”

“Thanksgiving.”

The room was spinning.

I couldn’t breathe.

I didn’t realize they’d sat me down, until I was looking up into two sets of serious eyes.

“Everyone has known? Has…has fucking known since Thanksgiving? And you didn’t tell me?”