“Yes, my date with David.”
“Why were you on a date with David?”
“Why do you care?”
“I don’t.” He frowned and made a face like he had a bad taste in his mouth. “Still. David.”
I didn’t know what was worse, the fact that he acted like a jealous boyfriend or the fact that he acted that way but never showed any interest in me otherwise. I had to assume this jealousy thing was just him being bitter about the fact that maybe I had someone and he had nobody at all. Yet another reason why finding him a match was a good idea.
“Well, you need to be ready tomorrow. We’re all going to Versailles for the next few weeks and I personally would rather not make the commute back and forth for dumb things, so please make sure you pack everything you need.” I stepped away and started walking back toward the door.
“Help me pack.”
“Why?” I groaned, throwing my head back. I should have known this was coming.
“I’m no good at packing; you don’t want to make the commute. Help me pack.”
“Fine.” I walked past him and headed straight toward his bedroom.
Aramis didn’t live in a palace, but he might as well have. He had two entire apartment floors to himself. Everyone in the royal family lived this way. It was a downgrade from a palace, but a definite upgrade from the way everyone else lived. My three-hundred-square-foot flat was the size of just one of Aramis’s closets, and he had a lot of them. I walked over to his luggage closet, that was big enough to hold ten people’s travel equipment and their emotional baggage all in one. Rolling two suitcases out of there, I walked back to his bedroom and lay them out on the floor.
“You don’t expect me to pack your underwear for you as well, do you?” I called out. “Because that’s where I draw the line.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve seen my underwear.” He walked into the room, finishing off the water in his hand.
“Are you going to keep reminding me of the mistake I made when I was a teenager?”
“Mistake?” His eyebrows shot up. “Once is a mistake. Three times . . . well, I think most would consider that a habit.”
“Habits can be mistakes too.” I smiled at him. “I mean, look at all the people who smoke cigarettes.”
“Now you’re comparing me to things that can kill you?” He smirked. “Should I be flattered?”
I sighed, refusing to answer him. Truth be told, if I didn’t know him as well as I did, I might just consider Aramis a deadly weapon. It was the way he looked at you, the way he smiled, the way he held everyone’s attention with little effort. He was smart, funny, charming, and wicked sexy. All things I had to ignore every single day while I was around him because despite all of those things, he was also a heartbreaker. He ran through women the way Olympians ran across finish lines. That was his sport. And I couldn’t handle being another notch on his bedpost.
Chapter Two
Aramis
My head was killing me and the fact that my mother couldn’t get a clue and stop talking wasn’t helping. I’d tuned her out halfway through her rant about my behavior, which was difficult to do since we were sharing a car to Versailles. She talked about me as if I was an impertinent child who needed to be put in timeout. I tried not to let it get to me. The only reason I’d agreed to even come to Versailles for holiday was because I could leave any time I wanted. Elias always had a helicopter on the pad, waiting to cater to his guests, and if I felt the need to take a little trip out of there I would. It wasn’t like any of us liked being there. It was haunted. I wasn’t going to say no though. Not when my sister-in-law, Addie, was due to give birth any minute. The little prince would be my first nephew and I couldn’t wait to meet him.
“Mother, please drop it.” I sighed, closing my eyes and massaging my head.
“I asked Joslyn to make a list of potential girlfriends for you.”
“What?” My eyes popped open. “Why?”
“Because enough is enough, Aramis. You’ve lived the playboy life and now it’s time for you to at least pretend to settle down.”
“So this is all for pretenses then?” I shook my head. “This is exactly why the people don’t like us, because they think we’re fakers.”
“We’re not fakers. Your brother is genuinely in love with Adeline.”
“Right. Tell me again, Mother, how thrilled you were about him finding love with a commoner.”
“Aramis.” She glared at me. “I love Adeline like a daughter.”
“Because she’s your Queen and not loving her like a daughter would mean you’d be thrown to the wolves.” I couldn’t help my smile. My mother really did love Addie like a daughter, but I loved to rile her up.