“I’m glad you realize it.”
“I do, now, will you be my girlfriend, Joslyn?”
“What are you, thirteen?” I rolled my eyes.
“Is that a yes? I’m taking it as a yes.”
“I already said I’d do it. I don’t know why we’re having this conversation.”
“Oscar will start calling out for us any minute and I need to make sure we’re on the same page.”
“Don’t you think we should tell him it’s pretend?” I chewed my bottom lip. “I don’t like lying to kids.”
“Kids have big mouths. If we tell him it’s pretend, everyone will know and then what’s the point of the ruse at all?”
“You want to lie to them? To the King, the Queen, your family—about this?” I raised an eyebrow. “You know what happens to people who lie to The Crown.”
“Baby, I am The Crown. Let me worry about the consequences.” He winked before walking away, and damn if I didn’t feel it between my legs.
Chapter Fourteen
“You’re my dad’s girlfriend?” Oscar asked, frowning.
“It appears so.” I smiled, but it was shaky. I didn’t want to lie to the boy, but Aramis was right, kids didn’t know how to shut up.
“Does that mean he’s not going to marry my maman?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered, my chest squeezing at the thought.
It hadn’t even occurred to me that Oscar was holding out hope for his parents to be together. It made sense. I was only eight years old when my own parents divorced, and held out hope that they’d change their mind and stay together. It never happened, of course, and later on I understood why they weren’t meant to be together, but still, that hope was always there, hiding somewhere in my heart. Suddenly, I felt bad about all of this. I felt bad about lying to Oscar, like I knew I would. I felt bad that I’d lie to my best friends, though I still wasn’t sure what would happen when I told them. I couldn’t imagine them believing me. What was worse was that I didn’t like the idea of Aramis being with Oscar’s mother. I hadn’t met Esmée, but judging her based on her son, I was sure she was kind. Why didn’t I like the idea of her being with Aramis then? We were just friends, after all. Friends who had hooked up in the past. Way back in the day. And yet . . . I shook the thought away quickly.
“Are you ready to go for a ride?” I smiled at Oscar.
“I think so. I’ve never ridden before.”
“No?”
His curls bounced as he shook his head. I smiled genuinely. He was too cute not to smile at.
“Well, I think you’ll love it.”
“Dad says I have to ride with Monsieur Paul.”
“Oh? Why doesn’t your dad let you ride with him?”
“He says you are.” Oscar leaned in closer. “He says you’re scared to ride alone and Monsieur Paul is a professional so he’s going to teach me better.”
“I am not scared to ride alone.” I scoff-laughed.
“No?” Oscar’s brows lifted and I instantly felt bad for lying about something else.
“Only a little scared,” I admitted. “I had a bad fall when I was about your age. It landed me in the hospital.”
“Do you think I’ll fall?”
“Not with Monsieur Paul around. He really is a professional. I heard he used to race horses when he was young.”
“Really?” Oscar gasped.
“Really.”
“Cool.” He grinned as he stood up and started running around me on the grass.
We’d been told to stand off to the side while Rose helped her father by feeding the animals and he finished preparing the horses for the ride. Rose’s family was the perfect example of people who had been working for The Crown their entire lives and would stand by their sides no matter what. It seemed like a lot of their employees were like that. Except for their secretaries. The Crown had a long list of secretaries, one for each member of the family, who had quit. King Elias decided to make it so that he and Adeline shared one secretary, John, an older man who was more like a second father and confidant. And then there was me, who was here to serve both Princess Pilar and Prince Aramis. At their beck and call. The job had been interesting, to say the least, especially when the Queen Mother had been the one appointing me places. Now that it was solely up to Aramis and Pilar, it had been . . . better? Worse? I wasn’t sure, but judging on my newest task, I knew things wouldn’t end well for me. I already envisioned myself packing a bag like all the previous secretaries.
“Are you ready?” My head snapped up to see Aramis standing over me. I looked around and realized Oscar was being helped on a horse. “Sure. Yes. I must have zoned out.”