“Check,” Addie said.
“Fuck. I knew I should have taken your queen.”
“She’s good with the queens,” Elias said.
My mother laughed. I shook my head.
“What does Joslyn say about tomorrow’s interview?” My mother asked as I tried to figure out my next move.
“She set it up.”
“She loves you. You know that, right?” my mother asked.
“She’s . . . ” I looked at Addie, Elias, and back at my mother. Neither my brother nor my sister-in-law knew that all of this was pretend. Now it felt dumb to hide it. “She doesn’t love me. She’s just going along with this because she has to.”
“Joss doesn’t go along with anything because she has to.” Addie laughed. “Checkmate. I think you’re done. I have you cornered.”
“I kind of . . . talked her into pretending she was my girlfriend,” I said, feeling like I was betraying Joslyn by telling her best friend before she did, but I really did feel cornered now. Cornered by this conversation and my growing emotions. I was out of my element here.
“Hm.” It was the only thing Addie said.
I looked at my brother and knew he wanted to say something but didn’t dare say it in front of his wife. Who knew what he was thinking. My mother merely sat there, staring at the pieces on the chessboard, the way she often did.
“What does that mean?” I knocked over my king, who was screwed either way he went.
“Maybe it feels like you’re pretending, but I’m not sure she does,” Addie said.
“That’s the thing, I don’t . . . I’m not pretending. I’m . . . ” I took a breath. Why was it so difficult to say these things aloud? “I don’t know if I’m falling for her now or if I’ve always felt this way about her, but I’m definitely not pretending and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Tell her how you feel,” my mother said.
“It’s not that simple.”
“It actually is that simple,” my brother said.
“Look who’s talking.” I shot him a look. “How long did it take you to tell Addie anything?”
“That was different. My entire life has been shaped for me to marry an aristocrat and I knew it was going to be a challenge. That’s not expected of you. Pilar married a regular guy. I mean, he’s famous and he’s worshipped and idolized because he’s arguably the best footballer in the world, but still, regular guy.”
“Wow. For a moment I thought you were going to profess your love to Ben,” Addie said, making us laugh. When she got serious, she said, “I think the issue is that because the King married a commoner and the Princess married a commoner, you probably think you need to do the opposite to salvage a lifelong tradition. Am I right?”
“Sort of.” I glanced at my mother, who was smiling.
“You think I care,” my mother said, still smiling.
“Don’t you?”
“I care that you went behind my back and went after Joslyn after I distinctly remember telling you not to.” She raised an eyebrow. “Not only is she our preferred secretary, but she’s also your sister’s best friend and practically family. This relationship with her could ruin all of that.”
“It won’t. I would never do anything to hurt her.”
“Meaning you’re going to marry her?” Mother asked.
“I didn’t say that.”
“That’s the only thing you could do to potentially ‘not hurt her,’” she emphasized.
“What?” I blinked. “When did marriage become part of this?”
“I’m not saying you have to marry her. I’m telling you that it would make her feel secure in the relationship if you showed her that you’re serious about her.” My mother tilted her head slightly. “Besides, you know the question will start to come up soon enough.”
“It’ll definitely be on everyone’s mind at our gala,” Elias added.
“I don’t care if I’m asked about marriage. I don’t have to answer to anyone about my relationships, especially not one that I’m actually serious about.”
“She doesn’t even know you’re serious about it,” my brother said.
“Well, she will. I’ll tell her I’m serious.” I glanced at my watch and sent her a text to see if she was still awake.
“She has a long day ahead of her tomorrow,” Addie said. “In the morning, she’s running errands with me and then we have your interview to attend. You’ll have to tell her afterwards.”
“I’m perfectly capable of figuring out when I’m going to tell her.” I scowled.
“I know.” Addie smiled. “I just want to give you a heads-up in case you were considering telling her before the interview.”
“Thanks for the tip.” I glanced at my phone again and saw no response from Joslyn.
Dammit. I wish I’d thought to get a key to her room before. I would kill to sleep in her bed tonight. Just sleep. The thought sobered me up. I set my whiskey down. I was definitely in love with her. One hundred percent, without a doubt.