“I don’t feel like I have the proof I need. I’m not ready, and the dissertation sure as hell isn’t ready,” I whined.
“Bullshit. The dissertation has been done for months, and you’re never going to be ready. No time like the present. Suck it up, buttercup. This is happening. I was all set to sweet-talk you into it and play the broken-bone card, but I can see you need a little tough love instead. So here’s the deal. You’re doing it. If you don’t show up, I’ll be considered a no-show among my peers. You wouldn’t do that to a broken-down old lady, would you?”
“You’re going to burn in hell,” I muttered.
“As long as they have an espresso machine, I’m cool with it. Thank you, Fee. I owe you one,” she said before promising to email the details.
“You owe me a million,” I corrected before she hung up.
As I made my way back out to the glassworks studio, I had a heart full of love for my family back home, even if it was besmirched by some resentment toward my old mentor. Doc and Grandpa had reminded me today was Christmas Eve, which meant my mother’s big blockbuster movie debuted in theaters all over the world tomorrow. And thanks to them, I was a million miles away from the attention it would bring to both my family and my tiny hometown. Now, thanks to Ruth, I could justify extending my exodus a little bit longer.
God bless the ability to hide from the tabloid media.
Chapter 13
Lio
I’d snuck out of his room in the early hours of the morning like a fucking coward. Fear had gripped me as multiple crazy thoughts compounded in my head. What if Felix really knew who I was and was playing me for some kind of media exposé? What if he didn’t know who I was but would sell me out the minute he found out? And, possibly most importantly, why couldn’t I stop thinking about him for more than two fucking consecutive minutes?
After gathering Jon and heading back to the main house, I’d paced the floor of my bedroom for at least an hour, lecturing myself about how stupid it had been to take such a risk with a stranger. I thought about how I was not much better than my father—unable keep his dick in his pants long enough to avoid a royal scandal.
But Father is married, and I’m not. Why can’t I have a fling while I’m young? My thoughts had betrayed me.
Because the fling was with a man.
And that was the truth of it. What the entire thing boiled down to. I could sleep around as much as I wanted to and only get a reputation for being a playboy. But the minute the press discovered I preferred men to women? Then it would be another story entirely.
It was a moot point, though. I’d always known when it came time to settle down, it would be with a woman. Someone to play the role as my wife and mother to my children. Someone to represent the monarchy with the same elegance and grace my mother had.
Maybe it was crass, but in my mind, men were for fucking while women were for marrying.
By the time dawn had arrived, I’d talked myself into my decision to walk away from the temptation of Felix. I’d avoid him and get my mind back where it needed to be—on the assumption of the throne and the mantle of responsibility it would require of me.
I was determined. I’d had my one night with Felix; I’d gotten to taste him and touch him and watch him let go. It was enough. It had to be enough.
Arthur, however, didn’t seem content for me to move on. Especially without sharing the details with him first. From the moment he arrived in my room to help me dress – or rather, sit by the fire while he watched me dress – he’d been waiting for me to spill.
“None of your business,” I grumbled over the crumbly basket of breakfast breads Mari had reluctantly sent up to my room.
Arthur raised an eyebrow at me. “You know you’re going to tell me eventually, so you might as well do it now and get it over with.”
“You’re going to judge me,” I whined.
“And? What else is new?”
I rolled my eyes, but I knew he was right. I was going to tell him anyway. I told him everything. Even though I was close to Iggy and my sister, it was really Arthur who knew every little thing about me.
“I wanted to sleep with him, so I did,” I said before picking up my coffee mug like it was no big deal.
Silence for a beat and then a loud guffaw. I stared at my ex-valet.
“Stop laughing, asshole,” I warned. “You work for me.”