“Oh please. Like you’d ever fire me. Have you forgotten about the night you proposed to me?” His eyes were sparkling as he tried not to laugh.
“I had appendicitis, and you distracted me from the pain with your stupid-assed stories. I remember thinking how good you are in a crisis. I still feel that way. You’re a good man to have around when the shit goes down,” I admitted.
Arthur snorted. “You were so high on morphine, I couldn’t stop giggling. I regret not taking video. Could have made millions. You suggested at least twenty original names for my new puppy.”
I stopped and looked at him. “Hell. What did you end up naming her?”
“I’ve never had a puppy, Lio, and you know it.”
We both laughed at that. It was a bit that never got old and reminded me he was right, of course. I’d have Arthur with me as long as he was willing or as long as I lived. He was one of the best men I knew.
So I told him the truth. “Felix is special.”
Arthur’s eyes turned serious. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.” I sighed. “It’s a problem.”
“It doesn’t have to be, Lio. There’s nothing wrong with being attracted to another man.”
He and I had spent hours discussing my sexuality in regards to the monarchy. Thankfully, he understood my predicament rather than just trying to convince me to come out publicly and throw up the middle finger to my family’s history.
“He lives in Texas. I live in Monaco. How is that supposed to work? It’s not like I can date him like a normal person, even if I could be gay.”
“Lio, you are gay. There is no ‘if’ about it,” he corrected.
“He’s really cute. Have you seen him?”
Arthur gazed at me with twinkling eyes. “You’re grinning like a fool. Yes, I’ve seen him. Cute as a button.”
I snapped my eyes over to him and narrowed them, causing him to bark out a laugh.
“Down, boy. I have no interest in fiddling with your boy toy. He’s definitely not my type.”
“Why not? What’s wrong with him?” I asked, affronted on Felix’s behalf. “He’s sexy as hell.”
“Oh my god, you’re besotted. Yes, he’s fine. But I prefer the big beefy type, if you want to know the truth. Someone like that new guard who’s been looking after your sister recently.”
Arthur’s eyes glazed over, and it was my turn to laugh. “That guy? The one with the man bun? He’s like an empty pocket. There’s nothing upstairs. Surely you want your partner to be able to read a restaurant menu?”
“Sir, I never said I was looking for scintillating conversation. Have you seen him in his workout clothes?”
I shuddered. “Go for it.”
“I believe that’s what I was advising you to do,” he corrected.
“Mm,” I scoffed as I got up and left the room. “Maybe.”
I spent the entire morning hiding in the treasury room with my laptop. Father’s advisors had sent me heaps of email in order to get me up to speed on several diplomacy issues as well as a budgeting memo, a notice of a new judicial assignment, and an article on sustainable development.
By the time I stopped for a lunch break, my head was spinning. I’d always worked closely with my father, but I’d never been the decision-maker involved in any of the issues he managed. I was grateful his minister of state was a good man—intelligent, capable, and trustworthy. I’d be able to rely on him while I got my feet under me.
A couple of hours after lunch, I decided to take a walk to clear my head. I hadn’t had the chance to say hello to Calum yet, which was unusual. Normally, I’d run into him at mealtimes in the kitchen, but I wanted to make a point to thank him for all of his hard work this season.
I somehow convinced Jon to watch me from the utility vehicle parked next to the building rather than following me into the studio itself.
“I’m just going in to have a quick word with Calum. Nothing too dangerous,” I said before stepping out of the vehicle and walking along the crushed-shell path toward the building.
As I approached the large open door of the glassworks, I heard Calum’s deep laugh. I’d known the man since I was a teenager and had always enjoyed his gruff personality. He was a cross between a moody artist and a hardworking laborer. It may have taken time to get to know him properly, but once I had, he’d been one of my favorite people to share a cup of tea with at Gadleigh.
As I rounded the corner and saw into the studio, the first thing I noticed was the thin, sweat-soaked T-shirt plastered to Felix’s back. Damp hair stuck out in wayward spikes all around his head where he’d obviously been running his hands through it. His arm muscles bunched and moved under slick skin as he moved and rotated a long pipe with a gob of molten glass on the end. He was joking around with Calum and his men, responding to some innuendo about his skill with the blowpipe.