“He talked about me?” I looked at him and back to her.
“El…” he warned.
“All the time.” She smiled wickedly.
Eloise and Theo were only a year and three months apart. She was in the grade lower than him but attended a boarding school up north. For security reasons, they couldn’t have both royal children attending the same school in case something happened. Our country wasn’t high on the list of terrorist targets, but we still had enemies inside and out. What a perfect coup if you took out both royal children in line for the throne. Separating them made this less likely.
“You sound nothing like the stuck-up prince chasers he liked before.” Her posh accent went against the words coming out of her mouth. “I instantly knew I’d like you.” She wrapped her arm around mine, tugging me forward. “I’m sorry, but you must change. That will never do for tonight.”
“Absolutely not.” Theo put out his arms, stopping us. “Let her settle in before you really frighten her, Ellie.”
“Wait. What?” My heels dug into the rug, breaking Eloise’s hold on me. I twisted to Theo, realizing something the queen had said was still bothering me. “What do you mean settle in?”
“Ohhhh,” Eloise snickered. “You didn’t tell her?”
“I was going to—”
“Theo!” she chastised.
“Tell me what?” But I had a deep sinking feeling I already knew what.
“You love me, right?” He cocked one eyebrow.
“Not sure right now,” I grumbled. “Especially when you start out like that.”
“I have duties now. Here. A lot of my time will be taken… and I don’t want to just see you once a week or month.”
“Theo…” I folded my arms.
“It would be a four-hour trip there and back to see you or for you to come here.” He took my hands in his, rushing out his defense quickly. “We are making this official. The public will expect to see us together. There will be a lot of events we will be doing together so it’s silly for you to stay at Wentworth House.” His fingers tightened around mine. “Kelly, the head of my PR, thinks it would be best if you stay here. And Chloe, the head of the palace PR, agrees.”
“I’m so glad all the PR groups agree on it.” I ripped my hands out of his grip, rubbing my throbbing head. I knew the royal family each had their own PR, plus the overall palace PR group, promoting and glossing everything in their favor, but it still was strange to hear. Especially in regards to something I hadn’t been privy to. “But it would’ve been nice, Theo, if you asked me first. It is my life you are delegating.”
“I know. I know. Again, I am sorry. I just knew you were already so overwhelmed when we talked on the phone.”
“Better to ambush me here?”
“That’s not what I meant to do.”
“Yes, it was.” I dropped my shoulders, licking my lips. “Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
“Spence.” He pulled me back into him. “Seriously, I am so sorry. If you don’t want to stay, you don’t have to. I’m not going to force you into anything.”
Exhaling, I pressed my face into his warm chest. It wasn’t that I didn’t agree with the assessment. It would be ridiculous to go back and forth like that. We’d end up never seeing each other, spending more time in the car… Okay, let’s be honest, I would be the one in the car all the time. But I didn’t like being taken by surprise.
“Next time, let me in on the plan. I mean, I didn’t even pack anything,” I demanded, staring up at his face.
“Mother had someone find out your size and filled the guest room closet with clothes.”
My teeth crunched together, and I pulled away from him again. I hated that he sprang this on me, almost not giving me a choice. My parents thought I was leaving for the afternoon, not for good. Though, I knew when I called, they would be thrilled, probably move me into the palace themselves. Uncle Fredrick almost threw me a parade, the whole family over the moon that Theo and I were back together. More accurately, that I was dating the Prince of Great Victoria.
Prestige, money, title. The ultimate catch to help us gain back respect.
“Sorry. Not the point,” he exhaled. “Again.”
“Bloody hell, Theo, you are just crashing and burning here.” Eloise leaned against the sofa, trying to hide her grin.
“Not. Helping,” he barked at her.
“If I agree to this? Two conditions.” I ran my hand through my styled hair, no longer caring how long it took Nara to do. “One. I will have my own flat.”
“What?”
“I can’t live here, Theo.” I motioned around. “Like this isn’t going to be enough pressure on me. But to live here? I could never relax. I can’t…”
“Fine.” He nodded, pulling his arms over his chest. “I’ll ask Chloe if we can work that out. What’s the second?”
“Don’t ever, ever ambush me again.” I pointed his chest. “I’m scrambling as it is right now. I will not be treated like a doll, moved around and dressed without my say. I will not be a fool.”
“All right.” He flinched, his neck bobbing again. “Again, I am so sorry.”
I stepped up to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Just don’t forget… we’re in this together. A team. You and me. Don’t forget… me.”
He grinned down, his palms cupping my face, his mouth grazing mine. “Never.”
“All right.” Eloise threw out her hands. “I don’t want to watch my brother make out with his girlfriend.”
“Like I haven’t been subjected to seeing you with all your boy toys, their tongue down your throat?”
Boy toys? Holy crap, how good was the PR firm here? Eloise came across as a saint. The press only caught her having coffee with one boy off campus, and they did nothing more than drink coffee. The gossip mill went around for weeks trying to figure out who he was.
“So, can we have some fun now?” Eloise’s mouth curved up like the Cheshire cat. “The queen and king are out all evening, and when the lions are out, the cubs can play. You up for it, Spencer?”
“I think so?” I responded skeptically, watching Theo shake his head in the negative.
“Please, Theo. She’s not that fragile.” Eloise rolled her eyes, grabbing my arm again, walking us to the door. “I’ve never seen anyone put my brother in his place like that. I think you and I are going to be great friends.” Her heels clicked on the stone, and the guards, somehow knowing she was exiting, opened the doors for us, and we seamlessly flowed into the corridor, turning farther into the palace. “However, this pink-pee dress has got to go.”
“Should I ask where we are going?”
Her expression filled with pure wickedness. “Now what would be the fun in that?”
The purposefully torn jeans were practically painted on my body, and they dug into my hips, my spiked heel booties clicking on the metal stairs as we descended into the dark club.
None of the outfits the queen had filled my closet with met Eloise’s approval. They were beautiful, the finest quality, but were very classy dresses, looking more ready for a garden party than a nightclub. Eloise promised she and I would go shopping later to find me more “going out” clothes. Until then, I was stuffing my slightly curvier frame into her outfits. Dressing me in skintight jeans with strategically placed rips down the legs, a silky black backless tank, jewelry, perfect smoky eyes, the heeled boots I wobbled on, with my hair in waves down my back, I finally passed her evaluation.