“Uh.” I grabbed the shoes from him. “Thank you.”
“I also wanted to check on you—”
“Who the hell is waking us up this early?” Theo’s voice groaned from behind me, freezing the oxygen in my lungs, my attention stalling on Lennox’s. He stiffened, and a flutter of surprise mixed with something I couldn’t identify crossed his face quickly before he cleared his throat, standing fully upright.
“Sorry, my lady. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” His response was stiff, his role as bodyguard back in place.
“Lennox?” The bed creaked, and Theo padded across the rug, rubbing his face, wearing only his tight boxers. “What are you doing here so early, mate?” Theo came around, stopping next to me, his hand going to my back.
Lennox’s eyes shifted to mine for a millisecond.
“He was bringing me back my shoes.” I held up the excuse. “Took them off the moment I left the party and discarded them along the way. You know me. The moment I can be barefoot, I will be.”
Theo chuckled, probably recalling all the times when we got tipsy at school together. I ripped off my shoes, no matter where we were, loving the freedom from them.
My attention went to Lennox, watching to see if he would dispute me and tell Theo the truth. Not that it was even a lie; I was just not recounting the whole story. But the secret between Lennox and me felt tangible. Heavy.
His gaze found mine, his lips pressing together with irritation, his head tilting slightly.
Please. The unsaid word hung in my gaze.
“Well, thanks for returning them.” Theo’s hand moved closer to my ass, squeezing. “I have a feeling the biggest expense in my future will be replacing her lost shoes.”
There was nothing wrong with what Theo said, but it scratched me like claws running up my spine, forcing my shoulders to wiggle with discomfort.
Theo peered down at his watch, his hand dropping away from me. “Bloody hell, is that the time?” He whipped around, sweeping up the clothes strewn on the floor. “Bollocks. I’m late. Father wanted me to meet him this morning with the ambassador of China.” He tugged on his pants, grabbing the rest of his items in his arms. “I’ve got to go.” He came up to me. “I will see you later at the polo match. Don’t let Eloise talk you into betting. Especially against me.” Kissing me quickly, he beelined out the door toward his side of the palace.
The moment he was gone, awkwardness crammed itself into the air, billowing out like a marshmallow. Once again, the awareness of my half-naked body made me feel like I was under a spotlight.
Staring at the pattern in the rug, I cleared my throat.
“You haven’t heard anything from Lord William?” My toe circled the design. “You think he will tell the king?”
“I’ve already been in to see the king this morning and not a word about it. Lord William is all talk.”
Lord William didn’t strike me as someone who’d sit back and do nothing when slighted. He was the kind who would still challenge someone to pistols at dawn.
“Thank you for not telling Theo. It will do no good for him to know.”
Silence.
My head rose, meeting the intensity of his gaze. Lennox took up every breathable space, making me swallow nervously. Something flipped after last night. An intimacy. A connection that suddenly made me very aware of him. His energy was so overpowering he rattled everything in me, making me uneasy. I could feel everything—even my nipples hardening against the thin fabric, knowing he could probably see them, heat prickling down my skin.
I couldn’t sense anything comfortable or agreeable about him.
His focus on me didn’t shift as he took one step closer, hitching the oxygen in my lungs.
“I just lied to my mate, to the future king,” he rumbled, anger squeezing his voice. “Guess who, baroness, will bear the repercussions of that when he does find out?”
“He won’t.” I didn’t move, standing strong, but my voice came out wispy.
Lennox leaned in, his mouth only inches from mine. I should have pushed him away, told him how inappropriate he was.
I didn’t.
My chest rose and fell at his nearness, and I hated my body’s reaction as venom flowed inside my veins.
“Get dressed,” he ordered, ire sliding down my neck between my breasts. “You have a PR meeting in fifteen.” He turned and sauntered away, confident and assertive.
The humming within me turned to revulsion and loathing as I slammed my door. Embarrassment at what he stirred inside me was shoved into a dark corner. It wasn’t attraction; it was abhorrence.
“What a wanker!” I stomped to the wardrobe, yanking the doors open. “Fuck him.”
Tugging out a dress, I wanted nothing more than to put on riding gear and be the one on the horse today. I was good at polo, grew up playing with my dad and a group of his friends. The monarch had loosened up over the years, allowing a few women in the matches. But of course, that would be frowned upon as the prince’s girlfriend. My role was to wear pretty dresses and watch.
Theo. Think of Theo.
The thought of him eased my irritation, and I let go of a heavy breath and rolled my shoulders. He was worth all this. He was such an amazing guy. I knew the growing pains of stepping into this role would be a lot. I needed just a little space from being right in it, under the royal thumb. I needed to get my own place.
Dressing in a buttery yellow backless maxi dress and fixing my hair in long waves, I slipped on a pair of matching heels and headed down to Chloe’s office.
The room buzzed with people, phone calls, and all the behind-the-scenes action.
“Spencer.” Chloe waved me over to her. Today she wore a pretty floral calf-length dress, her hair in her trademark low tight bun. “You look lovely.”
“Thank you. You too.” I stepped up to her desk. “I wanted to ask again about finding my own place. I don’t want to wait…” I drifted off when I realized she wasn’t even paying attention to me, her ear to her mobile, listening before she twisted it away from her mouth, addressing me.
“Spencer, you and Theo will have another one-to-one with the media after the match. The media will be everywhere, getting shots of you and Theo giving the awards after the game.” Phone still to her ear, she wrote something down as she spoke to me. “There will be a Q&A this time. If you are at all unsure how to answer, refer to Theo. He knows how to handle them.”
Refer to Theo? Like an archaic woman who let the man speak for her?
“I’m sure I’ll be able to handle it,” I clipped.
Her mouth pinched, her eyebrows flicking with a Sure, all right. You think that expression.
“The formal statement went out yesterday.” She dropped her pen, fully looking at me, continuing to listen to whoever was on the other line. “Because you are kept in a bubble here, you are not aware of the onslaught of attention you have gained overnight.” She grabbed her laptop, twisting it to me. My new royal Instagram account was up on her screen. There had only been a handful of followers yesterday since they just opened it.
My eyes widened, my throat thickening as I read the number over and over, making sure I was computing it right.
“60k?” I blanched. My personal account before had maybe a couple hundred followers. This set a panic of disbelief through me.