“I already told Yarra to set up the cottage for us,” Elias said behind her. I instantly let go of Addie’s bump and dropped into a small curtsy to greet him. He rolled his eyes. “No one is around, Joslyn. You don’t have to do that right now.”
“We all have to do it, brother,” Aramis said, bowing before stepping in closer.
“Aramis is right. All of us need to do it whether or not people are around. It’s the only way we won’t forget to when they are. Besides, you’re the King and Queen. You need to learn to stop acting like commoners,” their mother said.
Adeline turned her back and rolled her eyes as she looked at me. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
“The year is 2020, Mother,” Pilar said, walking over and giving me a hug, followed by her fiancé Benjamin Drake. “I’m freezing my butt off. Where are the carts?”
“They should be here soon,” Elias said.
“You were the one who forced us to come outside so that you could point out dead flowers,” Benjamin said, shaking his head. “As if you’re not responsible for killing all of our plants.”
“First of all, your ex-fiancée gave me two orchids in the middle of winter, so if anything, we need to blame her for this,” Pilar said. “It’s not my fault I don’t have a green thumb.”
“Can we just get back inside while we wait?” the Queen Mother said. “It really is unpleasantly cold today.”
“They say we may get a storm this weekend,” Ben added.
“A snowstorm?” Addie asked, gasping.
“Don’t worry. All of the cottages have generators,” Eli said. “And we have everything we need in them.”
It was true. Eli made it a point to build the cottages as small apartments, equipped with kitchens, bathrooms, guest areas, and bedrooms. Add to that the service people who were constantly around to clean and bring food, it was like staying at one of the best resorts. As we walked inside, Addie informed us that we’d be given an itinerary of events while we were here. It was nothing major, she said, but the list would serve as something we could use so that we don’t stay cooped up in our respective cottages and actually spend time together, which was what this holiday was supposed to be for. Because it was Christmas, we’d brought along wrapped presents that were being deposited beneath one of the trees in the palace.
“We’re going to decorate the tree together tonight,” Addie said. “So after we take a rest, we’ll have dinner together and meet in the library, which is where our tree will be.”
“Why aren’t we opening presents beneath the tree in the entrance?” the Queen Mother asked. “Or in the Hall of Mirrors? That’s the biggest tree of all.”
“The library is cozier, Mother,” Elias said, putting an arm around Addie. “We decided that would be the best place to relax and have drinks while we decorated and listened to music.”
I smiled. This was beginning to sound like a real holiday now.
“When is David coming?” Pilar asked. “I texted him but he hasn’t responded.”
“He’s probably still on his flight,” I said. “He’s on his way to Spain, then London, then he’ll be here Friday evening.”
I wasn’t sure why, but I looked at Aramis after I responded to her and found him staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face. He looked upset. Maybe he was still thinking about the list and being forced to date someone, anyone, to save face. Maybe he was thinking about something else entirely. Regardless of what was on his mind, the look on his face made my heart do a little flip and for the millionth time today I had to remind myself that contract or no contract, Prince Aramis was not for me.
Chapter Four
I’d just finished showering when I heard the knock on the door. With a towel wrapped around myself and my hair dripping, I walked over and pulled it open. There were no peepholes on the doors, but I figured it had to be Pilar or Adeline. Instead, I found myself looking into Aramis’s dangerously seductive gaze as he took in my attire. I held the towel tighter and cleared my throat.
“What do you want?”
“I thought you’d be ready by now. I was going to walk to the main house with you.” He glanced in that direction briefly, then back at me. “I forgot to bring the wine, but it seemed futile since we have to go over there anyway.”
“Oh.” I eyed him up and down. He was wearing trousers, boots, and a button-down underneath a heavy black coat. “I just need a minute.”
“Your hair is wet and it’s cold out. You need more than a minute.”
“Okay?”
“Well, are you going to invite me in?” He arched an eyebrow.
“I’m naked.”
“Are you inviting me to take advantage of this fact?” He began to smile but stopped when he saw how unprepared for all of this I was. “I’m kidding, Joslyn. I can wait in the sitting area while you change.”
“Oh. Yes. Of course.” I shook my head and stepped away from the door, shivering as soon as I was out of the line of the wind. It really was cold out. “Just . . . watch television or something.”
I disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. The closet shared a space with the bathroom, which made it clear that Aramis had been joking about seeing me naked. Sometimes, it felt like it was all he ever did. He’d always been humorous and a flirt, but these days it seemed like he hid his uncertainties behind his jokes as well. Once I was dressed, wearing jeans, a camisole, and a loose ivory sweater over it, I picked up my brown booties and walked back out into the sitting area where he was, sitting across from him on the other couch.
“Did you get a chance to look at the list I sent you?”
“Yes, and I’m not interested.”
“In any of them?” I set my foot down with a thump. “There were twelve women on that list.”
“Twelve women. I’ve met more than half of them. I went to school with three. Trust me, they’re not interesting.”
“What in the world makes a woman interesting to you, Aramis?”
“Lots of things.” He shrugged a shoulder.
“Like what? List something.” I sighed, shaking my head. “You know what? You’re going to tell me what you’re looking for and that’s where I’m going to start and before you tell me you don’t want to look at all, I’ll kindly remind you that your mother is going to start inviting women over with or without your input.”
“Fine.”
We both stood up, I grabbed my coat, and we walked outside, heading in the direction of the palace. The gardens were lit and beautiful. Every time I was here, I couldn’t help but to think about the past and all of the things that this lush grass had seen. Aramis and Elias had thrown parties here and those had gotten out of hand some of the time, but I’d always left before the real trouble started. The few times I didn’t leave early, I’d ended up in Aramis’s arms. I bit my lip and glanced away as I thought about that. I’d lost my virginity to him and slept with him two more times after that. It was something I didn’t regret, not by a long shot, but I definitely tried not to think about it much. All those years ago, a part of me thought I’d be the one to tame him. Now I realized that would never be the case. Men like Aramis couldn’t be tamed and there was no use in trying.