I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean. Don’t call him little Lord Lucas or I might start calling you little Lord Dorian.”
“There is nothing little about me,” Dorian replied with a lewd wink.
I rolled my eyes again. The fake Dorian was back. It probably had something to do with my fake fiancée being in the room and the whole posturing and dominance thing, but right now it just annoyed me. I was already annoyed with Lucas for not only standing me up the night before but for the change in who he was. I knew the country and the royal court needed money, I just figured Lucas would find a way that didn’t include his own family getting a major stake in it. It was so very out of character for him, as was the way he was talking with Sophia.
I growled under my breath as I watched them.
“Not worried, eh?” Dorian asked as he sipped his coffee. “You could have fooled me.”
“Whatever,” I said with a wave of my hand, my ring flashing.
“You know, the idea he came up with is pretty good,” Dorian said, glancing over to where Lucas was still talking to Sophia. He hadn’t even looked my way or smiled at me or anything.
“I’m sure it was,” I said.
“I’m a bit mad I didn’t come up with it myself.”
“I’m sure you are,” I said, not even listening. I was too focused on Lucas and Sophia and how complimentary they looked together. Like two peas in a pod. Like they were made for each other.
Sophia was delicate and beautiful in that classic way that I was not. She was sophisticated and graceful and polite and knew how to behave in society and around people of importance. Unlike me.
I bet Sophia had never worked in a bar. I bet she never even wore ripped jeans. I bet, if Maya were here, she would be falling all over herself to pair Lucas up with Sophia and get rid of me.
They would make beautiful babies together. Royal babies. Babies with just as much grace and sophistication as their parents. They would be the most adorable and photogenic babies in the history of babies.
“Would you stop mumbling about babies,” Dorian hissed. “It makes me uncomfortable.” He shifted in his seat as if to prove just how uncomfortable he was.
I turned to glare at him, but he just grinned at me in response.
“If you’re so worried, go over there and stake your claim,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
I pushed up from the table and stalked over to where Lucas and Sophia were standing. I snaked my arm through Lucas’ elbow and popped up on my toes to press a kiss on his cheek, and I hated myself the entire time I was doing it. It felt so wrong and…and for the first time this whole charade actually felt as fake as it was.
“Good morning,” I said brightly. “Did you sleep well?”
“No, not particularly,” Lucas replied, frowning down at me. He could see straight through me, but I beamed back at him anyway.
“It was lovely to talk to you, Lucas,” Sophia said as she slipped away, leaving Lucas and me standing awkwardly together at the food table.
“I think we need to talk,” Lucas said and my stomach dropped.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I think we do too.”
This was not the same as the moment we had the day before when I for sure thought Lucas would reveal his undying love for me, or whatever nonsense I’d made up in my head. Seeing Lucas with Sophia made it very obvious to me I was not the woman he needed in his life, as much as I wanted it to be me. Lucas needed a Sophia, if not Sophia herself. They would be perfect together and I was just kidding myself to think I could ever be part of this life. I’d started to believe my own lies, and that was never a good thing.
“Let’s go for a walk,” I suggested. “And talk.”
Chapter 16
Lucas
Frankie and I were quiet as we picked our way down the steep stone stairs to the private beach below the castle. I didn’t hold her hand, although I wanted to…for balance, of course…ah, who was I kidding? I wanted to hold her hand because I liked the way her hand felt in mine. I wanted to be as close to her as I could and I couldn’t say I’d ever felt that way about anyone else. Yes, Frankie would be better off with someone like Dorian, but for once in my stupid life, I wanted to be selfish. I wanted something for me. I wanted Frankie. I wanted her in my life as more than just my best friend—my best platonic friend. I didn’t have the first clue about how to make that happen or even how it would work between us. Frankie was going back to Boston. She had to present her dissertation and then she had plans to get a job in sociology and how could I even contemplate asking her to give all that up to stay here with me?
And yet…I wanted to. It made me an awful person, but lying to myself about what I wanted and what made me happy was becoming an unbearable burden. I’d done it my entire life. I’d tried to please my parents and my sister and even Clarissa, and none of it made me happy. For the first time in my life, I’d found a place where I felt comfortable, where I felt like I actually belonged and I wanted to stay here and I wanted Frankie with me.
“You and Sophia seemed to be having a pleasant talk,” Frankie said, not looking over her shoulder at me as we traversed the last flight of stairs.
“I didn’t really know who she was until just now,” I replied, my feet hitting the sand at long last. I shoved my hands in my pockets and watched as Frankie sat on the bottom step and took her shoes off. “She didn’t grow up here, unlike the others.”
“You knew the others from before?”
“Yeah, but only peripherally. Our parents were all part of the court, so we were acquaintances by association.”
“None of you kept in touch?” she asked as she stood and smoothed her skirt. She still hadn’t looked at me. Instead, she stared out at the sea.
“No. I don’t know if our parents did, but I certainly didn’t. I think it was an unspoken agreement that we should just scatter.”
Frankie started to walk along the shore, heading for the water’s edge where the cerulean sea lapped gently at the sand. We were in a protected bay and the waves were small, not that Kalopsia was known for its surfing beaches. You could surf, if you were determined, but most people preferred wind or kite surfing to the traditional board surfing. But not on the beach where we stood. Not only was it protected from the swell and the wind, it was also protected from any unwelcome visitors. The only access to the beach was via the stairs from the palace or by water. It was thought that that was how the attack on the castle happened. A water landing in the dead of night. I wondered what security precautions had been put in place since then. Knowing Danika, it would be significant.
Frankie turned to me and smiled, but it wasn’t the usual, uninhibited smile I was used to. It was guarded and fake and it didn’t reach her eyes and I wondered just how much I’d messed up the night before.
“The king kept me later than I expected last night,” I said, taking a hesitant step toward her. “I came to your suite, but I figured you’d be asleep.”
Her smile dropped, and she turned away. “So, he liked your idea then?” she asked, her face toward the sea.
“It’s early stages yet, but yes, I think so.”