The Royals Series

by Bay, Louise

  “Want to come to dinner tonight?” I asked.

  “Only if you’re making omelets,” she said, then bolted upright, clutching her sheet to her chest. “Shit, no I can’t.” She looked at me, panic in her eyes. “You have to go.” She pushed me out of bed, her heels pressing into my arse.

  “It’s only just before six. I’ll be fine.”

  “I mean it, you have to leave. I totally forgot that Ryder and Scarlett are about to arrive. They’ll be here any second.”

  Wait, what? She was trying to get rid of me? Our situation was unusual for me, but I’d dealt with it by not analyzing it. Over the last few weeks, I’d just done what felt right. What I wanted to do. Darcy and I had existed in a private bubble where we didn’t talk about anything in the future—we’d just agreed not to overanalyze things. It hadn’t seemed necessary to talk about what we were doing—but she obviously didn’t want her brother to know that we were doing whatever we were doing and it was…chafing.

  She squealed as a car door pulled up outside and she rushed to her window, peering down to the driveway. “They’re here already. You’re going to have to hide.” She glanced around. “Maybe in the bathroom or my dressing room.”

  I wasn’t anyone’s dirty little secret, but maybe that was how she saw me. “We’re not doing anything wrong, Darcy.” I wasn’t sure if I was talking to myself or her.

  She groaned and pulled at my arm, trying to get me out of bed. “Come on.”

  “I’m serious. Why can’t your brother know I’m here?” I couldn’t quite believe the words that were coming out of my mouth.

  “And what are you going to say to him? Hey, you don’t mind that I’m banging your sister, do you?”

  “I said I felt like a fifteen-year-old boy, not that I was going to act like one.”

  She sighed dramatically and headed to the bathroom. “You’re impossible. I’m going to have a shower.”

  I followed her. “Why don’t you want him to know about us?” I asked as she stepped under the spray, her toothbrush in her mouth as she tried to multi-task—something she always did when running late.

  I’d enjoyed making her late on many occasions over the last few weeks.

  She looked at me, water pouring over her face as I watched her from the end of the walk-in shower.

  “Why don’t you want your grandmother to know about us?” she asked.

  “I never said I didn’t—it just hasn’t come up.” She turned away from me to finish brushing her teeth.

  “Darcy,” I said. I wasn’t sure what I wanted her to say—it just felt that we were due for a conversation. I didn’t like the idea of her trying to hide me. Us.

  Even though I’d fucked a lot of women, I’d never felt so intimate with a woman. Darcy and I had fallen into an early-morning habit of starting our days together. Things had developed when I wasn’t paying attention. I’d been deliberately looking away, but now I needed clarity. I wanted to know whether we were on the same page, except I wasn’t sure what page that was.

  “What?” she snapped. “My brother and Scarlett are downstairs. They have toddlers and an American mother. There are no boundaries. They are probably about to burst into my bedroom and we’re both naked. Can we talk later?”

  She was right. We didn’t have time and I didn’t know what I wanted to say. I rarely went into conversations without knowing the outcome I wanted, but like with most things, I found Darcy was the exception.

  “I’m not sleeping with anyone else,” I said as if that solved everything. “I just want you to know that.”

  She frantically covered herself with shower gel. “Can we talk about this later?”

  Wait, wasn’t it customary for her to tell me she wasn’t sleeping with anyone else either? Granted, I was in unfamiliar territory, but I was pretty sure that was how these things were meant to go. Unless she was sleeping with someone else. “Are you?” I stepped into the walk-in shower, wanting to hear her answer clearly.

  She tipped her head to the side. “Not unless you count Lane.”

  It took a second longer than it should have to realize she was joking. “Funny,” I said, and she just shrugged as if we were talking about the fucking weather.

  I’d spent my life avoiding conversations like this, dodging questions from women by being clear upfront that there would be no second time, no emotions and definitely no commitment. But here I was, with a woman I actually wanted to have this conversation with, and she was the one avoiding it.

  “So you don’t want to talk about this?” Was she being cold or distracted or both?

  “Not now. We haven’t discussed anything about anything and we don’t have time to start.”

  Perhaps we’d both been avoiding having a conversation about where we were, how we felt and where we were headed. I had no road map, I’d never been here, felt like this. But we were at a crossroads and I wanted to know which road she saw us taking.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Darcy

  What was it about Logan freaking Steele that had me losing my mind? I’d been planning for Ryder and Scarlett’s arrival all week, but a kiss from Logan and I’d forgotten what day of the week it was.

  I pulled on my jeans, watching out of my bedroom window at my brother, Scarlett and their children as they pulled things out of the car, dropped them, Gwendoline sat on them, Toby tried to climb onto the roof of the car and everyone generally messed about. It was Lane’s day off and the children were distracting my brother and Scarlett, and I’d never been so grateful. I pulled on a shirt and wrapped my still-wet hair up in a clip. At least I was clean and had clothes on.

  “I’m not hiding in the bathroom, Darcy,” Logan said as he tied his shoes.

  Had I really suggested that? “Yeah. That was a stupid idea, sorry. I’m just not ready to answer a thousand questions from my brother and sister-in-law. Not when we haven’t even talked.”

  He turned to look at me, disappointment heavy on his face.

  I stepped toward him and stroked my palm against his cheek. “I’m sorry. I lost track of my days—you’re very distracting.”

  I shivered as he kissed the inside of my wrist. Shouldn’t I be pleased that he didn’t want to hide our relationship? I’d never really thought about what we were outside the bedroom. I’d spent so long determined to hate Logan that I hadn’t allowed myself to think about what was growing between us.

  “I’m warning you—Ryder is likely to give you a hard time, and Scarlett’s going to demand to know when you plan to propose.”

  “Does that mean I don’t have to hide in the bathroom?” He pulled me on to his lap.

  “It doesn’t bother you that—”

  “We like each other, Darcy. Right?” He dipped his head, trying to catch my gaze.

  “Kind of, I guess. I mean, I like sleeping with you. And you can be funny sometimes. And you don’t bore me.”

  “Steady, or my ego is going to get overinflated.”

  I giggled. “I’m not sure a lack of ego is a problem for you.”

  “Well, I think all those things about you, too.”

  “I spend a lot of time around you trying not to smile,” I confessed.

  “Never boring,” he muttered. “So, we’re friends who are enjoying each other’s company. Right?”

  “Right,” I said. Were we friends? Just a few weeks ago, I’d hated this guy. And now he spent almost as much time in my bed as I did. “I guess we are.”

  Logan looped his arms around my waist and helped me up. “Then I suggest we go downstairs, say hi to your family and then I get back to my grandmother and the nine thousand emails that came in overnight.”

  Just like that? I wasn’t sure why this was such a big deal for me, but it was. It might have been because I’d not introduced a boyfriend to my brother for so long or because Logan and I hadn’t defined whatever it was between us. And it might have been because I was frightened. Vulnerable. My feelings for Logan were growing stronger with each day and I didn’t fee
l prepared.

  He stood, pulled open my bedroom door and waited for me to go first.

  “I guess,” I said. What choice did I have? I’d have to accept that I’d spend my brother’s entire visit being questioned like a murder suspect.

  We got to the top of the last leg of the stairs just as Scarlett burst through the door, her arms laden with a toddler and a bag of what looked like fake fur spilling out of the top of it—stuffed animals most probably.

  “Hey,” she called as we started down the stairs. She froze when she spotted Logan behind me. “Oh, hi. I didn’t realize…Hi.” Her grin was so wide I thought her head might fall off.

  Ryder stumbled inside, bags draped over his shoulders and his son in his arms.

  “Ryder,” Scarlett said. “Say hello to your sister and…”

  “Logan,” he said as we got to the bottom of the stairs and he held out his hand. “Scarlett, I presume. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “You have?” Scarlett glanced at me. “Well, I wish I could say the same. Very nice to meet you, Logan.”

  I tried to avoid Scarlett’s wide-eyed stare and my brother’s confused look.

  “Logan?” Ryder glanced up the stairs as if trying to piece together everything that wasn’t making sense to him in that moment.

  “You know each other?” Scarlett asked.

  “Yeah, we’ve done some business together. I didn’t realize you and Darcy…”

  “We’re friends,” I interrupted. “We’re hanging out.”

  Logan began to chuckle. Hadn’t that been what we’d agreed on? Perhaps he hadn’t expected me to repeat him word for word.

  “In a naked way?” Scarlett asked, her daughter slipping from her arms and racing down the corridor.

  Gwendoline started chanting. “Naked! Naked! Naked!”

  “How was your flight?” I replied, trying to dampen down the mortification.

  “It was just fine, Darcy, but I’m far more interested in Logan. You’re not leaving, are you?”

  “As much as I would love to stay and chat, I have to get back to check on my grandmother before work.”

  “Your grandmother?” Scarlett asked.

  “Logan spends his weekends with his grandmother at Badsley House,” I said.

  “Oh, just across the way. Well you must come back for dinner this evening.”

  Dinner? If I hadn’t been ready for Ryder and Scarlett to see Logan for a fleeting moment, I was definitely not prepared to have us all spend the evening together.

  “I’d love to,” Logan said before kissing the top of my head and heading out the front door. “I’m sorry to rush off, but I’ll see you later.”

  Jesus, dinner with my family? What was he thinking? Weren’t we trying to make this less complicated?

  Scarlett watched him leave. “Darcy, Darcy, Darcy. Where did you find him?” She turned back to look at me. “And why on Earth didn’t you tell me you were dating? This is so exciting and he’s soooo handsome. Like take-me-now good-looking.”

  “You do know I’m right here?” Ryder said.

  “Tell me everything,” Scarlett said, ignoring my brother. “How long has it been going on? Is it serious?”

  “So, you’re dating him?” Ryder asked.

  Overwhelmed, I turned around and followed the children into the library and tried to block out the questions as Scarlett and Ryder followed me.

  “Are you okay?” Scarlett asked.

  “Yes.” Was I? Why had Logan agreed to dinner? We needed to talk, just the two of us before we had other people asking questions we didn’t know the answers to. “We’re just friends,” I said with a sigh, concentrating on the children as they pulled toys out of an old trunk under the window.

  “Friends?” Scarlett asked. “Friends who like to have sleepovers and kiss each other?”

  “Don’t give me a hard time,” I pleaded.

  Scarlett slid her arm around my shoulder. “I’m just happy for you. We worry about you being lonely here in this big old house, don’t we, Ryder?”

  “No, I don’t worry my sister’s not sleeping with enough men, funnily enough,” Ryder bellowed from behind us. “She’s perfectly happy here at Woolton.”

  Ryder was right, of course. I was happy at Woolton, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t want a future with a man I loved and a family of my own, but that wasn’t who Logan was.

  What we had was convenient. And uncomplicated.

  “What do you want for dinner?” I asked. Shit, Cook would insist on doing something special when she heard Logan would be joining us.

  “What’s this Logan like, Ryder? Is he suitable for Darcy?”

  Ryder slumped into one of the buttoned-leather chairs, keeping a watchful eye over the children playing happily with their newfound treasures. “I don’t know him well. He’s a tough opponent in business, but I’ve not heard that he’s underhanded or into anything suspicious.”

  “Of course, he’s not,” I scoffed. “He’s not like that.” I turned to Scarlett to see her wide grin.

  “You like him,” she said.

  “I’m saying he’s not a dirty dealer.”

  “But you like him.”

  I shrugged. “Sometimes,” I replied. “I don’t like the fact that he still might be developing Badsley.” I’d given him several alternative options to Badsley and he’d seemed enthusiastic about the Planton site, but until the appeal, there was nothing more I could do but enjoy our time together.

  And Scarlett was right. I did like Logan, at least when we didn’t talk about his business in the village. When things were just personal, I could put it out of my mind and concentrate on the way he made me feel.

  “Wait,” Ryder said. “When we ran into him at dinner the night before I left for Beijing, were you dating him then?”

  “No! And we’re not dating now.”

  “So it’s just sex?” Scarlett asked as Ryder groaned. “Do you think it will turn into anything more?”

  “Look, Scarlett,” I said, gathering up some courage. “I used to like you up until ten minutes ago, when you invited someone you’d never met before to dinner and started interrogating me like I was on Interpol’s most-wanted list. We’re friends. We’re hanging out. Yes, I like him—I don’t hang out with people I don’t like now that Frederick and Victoria spend most of their time in France. So can we leave the overanalyzing for now and just enjoy our day?”

  She pressed her lips together, clearly holding back what she really wanted to say, and nodded. “Yes, of course. I got overexcited. You know how I am. I’m American and just can’t help myself sometimes.”

  I rolled my eyes but grinned. “Come on. Cook said we could make apple pie in her kitchen with the children, but we need to pick the apples from the orchard.”

  “And afterward we can pick something for you to wear tonight.”

  Anxiety roiled in my stomach. Tonight felt like a big deal. Up until now I’d been able to live in the moment and not think about what was happening between Logan and me. But involving my family shifted things, and I wasn’t sure I was ready. I knew Logan wasn’t a man who did committed relationships, and looking at my history, I’d never been serious about anyone. With no experience and such a tumultuous short history, what hope did we have that we’d survive?

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Logan

  I rarely got nervous, but my stomach churned as I pulled up outside the front of Woolton Hall. I’d never met a woman’s family before, and although I knew Ryder through business, there was no denying it was my personal relationship with Darcy that had led me to accept the invitation to dinner.

  I’d worn a light-gray suit with an open collar. It might be Friday night in the country, but a place like Woolton Hall had decades of formality keeping the walls up.

  Clearing my throat, I knocked on the huge oak door.

  “Good evening, Mr. Steele,” Mrs. MacBee said as she opened the door.

  “Good evening.”

  “Everyone�
�s in the library. I’ll show you the way.”

  “That’s okay, I can find them,” I said. Although most of my time at Woolton had been spent in Darcy’s bedroom, I did know where to find Darcy’s favorite room in the house.

  Laughter pulled me down the corridor and toward dinner with a girl I was sleeping with, a man I’d done business with, and an American I’d only met this morning. Although I’d been clear with Darcy that we didn’t have to explain anything to anyone, I’d spent my day wondering what exactly it was we were doing.

  I’d never dated someone exclusively, but looking back over the last few weeks, that was exactly what I’d been doing. And it wasn’t scary or weird. Darcy was fun to be with—warm like sunshine and as honest as the dirt so often smeared across her face. I couldn’t help but smile when I laid eyes on her and I never tired of her clever conversation and devotion to the people in her life.

  “Logan,” Darcy said as I stood at the entrance to the library. She lifted up on tiptoes and came over to meet me. She seemed much more relaxed than when I’d left her this morning. “Hey,” she said, smiling up at me.

  Sometimes, when I first set eyes on her, my breath left my throat. She had a glow about her that lit up her face and pulled me toward her. She was fucking beautiful and sweet and charming, as well as feisty and an occasional pain in my arse.

  “Hey,” I replied, bending to kiss her on the cheek and then handed her the posy of spring flowers I’d picked up at the farm shop.

  “Flowers?” She looked as shocked as if I’d brought her a million pounds’ worth of diamonds.

  “Well, since your cook is preparing dinner, I thought you deserved flowers.” Darcy knew I thought she was immensely practical and more than capable of handling just about anything life could throw at her, but that didn’t mean I didn’t like to tease her about having a staff.

  “We baked the apple pie ourselves, I’ll have you know.” Darcy narrowed her eyes.