It was another quirk of mine. I loved practical jokes, but I expected him to retaliate. I mean, the boy had the means and the connections, but he never tried to get back at me.
The future king was above such things, I guess.
Chapter 3
“Another round, my lovely bird!” Charlie excitedly swished his arm around the table, showing the server we were scarily close to having half-empty glasses.
“Of course.” She smiled, her cheeks turning a deep shade of plum, and headed for the bar. She was a cute, twenty-something girl from Poland. Thomas put her on us whenever we were here, but as good as she was, she didn’t seem to get used to the notion that the Prince of Victoria was sitting in her section. Not that I blamed her. I still felt like this was some alternative universe I didn’t belong in, and I grew up more in this world than she had.
The bar was full and bustling with Friday night cheer. Thomas reserved the table hidden in the dining room for us, and away from the front door, toilets, and main bar area. It was around a wall, in a dark corner. If you just came into the pub to grab a drink, you’d never know the prince was there.
Dalton, one of Theo’s lead bodyguards, sat at a table by an emergency exit near us, trying to blend in with the local patrons. If you weren’t really paying attention, you’d think he was a guy relaxing after a long week. But I could see the tension in his shoulders, his darting gaze assessing every little movement or sound, ready to act. I had only seen him in action twice, when the paparazzi started pushing the boundaries with Theo. He was quick to respond and was scary as hell when he perceived you getting too close to the prince. I never talked to him much; he was on the periphery when we were at school, but he didn’t seem like the chatty type.
He was intimidating, but I couldn’t deny he was extremely good looking. Only in his early thirties, he was tall, fit beyond belief with dark chocolate skin, short hair, and had a perfectly trimmed beard lightly covering his jaw. Dalton held himself with refinement and discipline that only came from years of training with the military.
“Toast!” Charlie stood, holding up his glass, his normally neat brown hair ruffled, his blue eyes glazed over. “To finally leaving the horrid place that kept me away from my real aspiration: becoming a complete and utter wanker. Laying on a raft in my pool, surrounded by models at my private estate in Nice, while getting trolled off my arse with you twats!” He held up his glass to his friends. “Cheers!”
“Cheers!” Hazel and Ben jubilantly joined in, already well on their way to being pissed arse drunk.
“He stole my dream,” Landen said into my ear, pouting.
“Sorry.” I patted his hand. “But his is reality… yours is actually a dream.”
“Damn. Harsh.” He slugged one of the many shots our table was loaded with, encouraging Mina on his other side to do the same. Landen was loud and over the top in real life, but when he drank, he got reserved and moody, where Mina in a blink went from dancing queen to sappy, sloppy drunk, puking in the toilets. I just got louder, and every old ‘80s song made me want to dance on the bar.
“But true.” I winked, leaning into Theo on my other side, feeling the alcohol swimming in my head, heating my cheeks. My pale skin was like a neon sign when I drank or got embarrassed.
Theo’s arm went around me as he snuggled closer to me, his hand going to my thigh under the table. Nerves fluttered in my stomach.
“Don’t be bitter, our sweet prince,” Charlie slurred, directing my attention back to him. Charlie wobbled on his feet, holding out another full shot, his focus on Theo. “When we come up from shagging so many gorgeous people, we’ll send postcards saying ‘wish you were here.’”
Hazel burst out laughing, brushing back her long wavy blonde hair. “You are such a wanker!”
“And?” Charlie shrugged.
“Fair enough.” Hazel shook her head.
A sensation itched at my consciousness, a warning shifting my spine up.
“I wouldn’t do that to you.” Ben sat across from Theo, a smirk on his face. “I’ll send a video to rub it in.”
“Ohhhh.” Hazel laughed louder, covering her mouth with her small, delicate hands. “Leave Theo alone. He’s the only one doing something respectable.”
“Not because he wants to.” Ben snorted, waving at Theo, who sat stiffly next to me, his hand no longer on my leg. “But what Daddy says…”
“His Majesty gets. He could order you to go as well.” Hazel lifted her eyebrows at Ben, defying him to keep uttering nonsense. “Don’t be an arse.”
“I feel I’m missing something…” I glanced at his friends and back to Theo. His jaw twitched. “What’s going on?”
“Didn’t your boy tell you?” Ben’s brows darted up with surprise.
“Ben, shut up,” Theo rumbled.
Anxiety spiked up my back, clenching my lungs. “Tell me?” I twisted to fully face Theo, my stomach pitching.
“Can we just have a good night? Have fun. Enjoy the fact we are out of school.” His eyes pleaded with mine, his hand running through his dark hair. “We can talk later.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“You will have to eventually, mate. Or were you hoping she wouldn’t notice?” Ben took a sip of his beer, sitting back in his chair, arms folded. “Disappear with a shag in the alleyway.”
“Feck off,” Theo barked out. “Don’t give me your bitter, poor-rich-boy shite tonight. Did you take something? You turn into a fuckin’ wanker when you do both.”
Ben shifted in his seat, a wall coming down, hiding his emotions. “Just want to have a good time tonight.” He opened his arms.
“We were.” Theo shoved back his chair, grabbing my hand, urging me to follow. “Thanks, arsehole.”
Theo pulled his hood over his head, keeping his chin down as he moved us through the crowd. Dalton was at my heels, huffing with irritation, following us out the door. The night was cool, summer still not ready to fully kick in, but tangs of warmth sat on my tongue like I could taste it on the horizon. The night sky was dim under the streetlamps as he led me to a quieter area away from the pub. He turned to face me, scratching the back of his neck.
Dalton scowled, his head swiveling around, stopping a few yards from us. Another thing about dating royalty… we were never alone. The prince probably didn’t know what it was like to be by himself.
“I wasn’t hiding anything from you.” His eye twitched, and he looked over to watch people enter the pub, laughing and joking, oblivious to us.
“Why do I feel like something is about to drop on me?” I touched my stomach, anxiety flapping in there like startled birds.
“I was planning to tell you for a while. But… it never seemed the right time.” He shifted on his feet.
“Just say it, Theo.” I folded my arms over my torso, needing a barrier, a wall to protect me from being gutted.
He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Fine.” He lifted his head, staring at me. “You know how I told you I’d be going into the Royal Air Force?”
My lids lowered, perplexed as to why this was a big deal. “You’re the Prince of Victoria. A future king. I figured you’d have to go into the military for training when you turned nineteen.”
It was custom in our country that no one under nineteen could start training in the military. Theo was eighteen until January.
“Normal people aren’t allowed in until nineteen. Not the prince.” He sighed, but his expression stayed even.
“But… but it’s a law.”
“Spencer.” He shook his head. “My family is the law. And if my father dictates I’m to enroll in the academy, there is no question. I go. It is my duty.”
My lungs started to draw in bigger gulps of air, feeling the summer we planned together slipping through my fingers.
“I’m sorry. You know I’d rather be here with you. Spend the summer together.”
Realization backed me away from him. “When?”
�
�When what?”
“Theo,” I warned, my lip hitching. “When are you leaving?”
He reached for me, worry creasing his brow.
“No.” I moved away. “Tell me.”
His lips pinned together, letting out air slowly. “Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” My mouth parted. “Like tomorrow, tomorrow?”
“The very one.” The side of his mouth arched in his famous prince-panty-dropper smile.
“Don’t.” I glowered. “That doesn’t work on me.”
“I know.” He scoffed, his head shaking under his hood. “That’s why I like you. You never take my bullshite.”
“Theo.” I played with my necklace, disappointment heavy on my shoulders. “I can’t believe you are leaving tomorrow.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“Almost four months.” He twisted the expensive watch on his wrist, a reminder time was ticking by. “I’ll be back mid-September. Gone just for the summer, really. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Wow—if this was your way of breaking up with me, you didn’t have to go to such lengths.” I snorted, rubbing my arms from the slight chill.
“No.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to break up with you. Not at all.”
“Then why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because.” He grabbed my arms, sidling up to my frame, lowering himself to even out our height difference. “I didn’t want to see this look on your face.”
“What utter bullshite.” I rolled my eyes.
He barked out a laugh, pulling me tighter into his warm, familiar frame. We had yet to fully cross the line, but we had gotten close. I had hoped more alone time this summer would change that.
“You know how many people outside my immediate family have called me out? Have stood up to me?” His mouth skimmed my forehead. “One. You. That’s it.” His warm breath tickled my neck, sliding down my tank top, between my very average-size breasts, making them feel like they grew two sizes, heating my body. “I had noticed you before, but that day in class felt like someone punched me. Instead of being mad at you for totally embarrassing me and putting me in my place, I was infatuated. Completely taken by you. Wanted you.” His lips skimmed down my temple to my ear, nipping at my neck.
My breath skimmed my lungs, my head tipping back. “You are trying to distract me.”
“Is it working?” His mouth moved to my jaw, both of us breathing heavily. Except I could never fully let go knowing Dalton was right there.
“No.” My palms pressed into his toned torso. Lacrosse, rowing, working out, and polo had built and sculpted his body. He was still slim and didn’t have bulging muscles like Dalton, but he kept in great shape, and I wanted nothing more than to be alone with him so I could discover more of it.
“Really?” He snickered as my hands moved over his stomach, knotting in his T-shirt, bringing him closer to my mouth. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” I skimmed his bottom lip, tugging on it with my teeth.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered. “This was supposed to be me torturing you, not the other way around.”
“Don’t play if you can’t handle the game, Prince,” I replied huskily in his ear, making a small groan cough up his throat. “Don’t think anybody will care if we break the rules tonight, and you venture to the girl’s dormitory. Most aren’t even there anymore.”
He let a louder moan fall from his mouth, stepping back from me.
“You are killing me.” He gripped my arms like he was trying to keep me away from him. “You don’t know how bad I want to do that.”
Another sliver of ice stabbed at a warning bell.
“I’m leaving tonight. Actually, in a few hours.” He glanced over at Dalton, who pretended not to hear or see us, but peered down at his watch, checking the time.
“What?” I broke free of his hold, backpedaling. “You are leaving tonight? Holy shite, Theo.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“What were you going to do? Kiss me at the end of the night, say I’ll see you in September, get in the car, and drive off?”
“No.” He scoured his forehead.
“Yes.” My hands went to my hips. “That’s exactly how it was going to go.”
“I wanted to have a good night with you. And I knew if I told you, it would lead to a fight or be hanging over us.”
“I’m not fighting with you because you are leaving. I understand you have royal duties. It’s the not-telling-me part. You’re being a coward because you didn’t want to face me. To stand up and be a man.”
He dropped his hand down as I started to move, my anger bustling at my nerves. Dalton covered his mouth like he was coughing, but I could see a smile glinting behind his hand, trying hard not to laugh. He seemed to be enjoying someone taking the prince down a peg.
“You can handle standing in front of millions making speeches, or dealing with heads of state, but not telling your girlfriend you’re leaving for four months?”
“They don’t scare me.” The side of his mouth hitched up. “You do.”
Exhaling, I knew I was more hurt than angry.
“Let’s just go back in and enjoy the last bit of time we have.” He lifted his shoulder toward the entrance. Groups were coming in and out of the local pub, full of exuberance, a feeling I no longer felt or could even fake.
“I’m going to head back.” I bit down on my lip.
“No.” Theo reached for me. “That’s exactly what I didn’t want. Don’t go.”
“Let me know when you get back. We can talk then.”
“Are you breaking up with me?”
“Probably never happened before, huh?”
He looked astounded, an animal caught in headlights. “No.”
“It’s not really breaking up as using this time to really figure out what we want.” I tucked my arms deep into my stomach, knowing if I let him touch me, I’d probably change my mind. “We are no longer in school. Your life will be changing. A lot. Duties and obligations will double. You might find you don’t have room for me.” I held up my hand, seeing his mouth part to interrupt me. “I want more than that. More than penciled-in dates on your royal calendar. There is a reason you didn’t want to tell me. You need to figure out why.” I gulped, feeling the tears burn the back of my throat. We had never officially said how we felt, but I couldn’t deny what had grown over the last few months. “I love you, Theo. But I’m not going to be a last-minute thought.”
“You’re not,” he whispered.
“Yeah. I am.” My hand pressed into my ribs as if they were cracking, and I stepped back.
“You can’t just say that to me and leave.” He countered my movement.
“I did, and I am.”
“Wait.” His shoes hit mine, his fingers clasping the sides of my face. Liquid filled my eyes at his touch, pain tearing at my heart. “I don’t want you to go. I don’t want it to end like this.”
“It was going to in about an hour anyway.” I tried to laugh, but it came out a snotty choke.
He stared down at me, his eyes running over me, his head slightly waggling.
“What?”
“You are like no girl I have ever met.”
“Because I dumped a prince?” I grinned up at him.
“Yeah.” He chuckled, bobbing his head. “Can’t say it’s ever happened before.”
“I like to stand out.”
“You do. Don’t worry.” He drew me in closer, his smell of a deep, rich cologne filling my nose. “But you aren’t really dumping me.” He cupped my face harder. “I get what you are saying. While I’m training, we are in lockdown. I won’t be able to contact you anyway. So it will be a good time for you to use this time to figure out what you want as well.”
“Another thing you forgot to mention.”
“I’m an awful boyfriend.” He tipped his head into my forehead, his nose brushing mine. “But I will call you the moment I
’m out. I can promise you that.” His lips covered mine, soft and sweet, his tongue gently asking for entry. I opened my mouth, deepening the kiss, hungry for more.
The sounds of people strolling up the pavement behind me broke Theo away from me. He kept his head deep in the hood, bowing his face to the ground as they walked by, going into the pub.
“Dalton, can you get Spencer home?” Theo stared at me as he spoke.
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll order the car for her now.” I saw him over Theo’s shoulder, talking into his earpiece.
“I’ll go tell Landen and Mina.” Theo took a stride backward, his figure the perfect stoic prince, but under his hood, his eyes flickered with sadness. “See you in a few months.”
“Yeah. See you.”
He rolled his mouth together before whipping around and heading inside.
I wanted to run after him and spend every second I could with him, but something stopped me from moving.
“Ms. Sutton?” Dalton called my name as a black car rolled down the street. I knew it was my ride home. “If you don’t mind me saying?”
“What, Dalton?”
“I think you did the right thing. He has a lot of responsibility, pressure, and obligations coming at him. School has been a bubble, and I think even he’s going to be surprised how much his life alters after this.”
I didn’t respond, the tires of the black town car crunching as it came to a stop in front of us. Dalton opened the back door, and I walked toward it.
“The prince can’t date casually. Whichever girl he decides to be seen with must really understand what she is getting into. Most people think it is a fairy-tale life until they are actually in it. She will be hounded by the press, criticized in magazines, torn apart online. Every move will be judged even more than the prince’s. He will be forgiven by the public, while she will be chastised. But I think you understand that more than him.”
“Yes. I do.” I nodded, and I hated it. Women in this life were always judged more harshly about everything. And sadly, mostly by other women. “Thank you, Dalton.” Out of the corner of my eye, Landen and Mina spilled out of the front of the pub, heading toward me, their arms draped over each other, trying to help the other walk.
Royal Watch Page 3
