by S. L. Scott
Hutton says, “I think he’s right. If we wait, we’ll have more time to prepare.”
I’m not sure how to say it without hurting his feelings, so I turn to him, and whisper, “I think I should go alone.”
“Not alone. No way.”
“I meant, I’ll go with my siblings.”
His head tilts, and he rubs a temple. “You mean without me?”
Holding his hand between mine, I plead, “You’ll upset them.”
“They’re already upset. What you’re asking me to do is watch you fly halfway around the world and trust that you’ll not only be safe but allowed to return to me. Anything could happen to you, and if I’m kept out from the beginning, I may never be allowed back in.”
Jakob steps in. “I’ll take care of her. I’ll make sure she’s safe, but I have to agree with her on this. You’ll upset my parents more than they already are. My mother may be the queen, but she’s sat idly at my father’s side for decades. She never had an interest in ruling; she only took the position because of expectations.”
The sound of Hutton’s heavy breath fills the space. “So whatever your father says goes?”
“Even when it came to us.” Marielle’s voice is soft when she speaks, but we all stop to listen. “I was kept at a distance from Belle since birth. Do you know why that is, Mr. Everest?”
I know, but it’s something we’ve never spoken about; a darkness that has never had the light shined on to expose it. I fought against it, but I never had success until now. My sister and brother are here. They’re by my side. We’re winning the war.
“No, I don’t.”
It’s a lot to have all of us speaking at him, so I move and wrap my arms around his middle. When his arm comes around me, I start to say, “If—”
“In case Belle wasn’t deemed capable,” Margie says, coming into the living room. I’d almost forgotten she was there, witnessing the plotting of our revolt. I hoped she would finally see my side, but she probably believes I’m not capable now. “If deemed incapable, the officials and the monarchy would remove her from the line of succession, and Marielle would become the queen.”
“What does that have to do with them getting along as sisters?” Hutton asks.
Marielle replies, “Because if she was capable but they wanted to remove her, they would need my compliance. How could I stab a beloved sister in the back?”
“They bred antipathy?” Hutton sits on the arm of the couch. “Royals are really fucked up, you know that?”
All of us nod this time. Jakob says, “It’s not a new thing. Sadly, it’s a matter of tradition. It was bred into them.”
Marielle goes back to the window and looks out. “We’ve never met our aunt. I didn’t even know we had one until I was twelve and the staff let it slip. I assumed she didn’t want to know us. Now I know, she wasn’t allowed to. She was dismissed from the palace on the day of the coronation.”
“I was raised to do everything right and good and proper. Where has that gotten me? Forgotten, that’s where. As long as Belle is alive, capable, and deserving, which she clearly is, everything I have done, been, and every rule followed has been for naught.” Looking back at us, she adds, “I’m the same as our aunt. I don’t even know her name. But as soon as Belle is crowned, I’ll be dismissed to the countryside somewhere in Brudenbourg. Nameless. Penniless? I have no idea what will become of me.”
Jakob puts his arm around her as tears bubble up. “We’ll take care of you. I promise.”
She wipes away an errant tear, and says, “I refuse to betray my sister because betraying her is betraying the crown and Brudenbourg. But more so, I care about you, Belle. I love you. I may not have shown it over the years, but I do. You are owed the crown. Whatever you need me to do to help you, I will.”
I release Hutton and go to my little sister. She’s someone I didn’t know I could rely on until now. The lack of familial love was never encouraged or nourished the way I now can see between the Everest brothers. I own my part in the roles we played and live with regret.
I had Margie, but who did she have? She’ll have me from now on.
Taking her by the shoulders, I say, “You’re strong and clever. You wrap everyone you meet around your little finger with your charm. You have a soft heart and a brave soul.” My heart squeezes, so I embrace her like I’ve never done before—like a beloved sister.
She starts to cry, and this time, the tears flow. Trying to catch her eyes when she looks at me, I ask, “Why are you crying?”
“Because I’ve only ever been called pretty.”
“You are pretty.”
“I’d rather be strong, brave, and clever.”
I hug her again because she’s all those things and more, but most importantly, she’s my sister. She will not be ostracized under my reign. She shall have an important place in our land. And in my heart.
When I release her, I look at Margie. “Tell me where we stand. I don’t want to fight with you. I need to understand how you feel so I know how to move on from here.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the three of you together and so close. Hearing how you speak to one another . . . I fell for the lies, the façade, the belief that a country is more important than its people.” Coming closer to me, she lowers her voice, shame seeming to shape her face. “I don’t know how to undo the damage I’ve done.”
“That you want to is what matters.”
“I’m sorry, Belle.”
“Tell me where your allegiance lies because it can’t be on both sides.”
“With you, my queen.”
Jakob says, “Those are treasonous words.”
I hold my hand up. Margie comes to me, and says, “That’s how you know whose side I’m on.”
Studying her for a long moment, I finally step forward and hug my old friend. “Thank you.”
Everyone’s eyes are suddenly on me. Glancing at Hutton, I take a deep breath and then exhale, feeling some of the pressure lifted from my shoulders. That’s what he is to me—freedom. Life. Forever.
“As for your question of how to undo the damage done . . .” I finally see my future laid out for me. “I know how.”
32
Hutton
“I need to get laid.”
My hand goes up. When the waitress sees us, I move my finger to order another round. I’m going to need ten rounds to talk sex with Ally’s brother, and even then, I’m not sure I want to get that deep with the dude.
Thank God for Bennett. “You’re a fucking prince. If you can’t get laid, the rest of us bastards don’t stand a chance. Oh, wait. Correction. I get laid all the time.” He pats me on the back. “I can’t speak for this guy, though.”
“Let’s not make me speak at all since I’m dating his sister.”
Jakob says, “Is that all it is? Dating? Looked like more when we were there.”
I can keep my relationship private, or I can start sharing it with the world. Family seems like a good start. “I want to marry her.”
Beer is spewed on my face and shirt. Fortunately, I jump off the barstool fast enough not to be dripping. “Fuck, dude. Really?”
“Shit,” Jakob says.
A waitress walks by and drops a stack of bar napkins on the table. “Here you go, cutie.”
“Sorry about that,” Jakob says with a slightly drunken slur. “But you can’t talk about my sisters like that and not expect a reaction.”
“Reaction.” I wipe my face with a napkin. “Yes. A beer bath. No. Also, sister. Singular. One. The one. The one for me. Ally.”
“Whoa. That’s a lot of deep stuff right there to process.”
Just as Jakob takes another drink, finishing off his beer, Bennett says, “I made out with Marielle.”
Bennett’s faster than I am. That spew just covers the table. Jakob swears up and down the bar at a quick pace, then says, “I should hit you.”
“One. You don’t tell a guy that you’re considering hitting them. You just do it. T
wo. You realize I’m bigger than you, right?”
I step between them. “You only have like an inch or two on him. Your arrogance is what gets you into these messes, bro.”
“I’m drunker, though,” Jakob proclaims like he’s ready to duel. “Liquid courage, man.”
“Okay, settle the fuck down.”
The waitress brings three more drinks. “Thank you.”
Jakob perks up. “She’s hot. Think she’ll want to hook up with a royal?”
“Sit the fuck down,” I say, pointing at his stool. “You’re a drunk-ass lunatic. You’re not hooking up with anyone on my watch. We were told to go watch the game while the ladies went shopping. I’m not looking to get arrested, and I definitely can’t let you get arrested.”
“Arrested again you mean.”
“Save the snark or I won’t bail your ass out.”
Nails drag down my back, making me arch forward. “What the fuck?” I whip around.
“Hutton Everest . . . and Bennett. Mmm. Where have my favorite brothers been hiding the past month? I’ve missed you.” Starla’s catlike eyes land hard on her next victim—Jakob. “And whom do we have here?”
“Technically,” Bennett says, raising a finger in the air. “It’s who do we have here because the most common usage wins and since whom has all but disappeared from our spoken language, the rule bends, and now it’s who.”
“Your mind works in scary ways,” I say.
“I know.”
Nothing is going to grab her attention from the prince. I think I’ll keep that tidbit under wraps to protect the innocent, namely, Jakob.
Bennett’s almost offended when he doesn’t land a laugh. “Tough crowd.”
I ask, “What are you doing here, Starla?”
“Is that how to greet an old friend?” She bats her eyelashes my way. It never worked on me before, so I’m not sure why she thinks it will now.
Friend is a big stretch of the imagination. I’m not sure what to say to her, and I sure as shit don’t want her hanging out with us. Firstly, Ally would kill me. Secondly, Singer would kill both Bennett and me. Thirdly, I have a horny prince and a woman who would do anything to sink her claws into someone with money. Yeah, not gonna happen. “We’re having a guys’ night.”
“It’s four o’clock in the afternoon.”
“What brought you here?” I counter.
“You, silly. I still have the tracking on your phone turned on. How else would I know where you are?” That psychotic behavior right there is why I’m glad I never hooked up with her. Jakob has sobered, and Bennett is shaking his head.
“You’ve been tracking me?”
“We did go on two dates. It’s like the lead-up to commitment. You left your phone on the table, and I switched it on. Don’t worry. We’re even. You’ve been able to track me the whole time, too. Why did your location disappear from Manhattan this past week? Were you traveling?”
I grab my phone and find the app on the sixth screen, shutting it off immediately. She protests, “How am I supposed to find you now?”
Standing, I reply, “I think we’re done here.”
“What? But we almost kissed.”
“No, we didn’t. I bent down to tie my shoe. I wasn’t making a move.”
“Details.”
Bennett holds his glass, swirling the ice around with the amber liquid. “Details matter, sweetheart. You ate my eyelash after plucking it and telling me to make a wish.” His bottom lip goes wonky. “That’s creepy as fuck.”
She turns to Jakob, who says, “Before you even say anything, I’m out.”
With a huff, she says, “Thanks a lot, Hutton, for scaring him.”
“Yeah, I’m not the one who scared him.”
Gnawing on her thumbnail cuticle, she looks around the bar. “Whatever. You’re just snobs. It’s like you want a perfect little princess.”
“Actually—”
“Don’t even say anything,” Jakob says when she storms away, heading straight toward another group of guys she seems to recognize.
When she holds her phone up like she did to us, Bennett chuckles. “I think that’s the first time in my life I’ve been called a snob.” He sips his drink and then adds, “Ethan maybe, but me, I’m innocent.”
“Sure you are, Ben. A perfect fucking angel.”
* * *
Three hours later, the women walk into the apartment to find Ally’s brother passed out and Bennett scrounging through the fridge looking for snacks. Ally holds up a bag. “I brought dinner.”
The bag is confiscated by my brother before she can even tell me what’s inside. Fuck, I’m starving, but seeing her there makes me wonder if it’s for food or for her. “Well, I did bring dinner,” she adds, laughing.
Something’s different about her, and it’s not just because I’m drunk-ish. She seems almost carefree, like how she used to be in Austin before the end came to that dream. I get up from the chair and greet her properly. Taking her by the waist, I dip her. A cross between happy and worried moves through her eyes. “I love you so fucking much.”
Happiness wins, and she touches my cheek. “Why do you love me?”
“I love you because every day with you feels like I’m living for the first time. I love you for your strong will and determination. I love you, Ally, for being you and for the man you believe I am. I’ll live up to it. I swear to you.”
“You can’t say things like that, Hutton, and not expect me to cry—”
“I just did.” I kiss her before she tries to take control, insisting she gets to run this show. It’s my dedication, so I kiss her again after we catch our breath. When I swing her to her feet, I say, “No great love affair comes without its obstacles. No matter what happens with the crown, I promise to give you the fairy-tale ending.”
“Is that a promise for a promise?”
We’re way past beating around the bush. “That’s a promise of marriage, princess.” I kiss her again and leave her leaning on the edge of the couch with bones of jelly.
Singer wraps her arm around Marielle’s shoulders, and says, “I’m telling you those Everest brothers are trouble.”
“Of the best kind,” she replies.
I say, “Be careful. Jakob was not happy hearing about you and my brother.”
“And you?”
“Whatever makes you happy. How serious are you?”
“Not serious.” Her reply comes fast. “I’m not the woman for him, and he’s not my Prince Charming. But he’s a lot of fun in the meantime.”
Bennett has definitely rubbed off on her. Maybe she’s changing too.
We walk into the dining area, and I sit down, asking, “So it’s all good with Marielle?”
“Yeah, she’s hot, but that situation is more complicated than I like to get when it comes to women right now.” He takes another large bite of the noodles. “Good Chinese food, by the way.”
Now that I know he won’t be heartbroken over Marielle, I make my way back to my princess. They turn up the volume to the TV, the college game we were watching now blaring. With their eyes glued to the screen, I’m about to whisper something in Ally’s ear, when she stands. “Open your eyes, ref!” she shouts at the TV. “That was a clean quarterback sack.”
My pride in her knowledge is crazy. That she not only learned about something I love but can get into it? So fucking hot. “Can I make you something to eat?”
“I’d love it. Thank you.”
Singer follows me into the kitchen. “I’m heading out, but I wanted to come tell you privately that Ally is wonderful, Hut. What an amazing woman.”
“She is.”
She hugs me. “I worry about you, but I’m worried about her as well. Is it safe for her to go back?”
“I don’t think so, which is why I’m going.”
“I think that’s best,” she says, “but be careful and keep in constant contact.”
“I will.”
“Where’s Margie?”
“Jakob
got her a room at the Westin across the street. He thought it best to give Ally a little space today to have fun.”
“Did she have fun?”
“She did. You might even have a little fun later once you see what she bought.”
Eyeing her, I ask, “Oh yeah? What is it?”
Singer zips her lips but then laughs. “I should get going. Ethan called me looking for his car keys.”
“Did he lose them?”
“Nope.” She pulls them from her pocket and dangles them. “I took the girls for a spin. It’s not every day someone gets to ride in a Lamborghini, even if they are royalty.”
“So Ethan doesn’t know you took his baby?”
“Eh, it’s not his baby.” With her hands on her hips, she wiggles. “I am. Gotta run. Later, Hut.”
She says goodbye to everyone and then slips out.
Checking to see if there’s anything left of the food Ally brought home, I grab a container from the table in front of Bennett. “I saved some,” he says.
“Not enough. I’m ordering pizza.” I place the order, but I notice the girls are getting louder and louder as they yell at the TV. I can relate . . . every Sunday.
Ally looks back at me, and says, “Football is so fucking frustrating.”
As if she wasn’t already a dream come true, now she’s cussing over football too. While we wait for the pizza to arrive, I take Ally and Marielle glasses of wine, and I’m rewarded with a kiss from my favorite girl.
I ask, “Have a minute to talk?”
She pushes up. “Yes, this game is too frustrating to watch anyway.”
I chuckle as we walk down the hall into the bedroom. She closes it and asks, “What’s up?”
“I’m going with you. I know what you said, and I’d like to honor that request—”
“It wasn’t a request, Hutton. You’ll upset my father the moment he lays eyes on you. I don’t want him operating from a defensive position.”
“I don’t want you to go either. So how do we reconcile the two sides?”
She comes to me, and her hands slip under my shirt. “So what you’re saying is you’re coming even though I believe you shouldn’t?”
