by Kit Kyndall
She frowned at him. “It sounds like you’ve already convicted him, and we haven’t even talked to him yet.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I truly hope I’m wrong, but I don’t expect to be.”
She leaned back even farther in her chair as she sighed. “I know it makes sense that he was the one who did it. He knows how the licensing system works, and he knows I violated my ethics. Perhaps he turned us in because of conscience rather than an attempt at manipulation.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t like how you phrase it as turn us in, as though we did something wrong.”
She sighed with a hint of impatience at his continued insistence of their innocence. “I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on that and perhaps avoid the subject in future. I’m just trying to find an alternate reason, one that makes more sense, for why Tucker would report our relationship.”
“I think you’re giving him too much leeway.”
“And I think you’re too quick to judge him harshly,” snapped Harper. “He might be guilty, but he might not. We have to figure out how to handle it delicately when we approach him.”
Bennet squared his shoulders. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve had years of practice at decorum and diplomacy. I’ll be able to finesse the answer from him and find out why he did it.”
“If he did it.”
He inclined his head. “If he did it.” His tone revealed his skepticism.
She was irritated with his continued insistence that Tucker was guilty, so she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. It wasn’t long before the pretense became reality as her long night caught up with her.
***
Bennet watched her sleep, knowing he should take advantage of the moment to do the same, but unable to look away from her beauty in repose. She looked so calm, and he feared things would be anything but when they reached the castle. He was tempted to confront Tucker on his own, but he immediately discarded the idea when he acknowledged how enraged Harper would be at his high-handed decision to bypass her. He was certain he had a better chance of getting Tucker to admit to what he had done, and more quickly, without her presence, but it could do irreparable harm to their relationship if he tried that.
It felt weird to think in such terms and to worry about the stability of a relationship. The attachments he’d had with women in his past could barely qualify as relationships. They had been shallow and unsatisfying, though he hadn’t realized at the time just how lacking they were until he contrasted it with what he had now.
Where he had once reveled in his tabloid name of the Playboy Prince, he now found it slightly appalling and more than a little disturbing how quickly he had gone through women without a second thought. He hadn’t used any of them, and they had been aware that he wasn’t out for anything permanent, but he still felt a niggle of guilt. Admittedly, most of the women he had dated had probably been with him because of his wealth and title, and not because of him personally, so perhaps it balanced out. They had used him as much as he had used them.
It still felt wrong now that he realized what a relationship could be. He wasn’t certain when he had fallen so hard for Harper, but the words “I love you” barely seemed adequate to describe the depth of his emotion. He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out for her hand and holding it. He smiled when it tightened around his in her sleep, and her lips quirked up into a small smile.
Just having her skin against his was enough to make him feel better, though he dreaded the confrontation with his friend. He might understand Tucker’s need to have Harper back in his life, but he couldn’t condone the lengths to which he had gone to accomplish that. Surely, Tucker had known Harper was likely to lose her license when he’d filed the report, but he had done it anyway. He was willing to hurt her to have her, and that left him completely unworthy in Bennet’s eyes.
Chapter Twelve
“Why did you do it?” Bennet issued the question in a stern voice as they cornered Tucker in the exercise room.
“What happened to diplomacy and decorum?” asked Harper, frowning down at him.
He ignored her censure as he focused his gaze on Tucker. “Well?”
Tucker set down the free weight he was lifting and reached for a towel to wipe off his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, so I don’t know what answer you’re looking for here, Bennet.”
“We just got back from the states,” said Harper. Her tone was much nicer than his had been. “Someone reported our relationship to the American Academy of Physical Therapists, and they summoned me for a disciplinary hearing.”
He looked genuinely shocked, but he could just be a good actor. Bennet wasn’t ready to absolve him of guilt just yet. “What do you know about that?”
Bennet frowned, and his confusion was starting to change to anger. “I don’t know anything about it except what Harper just said. I wondered where you two had disappeared to, but I figured you were on some kind of couple’s trip. I knew you had briefly come back from Switzerland, and then you were gone again. No one tells me anything.”
“I’ll tell you this. Whoever set out to destroy Harper is going to pay for it.” He crossed his arms over his chest as he made the statement. Harper put her hand on his shoulder, and he barely resisted the urge to shrug it off. It wasn’t because he didn’t want her touch, but because it was a slight admonishment to dial it down, and he didn’t want to do that. He wanted to blast Tucker with all the anger he was feeling.
“Were you the one who reported us, Tucker?” Harper seemed reluctant to ask.
His shoulders stiffened, and he glared at both of them. “You think I’d do that to you? You’re my friends, and I don’t care that you’re sleeping together. All that matters is you’re getting him to do the work he needs to, and losing you as his physical therapist is going to be a major setback. I don’t know why you think I’d…” He trailed off before his gaze sharpened as it turned to Bennet. “You think I still want her back, and I’d go to any length to do it?”
“I can certainly understand why you’d want to. I’d do anything to keep her.” There was a hint of challenge in his tone when he said the words as he reached for her hand. Harper tried to pull away, but when he squeezed lightly, she conceded. “I can understand the desperation, but not the betrayal.”
Tucker cursed. “I’ll tell you what’s a betrayal, and it’s this. You ganged up on me and decided I’m guilty, you come in throwing around your accusations like I don’t care about either one of you. Well to hell with both of you. I quit, and I’ll be outta here as soon as possible.”
“Tucker,” called Harper, but he didn’t even look back as he strode out. When she turned to glare at him, her anger was obvious. “You didn’t have to handle it that way. We could have just asked him, like I tried to.”
Bennet scoffed. “He wasn’t going to be honest. If he’ll sink to the level of reporting you for an ethics violation to have a shot at getting you back, he’s not going to be above some lying and some melodramatic acting.” As he said the words, he squirmed slightly inside, realizing he wasn’t entirely confident in them. He’d known Tucker for a long time, and to his knowledge, his friend had never lied to him. In fact, he didn’t think Tucker had ever lied at all. Had he misjudged his friend? But if it wasn’t Tucker, then who was it?
“I’m going to go talk to him.”
When Bennet reached for her hand, she evaded him and tugged free of the one he already held. “Don’t try to come with me. You’ll just make things worse.”
He was hurt by her tone, but acknowledged that she might be right. The first hints of doubt were creeping in, and he was starting to feel a bit like an ass for just assuming Tucker had done this. His friend had had the best and strongest motivation that he could see, but that didn’t mean he was the one who’d reported them. He wished he’d had that thought before confronting the other man.
He didn’t try to call Harper back or follow her. Instead, he watched her leave before exiting the weight
room and going the opposite direction down the hall. He had passed a few feet when Fiona stepped out of an office in front of him, closing the door behind her before turning to face him. She seemed startled by his presence, and she clutched a hand to her chest. “I didn’t know you were back yet, Your Highness.”
He shrugged. “We got back about an hour ago.”
Her lips pursed, and she frowned down at him. “Who is we?”
He glared at her. “I don’t think I like your tone.”
“Just answer the question,” she snapped.
His eyes widened, and he shot her a quelling look. “I’m sure you know the answer. It was Harper and me.”
Her lip curled, and she was oozing disdain. “What possible use could an unlicensed physical therapist be to you, Your Highness? Surely you don’t intend to keep her in your employment when she’s working illegally?”
Anger stirred in his chest. “I’ll employ whoever I damn well please, Fiona, and it’s none of your business. You should worry more about—” He broke off abruptly as her words filtered through his conscious. “How did you know she’s unlicensed?”
Fiona shrugged. “It’s my job to know everything that could possibly affect this family, so of course I was following her hearing closely.”
Cold anger was burning in his stomach as he started to realize just what had happened. “How did you even know about the hearing?” he asked in a deceptively calm tone. “We didn’t mention it to anyone before flying from Stratta to the US.”
She shrugged. “I have my ways.”
The anger exploded from him, and he couldn’t keep it in check. “You’re fired.”
Her eyes widened, and she took a step back. “What in the world?”
“I said you’re fired. Dismissed. You’ve been sacked. Pick any of the terms you want, but pack your things and get out of the castle. You’re no longer employed by the Casparian family.”
She looked shocked for a moment, and then her composure returned. “I’m employed by the king, not you. I’m not fired, and there’s no way King Barret would allow you to dismiss me. He needs me too much.”
“When he hears what you did, he’ll support me in firing you. Why did you do it, Fiona? Are you just jealous of Harper, because she’s talented and accomplished and beautiful?”
Fiona straightened her shoulders, and her voice was full of confidence when she spoke. “Of course not. I’m all those things as well, Your Highness.”
He snorted. “Whatever you need to tell yourself to get through the day, I guess. Why then? Are you in love with me, or something? If this was your way of driving us apart so you’d have an opening, you might as well know now there’s absolutely zero chance. It could be subzero temperatures in hell, with the demons ice-skating, and I wouldn’t look twice at you—especially knowing what I know about you now.”
She looked outright appalled. “That’s absolutely disgusting, Bennet. You’re so full of yourself, and a good dose of reality might help disrupt the fantasy world you live in. Not every woman wants you.”
“I’m relieved to hear that, but I’m still confused about why you did what you did.”
She turned away from him. “I’m done with this interrogation.”
“Only until I speak with Barret,” he called after her. As he watched her storm away, he realized he needed to find Tucker and apologize as quickly as possible. He’d made a mess of things for sure.
***
“He handled it badly, but he’s upset. I hope you’ll forgive him, Tucker.”
Bennet approached the doorway, where the door was open, and heard those words come from Tucker’s room.
“He was a real ass about it, and I didn’t do anything. I wouldn’t do that to either one of you. You’re my friends, and I care about you. You’ve been so good for him, and I know that. You’ve gotten him fully engaged in healing himself, and you’ve shown him that he can have an adult relationship without having to run away. I wouldn’t jeopardize that, and I certainly wouldn’t put you in a position to lose your license. I don’t know why he thinks it was me.”
Bennet wheeled into the room. “I think it’s because I’m a gigantic ass. I’m sorry, Tucker. I jumped to the conclusion that you wanted her as much as I do, so I put myself in your position. I realized I’d do anything to have her, so it seemed logical that you were the one who had done this to us.”
Tucker glared at him, arms crossed over his chest. He clearly wasn’t going to make it easy. “So what are you apologizing for? Is it for the accusation, or for the assumption that I’m guilty without even so much as a trial? Or maybe it’s just for the way you phrased your accusation, but you still believe it?”
Bennet shook his head. “I don’t believe it. I know who turned us in, and I know it wasn’t you. I came to make things right, and I hope you’ll accept my apology. I don’t want to lose you, Tucker. You’re not just my doctor. You’re also my friend, and I should’ve remembered that before I attacked you with unproven allegations prompted mostly by jealousy.” That was the uncomfortable truth. He was still jealous that Tucker had once had a relationship with Harper, and he’d allowed that to cloud his judgment as much as anything.
Tucker’s tense posture gradually loosened, and his arms dropped to his side. “I accept your apology, but only because you admitted you’re a gigantic ass. And because you don’t think I did it now. Like I was telling Harper, I’d never do that to either one of you.”
Bennet nodded. “I heard, and I should’ve known that from the start.”
“I hate to interrupt this male bonding session,” said Harper dryly, “But if you know who did it, then why don’t you enlighten us?”
He grinned at her. “Sorry, babe, but you can’t come between our friendship.” His eyes almost watered at the sour look she sent him. He just chuckled. “I need to make things right with Tucker, but I understand you’re in suspense too. It was Fiona.”
Tucker stiffened as Harper gasped.
She frowned at him. “Why would she do such a thing?”
Bennet lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t know. I asked her that, but she wouldn’t admit to anything.”
“If you asked her as delicately as you asked me, it’s no wonder she’s on the defensive.”
Bennet frowned Tucker. “I know you have feelings for her, but don’t let it cloud your judgment. I’m telling you she’s the one who did this.”
“And five minutes ago, you were convinced it was me. Who’s it going to be next? The butler in the library with the candlestick?”
Bennet blinked in confusion as Harper giggled behind him. “I’m afraid I don’t get the reference, but I’m positive it was her. She knew Harper has been unlicensed, and she told me she’d been keeping an eye on the situation. We didn’t mention the hearing to anyone, so how would she have known unless she instigated it?”
Harper surged forward, and her anger was obvious. “I’ve never done anything to her. I’ve always tried to be nice, or at least civil with her, though she’s cold as ice to me. Why would she do this to me?”
Tucker sounded resigned when he said, “She’s in love with Bennet, so she wants to get rid of you.”
Bennet shook his head, recalling her disgust when he had posed the suggestion. She wasn’t a good enough actress to fake that level of appalled. It had seemed completely genuine. “I don’t think that’s it, but I don’t have an explanation for why. Maybe Barret can get her to talk.”
“Good luck. She’s a bit of an ice queen.” Tucker looked sad when he said the words.
Bennet could have pointed out she was a lot more than an ice queen, but he decided to keep it to himself. He’d already done enough damage to his friendship with Tucker. “Are you going to stick around?”
Tucker nodded, scooting aside the suitcase that was open on his bed as he moved forward. “I guess I have to know how this drama ends, and I don’t know what you’d do without me.”
Bennet held out his hand, waiting for a second to see if
his friend would take it. He exhaled in relief when Tucker’s hand enfolded his. “I don’t even want to find out, buddy. I really am sorry for how I reacted.”
“You can make it up to me with two weeks’ paid vacation and a raise.”
Bennet laughed. “Agreed. Now let’s go talk to Barret.”
Chapter Thirteen
It took a bit of work to track down Barret, since they couldn’t call Fiona to ask where he was. Finally, they found him in the sitting room of his suite, about to have afternoon tea. He’d answered the door himself, looking startled to see them, but stepped aside to allow them entry. “I was just about to have tea. Would you care to join me?”
“We don’t have time for tea,” said Bennet.
Harper took a step forward, putting a hand on Bennet’s shoulder and squeezing lightly. “Thank you, Your Highness. We’d be honored.
“That’s Your Majesty,” said Tucker softly.
“Just Barret will do,” said the king. “Let me ring for more tea for everyone, and then you can tell me what’s on your mind.”
Harper felt strange in the king’s private quarters, sitting down to have tea with him. In an abstract way, she knew he was Bennet’s brother, which meant if they continued a relationship, he might eventually become family of some sort to her as well, but the thought was just intimidating.
“We’re in a hurry here, Barret.”
Barret seemed unmoved by Bennet’s urgency. “There’s usually time for tea.”
It was such a British response, even though he was Montrovian, that it almost made Harper giggle. She suspected her need to laugh was more to do with nerves than anything, so she stifled the impulse and took a seat on the pristine white sofa across from the king. Tucker sat beside her, but Bennet made no move to transition to either sofa.
The king placed the call for more tea before turning his attention to them. “What’s troubling you, Bennet?”
“I fired Fiona, and I need you to support that.”
