Glass Castle Prince

by Nicole Williams

  “Charlotte!” Theo shouted, scrambling toward me.

  My pride bore the initial sting as I assessed the damage from where I’d smashed into the floor. A shooting pain made itself known in my ankle right after.

  “Who put that there?” I groaned as Theo leapt over the footstool I’d tripped over.

  “Are you okay?” He slid to his knees beside me, worried eyes scanning my head before skimming down the rest.

  “Other than making an idiot of myself, I’m fine.” When I started to sit up, Theo’s hand moved behind me, helping me.

  “I’m the idiot. You wouldn’t have tripped if I hadn’t been chasing you around the damn room.” His arm fixed around my back as he guided me to standing.

  The instant I put weight on my left ankle, sharp pain jolted up my leg. I didn’t make a sound, but Theo noticed my grimace.

  “Shit,” he grunted, his brows pulling together when he inspected my ankle.

  “It’s all fun and games until someone trips over a footstool and injures their ankle,” I teased as he started to assist me out of the room.

  After a few hobbled steps, Theo threw me into his arms instead, carrying me as though I weighed no more than a couple of pillows. The instant Theo stepped inside the ballroom, Edward was there.

  “What happened?” he snapped, scanning me.

  Theo’s hands curled deeper into me. “Her ankle.”

  Edward’s jaw set as he spun toward my feet.

  “It isn’t broken,” I said quickly as his hand settled around it, fingers searching.

  When he touched the spot at the base of my ankle bone, I flinched. Edward’s eyes were narrowed when they landed on Theo. “I’ll take it from here. You can get back to the party.”

  Theo’s arms tightened when Edward reached for me. “I’m not leaving her.”

  “That is where your opinion and my opinion differ.”

  “Could you two do this later please?” I piped up, realizing we were starting to draw the attention of others. “Sorry my ankle’s inconveniencing you both, but if someone could find me an ice pack and a place to elevate my leg, I can take care of the rest.”

  “Maybe I should take you to the hospital.” Theo glanced at my ankle, swelling by the second.

  “Maybe you should learn the difference between a sprain and a break,” Edward fired back, leading us out of the room.

  Theo muttered something but followed Edward through the foyer and down the east hall. “I’m so sorry, Charlotte. I’m an idiot.”

  “It’s not your fault I’ve got a talent for clumsiness,” I replied.

  Edward threw a door open, but I didn’t realize what door it was until we’d stepped inside.

  “Put her on the bed,” Edward ordered, yanking the fresh shirt he had out for tomorrow off the hanger and grabbing a bucket of ice with what appeared to be a bottle of champagne with his other hand.

  What was he doing with a bottle of champagne in his room? It made me wonder who he was planning to entertain later.

  “This your room?” Theo asked, scanning the room with obvious displeasure.

  “They’re all my rooms.” Edward removed the champagne before dumping the ice into his shirt. Tying the sleeves, he twisted the rest of the shirt together until he’d formed a kind of ice pack.

  Theo was not amused by Edward’s response. His jaw looked close to shattering when he set me on the bed. “This the one you sleep in though?”

  “Why? You worried what will happen if you put your girlfriend in my bed?” Edward didn’t spare a glance at Theo as he collected several throw pillows from a chaise.

  It took me a second to realize Edward was talking about me. Theo’s girlfriend was me . . . but the title felt wrong. I wasn’t his girlfriend, we’d never made anything official.

  But Theo wasn’t arguing it.

  Neither did I.

  “I’m not worried.” Theo unwound his arms from behind me while Edward gently lifted my ankle onto the stack of pillows he’d built.

  The corners of Edward’s eyes wrinkled as he examined my ankle, which more resembled a softball covered with skin. “What did you do?”

  “I tripped,” I said, bracing myself as he carefully balanced the shirt tied up with ice on my ankle.

  “Why did you trip?” Edward made no effort to hide who he held responsible.

  “Why does the sun rise in the east and set in the west? You put a small object anywhere in my path, I’m going to trip over it. Some things are certain. ” I shrugged, not missing the mounting tension in the room.

  “Are you sure it’s not broken?” Theo asked, taking my hand as he sat beside me on the bed. “It looks pretty bad.”

  Edward’s hand settled gently around my ankle, sliding beneath the ice pack. His fingers smoothed along my skin, tracing contours and exploring the valleys surrounding my ankle.

  “I’m sure. Again.” When he noticed Theo’s and my hands twined together, Edward diverted his gaze to the window.

  I’d never been inside his room. I’d caught a glimpse inside when the door had been cracked open one time I’d passed by, but I’d never imagined I’d one day be lying in the Prince of Norland’s bed. Innocent as it was, still, I was lying in Edward’s bed. My head was where his head rested, my body where his laid, my scent mixing with his I could smell on the pillowcase.

  When I shifted, another jolt of pain shot down my ankle.

  Theo was too busy glaring at Edward to notice. Edward was too focused on me not to.

  “I’ve got some pain relievers around here somewhere.” Edward marched across the room and disappeared behind a door I guessed led to his bathroom.

  Edward out of sight, Theo visibly relaxed. His hand tightened around mine. “I was envisioning this night going much differently.”

  “Differently how?” I asked, playing naïve.

  When Edward emerged from the bathroom, Theo kissed me, his lips lingering for a while. “I’ll show you the next time I see you, how about that?” he said, just loud enough to be heard by all parties in the room.

  “Theo, you should leave.” Edward had a couple of pill bottles in his hand, his face absent of all emotion.

  Theo settled a little deeper into the mattress. “I think I’ll stay.”

  Edward’s gaze landed on Theo, the makings of a ruler in those unblinking eyes. “I know you’ll go.”

  Theo huffed, giving me a look that read Can you believe this guy? “What makes you so sure I’ll leave?” he asked Edward.

  “If need be, I’ll make you.” Edward shook a couple of pills into his hand, reaching for the bottle of water on his night table.

  Theo shook his head, chuckling. “Just because you’re going to be king one day makes you think you can just order around anyone you choose, your friends included?”

  “I don’t need to order you to make you leave.” Edward twisted the cap off the water bottle and held it out for me. “Title aside, I could take care of that all on my own.”

  Theo’s hand unwove from mine as he rose off the bed. “I’d like to see that for myself.”

  Edward ignored Theo’s posture, his attention aimed on me. “So would I.”

  Theo stood there, practically frothing at the mouth as he waited for Edward to give him his attention. Theo stood a couple inches taller and probably had an extra thirty pounds of mass on Edward, not to mention he had emotion on his side.

  Yet still, Edward didn’t appear the slightest bit concerned that the human equivalent of a grizzly bear was ready to attack.

  “Theo, maybe he’s right. No more party for me. I’m officially out of commission.” I motioned at my ankle after swallowing the pills Edward had handed me. “I’m going to try to get some rest, then I’ll call you in the morning when I’m awake.” When Theo’s gaze cut to Edward, I continued, “I’m safe with him, I promise.”

  “Yes, Theo. You have nothing to worry about.” Edward marched back into the bathroom. “I’ll take good care of her.” His voice echoed from inside, an underc
urrent in his tone that Theo was immune to.

  “You’re sure you don’t want me to stay?” Theo asked me, indecision set in his brow.

  “We don’t both need to be miserable. Go get some rest. I know you had a long couple of weeks in the capital.” I put on my most certain face, wondering why I was in such a hurry to get him to leave. “We can talk about that first date tomorrow.”

  Theo seemed convinced. He kissed me then started for the door.

  “Make sure to grab a coat or blanket before going outside,” I said. “We don’t want you turning into an ice-cube in your man-sarong.”

  Theo paused at the door, a glimmer in his eyes. “I’m sure you could think of a few ways to warm me up.”

  That was when Edward reemerged, having changed out of his toga into what I assumed were his pajamas, not that I could even begin to guess what a prince wore to bed, but the ensemble he was in got my approval. Dark cotton pants cinched with a drawstring low on his hips . . . and nothing else.

  Theo lingered in the doorway.

  “Thank you for the present,” I said to Theo, mentally cursing Edward for not stalling in the bathroom for two more seconds. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Call me if you need anything.”

  When I caught Edward opening his mouth, I leveled him with a look. He swallowed his words, exhaling instead.

  Theo was no longer in the doorway, though I didn’t miss that he’d left the door wide open. It didn’t escape Edward either. Striding across the room, he sealed the door and secured the lock.

  “Locking me inside?”

  “Locking everyone else out,” he answered, riffling through the closet he’d opened.

  Now that Theo was gone, I relaxed. My body seemed to melt into the billows of Edward’s blankets, my head sinking into the pillow. The pain in my ankle receded some, a dull tingling taking the place of the initial searing pain.

  That was when I realized there could be something else to blame for the sudden wave of relaxation.

  “What did you give me?” I shot up in bed, trying to recall the color and shape of the pills he’d handed me. “Edward?”

  He gave me a funny look when he turned from the closet, clutching an extra blanket and pillow he dropped beside the door. “Afraid I slipped you a couple of forget-me-nots so I could have my way with you?”

  “Afraid is not the reaction I’d lead with. Rage would be closer to it.” My eyes narrowed at him as I ran a quick inventory of my bodily functions. I felt relaxed, but nothing that would suggest he’d slipped me anything more heavy-duty than—

  “Ibuprofen,” he answered. “To help with the swelling and the pain. If you want something stronger, we’re going to have to talk to Frederick.”

  “Ibuprofen is great.” I relaxed into his bed, attempting to keep my attention diverted from Edward’s bare upper half. “Why were you so hard on Theo? It wasn’t like he was the one who tripped over the footstool at an awkward angle.”

  Edward shook out the blanket folded at the foot of his bed and draped it over me. “Because Theo had something to do with you twisting your ankle.” When I opened my mouth to disagree, Edward stopped me. “No lies, remember?”

  I sighed. “Fine. Next question.” I tried to ignore that he was naked from the waist up, hovering above me as he tucked the edges of the blanket around my shoulders. Abs that hinted at a rigorous core workout did not come easy to ignore though. “Why don’t you like him?”

  “He hasn’t given me any reason to like him.” His mouth quirked when he looked at my head, before he adjusted my sideways crown once more.

  “But he’s given you reasons for not liking him?” I said.

  Edward was silent as he settled on the edge of the bed, beside my ankle, his hands cradling it gently before lowering it to his lap. I felt more sharp sensations in my general foot region, though pain wasn’t at the top. His fingers circled my ankle, gently massaging the swollen area. My head sank deeper into the pillow.

  “You can’t trust a person whose eyes express something different than their words.” His words were slow and deliberate. “That’s one of the first lessons my father taught me. Theo says a lot that his eyes don’t agree with.”

  My tongue worked into my cheek as I considered what he’d said. I agreed with the sentiment, but I didn’t see how it applied to Theo. He might have been an entirely different person than Edward, but that didn’t mean one was good and the other not. There wasn’t one mold a good man was carved out of.

  When I grimaced after he massaged the most sensitive area below my ankle, he frowned. “Sorry.”

  “This is your favorite shirt.” My eyes landed on the tied-together shirt holding melting ice that was now dripping onto his lap.

  His head tipped. “How do you know?”

  “You wear it more than the others.”

  “And you’ve noticed that?” he replied.

  I budged beneath the blanket. Why did I know that? I’d been living under the same roof as him for a few weeks, not decades.

  “I’m observant,” I said, content with my explanation.

  He adjusted the makeshift ice pack on my ankle, smiling faintly at his wet shirt. “It’s still my favorite.”

  “Where did you learn to do all of this?” My gaze dropped to my ankle. “It’s like you were the one whose parents were grooming them to become a doctor.”

  His chest moved. “No. I learned basic first aid in the military.” He stopped massaging my ankle. “If you’d have nicked an artery, you wouldn’t want to bet your life on me.”

  My head twisted deeper into the pillow. “You were in the military? I don’t recall a stretch of news articles and photos of you in boots and camo.”

  “That’s because we worked very hard to make sure the press didn’t know about it. You know, so I wasn’t in the crosshairs of every sight on the enemy’s lines.” He moved my foot from his lap to the stack of pillows. “It was only for a year, the summer after I turned eighteen. It was one of the few things I managed to get my way on with my father.”

  “And look at your military training coming in handy five years later, saving a clumsy woman’s ankle from being confused for a grapefruit.”

  “If only my colonel could see me now.” Edward rose from the bed and switched off a couple of lamps stationed along the windows.

  Was he expecting me to sleep here? Was he making it easier for me to relax? Why was he turning off lights late at night with me in his bed?

  “Okay, so people need to give you a reason for you to like them,” I circled back, mainly because the silence was more intimate than any conversation could have been. “You like me.”

  He paused before switching off the next light. “You’ve given me reasons to like you.”

  “Reasons like what?”

  The light extinguished. “You’re not clingy. You don’t agree with everything I say. In fact, you seem to make it a point to disagree at every turn. You don’t view the world as though it owes you anything, and you work hard, not for the sake of being noticed but for that conviction.” He continued to the second-to-last light. “Your thoughts don’t toil over vapid obsessions, nor do you seem to care much what others think.”

  I rolled up onto my elbow, my forehead creasing. “Was that a nice way of saying I’m not exactly pretty?”

  His back was to me as he switched off the lamp, leaving only one to fill the darkness. I watched his shoulders rise and fall as he took several breaths. “That was my way of saying that for someone who gives very little thought to beauty, I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful in my life.”

  My breath hiccupped, struck by the unexpectedness of his confession.

  “As that person who doesn’t give much thought to beauty,” I said, burrowing deeper under his dark green comforter, “that compliment was kind of everything.”

  Instead of heading to the last lamp, Edward approached the bed. I wondered if he could hear my heart beating as loudly as I imagined it was. His gaze dipped to my
neck.

  “He got you jewelry,” he stated emotionlessly. “Appears as though your concerns are misplaced.”

  “I don’t know. Tonight, kissing . . .” My eyes squeezed shut when I thought back to earlier. “It still felt like a disaster.”

  “Have you considered that maybe it’s not the kissing that’s wrong, but the person you’re doing it with?”

  His question made me think of a different kiss with a different person. “About earlier. When you pulled me into that room before Theo showed up.” I blinked at him. “What was that?”

  A wrinkle carved deep between his eyebrows, a storm of indecision brewing in his eyes. The storm abated when they fell to the diamond resting against my neck. “I thought you’d like one last round of practice before the true test with Theo.” Edward swallowed as he turned toward the door. “So all of the mechanics were fresh in your mind.”

  “Oh.” My expression fell, but his back was to me so he couldn’t witness it. “Thanks.”

  “Any time.” His voice was distant as he crouched to retrieve the pillow and blanket from the floor.

  “Your answer . . .” My throat became instantly dry. “About moving on to the next level of practice.”

  “Not tonight.” His hand stalled on the door handle. “Tomorrow. I promise.”

  “And what if tomorrow you say the same thing?” I pressed, confused.

  Theo wasn’t the only one giving mixed signals. One minute I felt confident Edward cared for me, the next I was reminded he was only showing interest because I’d conned him into being my experience guinea pig.

  “I won’t,” he promised as he opened the door.

  “How do you know?”

  “You won’t let me.” He started out the door.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Going to bed. I’ll be right across the hall and keep the doors open, so just call out if you need something. I’m a light sleeper.”

  “This is your room,” I argued.

  When I sat up, he shook his head. “Tonight”—his eyes found mine—“it’s yours.”

  Chapter 12