Page 39

Her words were sincere, but they made no sense to me. Gripping her hands, I pushed my fingers into the gaps between hers, locking us together. “You don’t need to make me your role model. You’re already bold, and strong, and just—Nova, I’ve never met a woman as easygoing as you. Not a single one.”

“Yes,” she agreed slowly. “I’m like this now.”

I waited for her to finish her thought. Instead she escaped from my grasp. Her palm pressed on the door of the restroom. “I’ll go out first. Wait a bit, we don’t want to create a big scandal about you and me having sex in public.”

I almost made a joke, complaining that it was unfair to say that when we hadn’t actually had sex. But I held my tongue. I watched her peek outside, and I stared at where she’d been long after she was gone.

- CHAPTER SIXTEEN -

HAWTHORNE

There was a box on my bed.

Eyeing it, I undid my tie and tossed it over the back of a chair. I’d been up to my new room once since we’d returned to the castle—so I could change for dinner—and this box hadn’t been here.

It was rectangular; white, with a slim gold ribbon strung across at an angle. It stuck out on the richly emerald blankets, which matched my curtains ... the circular floor rug ... even the backsplash over my bathroom sink.

Sitting on the mattress, I pulled the box into my lap. Who would leave me a gift? Had Mom sent me clothes for tomorrow? Popping the lid off, I paused. Inside the container, wrapped in tissue paper, was a silk dress the same shade of red as the garden roses. Silver lined the open back, and when I lifted it high to see the length, I whistled.Unless I missed something, I don’t think my mother expects me to wear THIS for the photo shoot.

Digging through the paper, I discovered a small receipt. Venus Fashion. That was the store I’d left Nova at while I’d run off to take care of something.If this is what she bought...Of course; whoever had unloaded all our shopping bags from the car had mixed things up, leaving this in my room instead of hers.

Pressing the receipt back into the tissue paper, I noticed there were more items in the box. Flaring my nostrils, I strung the lacy lingerie across my fingers. My mind was rapidly forming a mental image of this underwear cupping her perfect ass and pussy.

“Jesus,” I breathed out, shifting on the bed. My erection was swollen and hot against my thigh in my boxers. The wrongness of exploring her underwear was a perverse turn-on.She bought this while I wasn’t with her.Was she hoping to surprise me? After folding everything back into the box, I hoisted it under my arm. I had an excuse to go see Nova; of course I was going to use it.

Leaving my room, I wandered down the long hall. I didn’t know where she was staying exactly, but she’d told me, after we’d returned, that her quarters were in the east wing of the castle. Apparently her family was staying in the rooms they usually occupied when they visited Austere and Hester for the summer. That was why none of them had looked curious; they’d spent plenty of time in the castle in the past.

It was another advantage they had over me.

As I walked, I passed a servant here and there. They always nodded, making sure I saw they were acknowledging my presence. The coronation wasn’t for another two weeks, but it didn’t matter if there wasn’t a crown on my head; everyone knew I was the son of their long-lost would-be king, Maverick.

Clutching the box, I walked faster, cutting through the foyer. The front doors were shut. I could hear talking in the direction of the dining room through the doors under the stairs. My parents were catching up with all manner of important people, doing the work I had no desire to.

The east wing was quiet. It looked just like any other hallway with its big paintings and old statues. If you let yourself, you could pretend you were back in the old days when this castle had been constructed.

Which room is hers?I could have sent a text, but I wanted to surprise her. Stopping in front of the first door I saw, I knocked softly. No answer. Moving down, I knocked on the next one. It went like that until I got to lucky door number four—that time, when I rapped my knuckles, I heard movement inside.

Bracing myself with the box in hand, I waited. The handle twitched; my heart copied it. But the person who peered out at me wasn’t Nova.

“Thorne?” Darla asked. She was dressed in a pink satin robe with a plunging neckline. Her long hair was damp, tugged into a messy bun. She looked around me, like she’d expected someone else. Her manicured eyebrows went up. “This is a surprise.”

“Ah, actually,” I started to say.

Her attention dashed to the box I held. “Oh! Did you bring me a gift?” Clasping her hands together like a little girl on Christmas, Darla grabbed my wrist, trying to pull me into the room. “Why are you standing there like that? Get in here.”

Digging my heels in was enough to keep her from yanking me through the doorway. Darla let go, her expression downshifting into one of disbelief. “I was looking for Nova.”

The bow shape of her mouth unfurled into an ugly frown. “Well, you found someone better. Maybe this is a happy accident.” Crossing her arms, she exaggerated the dramatic line of her cleavage. “You sure you don’t want to come inside? No one would have to know.”

“I’m flattered, but ... I’d know.” My smile was crooked. “Can you point me to your sister’s room, please?”

Her honey-colored eyes turned darker. “What is it about Nova that you like so much? I can’t figure it out.” Her nails were knotting up in the fabric of her robe. I kept expecting the pink material to rip under the pressure.

She’s not used to being rejected.“Listen,” I said cautiously, “I’d rather not do this.”

“I asked because I want to know. I’m a big fucking girl, Hawthorne.”

The thing was, it didn’t matter if she could handle the truth ... because I didn’t know what the damn truth was. How could I lay out in words, so plainly, the things that Nova did to me? She was my enemy—and she also wasn’t. That woman was nothing like the rest of the Valentines.