Page 55

He should be grateful that she’d accepted George’s offer. He’d dodged a bullet. After all, he barely knew her, really. They’d met less than a week ago, had sex a few times, and that was it. He didn’t need her, and she certainly didn’t need him.
But he wasn’t relieved.
And he didn’t feel happy at all.
He kicked the door shut behind him and leaned against it, squeezing his eyes shut tight. His chest held an aching hollowness to it, and it hurt to swallow. It didn’t make any fucking sense. He didn’t need her, damn it. Didn’t need anyone.
“What are you doing here?” Cooper Shillings, his boss, asked.
Gordon’s eyes flicked open. It was well after nine o’clock, and he hadn’t been expecting anyone to be here. Not only was Cooper here, but so was his co-worker, Jake Forsythe. They both looked pretty damn drunk, too. Too bad he wasn’t.
“I…uh…I forgot some paperwork for my case,” he said.
“For the princess?” Jake asked, leaning against the doorjamb and looking half asleep already. He looked as if he’d been running his hands through his hair all night. “Isn’t she due to go home tomorrow?”
Gordon nodded, his chest getting even tighter. “Yes, thank God.”
Maybe once she left, he would be free of this odd hold she had over him. Maybe he’d be able to go back to being him…whatever the hell that meant, anyway.
“You don’t look happy about it,” Cooper said, his green eyes narrow on him. They reminded him of Belle’s eyes, which made him curl his fists into tight balls at his sides. Cooper
pointed at Jake with his thumb. “You look about as bad as he did before I got him drunk.”
“I’m fine,” Gordon muttered.
“I’m not,” Jake tossed in, his green eyes hollow.
Green eyes…just like his Belle.
“Jesus, does everyone in this fucking office have green eyes?” Gordon snarled.
“What?” Jake blinked at him.
Cooper cocked a brow. “Hm.”
“Stop it.” Gordon’s cheeks got suspiciously hot. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“The princess has green eyes, doesn’t she?” Cooper asked.
“She does,” Jake offered. “I saw her picture.”
Cooper pressed his tongue to the inside of his left cheek. “Hm.”
“What?” Gordon snapped, crossing his arms.
“He’s got it bad,” Cooper said in a loud stage-whisper to Jake. “Just like you.”
Jake scowled. “What the fuck, man?”
“Yeah, what the fuck?” Gordon asked. “I don’t have ‘it’ bad, or at all, even. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Yeah.” Cooper snorted. “Sure you are.”
Gordon tensed. “She’s my charge, and she leaves tomorrow. Nothing more to it than that.”
“Funny, because I was called earlier today by a certain ambassador of her country, and he told me that you were going to marry the princess.” Cooper leveled those green eyes on him again. “We all saw the video, man. She obviously meant something to you.”
“Shit.”