Page 15

“I think it was a tragic accident, but that’s all.” Josiah continued to hold Bekah’s hand loosely. “I think there’s something more going on, but I don’t know what.”

“I’m inclined to agree, as are Justin and Thor. If either one of them know more than that, they haven’t told me yet.” Ben glanced at a notification on his phone. “If you’ll excuse me, I have another meeting in a few minutes, and I need to look over some notes.”

Josiah stood, letting go of Bekah’s hand as she joined him. “Thanks for going to bat for us, Ben.”

“It’s my job,” his brother answered, already distracted by the paperwork in front of him. “Don’t worry about their nonsense. It won’t come to much of anything.”

Without saying anything else, Josiah headed for a door different from the main one where Chamberlain’s office was or the one they came in. This one led to a back corridor where they could make it through the palace without being seen by much of anyone. It was also shorter.

So why had he taken Bekah the other way earlier?

Because it’s the way he always went? To impress her with the opulence of the palace? To sort of show off to anyone who saw them that he’d finally found the girl for him and married her?

Or for no real reason at all?

“This isn’t the way we came,” Bekah commented as they walked down the more normal-sized hallway to a set of stairs that wouldn’t win any awards for grandness.

“Nah. It’s the back way. I don’t know why I usually go the other way. Maybe because it’s the front door, so to speak. I realized we probably didn’t want to see anyone if we didn’t have to.”

“Good call,” she replied after a second’s delay.

It took several minutes, but they made it back to the apartment without saying much more to each other.

Josiah held the door open for her.

“They sure didn’t waste any time.” Bekah stopped as soon as she cleared the threshold.

He peered around her. Most of the furniture had been removed, but nothing had been brought back in yet. “Guess not.”

“So how do we go about deciding what we want to replace it with?” She moved farther into the room allowing Josiah to follow her in.

He pulled his phone and tapped his sister’s contact information. Voicemail. “Hey, Gen. It’s Siah. Thank you for making sure the furniture was removed, but we do need somewhere to sit. Can you let me know what we need to do to get something else in? Thanks.”

Bekah’s head was tilted as she looked at him.

“What?”

“I noticed your brother do it, too, but I thought you preferred Joe for a nickname. He and you both used Siah.”

Josiah shrugged. “I went by Joe when I first moved to the States, to kind of separate from being Prince Josiah. My family has always called me Siah, sometimes at least. Not always. More often in recent years.”

“Which do you prefer?”

“It doesn’t much matter to me.”

Her head remained cocked to the side. “Then, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll call you Siah.”

* * *

From the lookon Josiah’s face, Bekah couldn’t tell what he thought about her use of the name Siah for him.

So she hurried on. “I just mean, it’ll help solidify that we have a real relationship. If no one really calls you that but your family, then if I use it, that must mean that I know you well, right?”

He nodded but looked at his phone rather than responding. “Gen’s on her way up. She said she’s got us taken care of.”

“That’s good.” She looked around for somewhere - anywhere - to sit, but there wasn’t anything. Even the small table they’d used to eat at had disappeared, along with its two chairs.

Finally, she walked over to one of the walls and sat against it.