Page 29 of If the Shoe Fits (Rainbow Tales #2)

Xander woke in the morning and spat out the hay that had found its way into his mouth.

He had slept in the stable, and it was the best night's sleep he had had in years.

It wasn't as cold as he expected, not with all the blankets he used.

If he didn't care so much about Alma and the others, he'd continue to sleep out there on a cushion of hay and a horse blanket.

For a moment, that was his only concern.

But then the night before came back to him.

Just as it was with Leo, he felt a weight on his chest.

With a sigh, Xander sat up. He looked towards the stable door.

Last night, he had been a duchess fawned over by a roomful of nobles.

Today, he was back to being a servant. And it was time to feed the horses.

Reena, the speckled mare in the stall next to his, leaned her head over her gate and angled it in his direction to give him a reminding whinny.

“Yeah, I know.” Xander got up.

Then he remembered that he'd been practicing feeding them. He concentrated and directed the magic with his hand. Grain flowed out of the sacks at the end of the room and into the troughs. The horses made happy sounds and got to eating.

“Now, for my breakfast.” He left the stable and trudged up to the house. It was too early for his stepmother to be awake, so he wasn't worried about running into her. Xander went into the kitchen and found Alma frying some bread in a pan .

“Good morning, sweet one.” Alma gestured at him with a wooden spatula. “I've got something special for you today.”

“Fried cake?” Xander took the stack of sweet, fried bread left on the plate beside the stove. “Thank you!”

She winked at him. “Your stepmother is in a good mood this morning. She ordered fried cakes for breakfast and tea. Help yourself to the pot.”

“She's in a good mood? Why?”

Alma shrugged. “Something about a duchess lost. I don't know. I guess there was a big fuss at the party she went to last night. The Prince chose a bride, but then she went missing. Evidently, the King has sent men after her. They know what kingdom she's from.”

“Oh?” Xander took a bite of cake and chewed while his mind raced. The King had already sent people after Cinderella? Well, he'd soon learn that she wasn't who she said she was. Won't that be exciting?

“What's wrong? Did I use salt instead of sugar?” Alma grabbed a fried cake and took a bite. “These are delicious. Why do you look upset?”

“Oh, just thinking about the work I need to get done.”

“Well, your stepbrothers are still abed and the mistress is taking her breakfast in bed—already sent to her, so you don't have to rush away. Have breakfast with me.”

“I would love to.” Xander poured himself a mug of tea and sat down on a stool, taking the plate of cakes with him. “Do you think you'd be all right if I started sleeping in the stable?”

“With the horses?” Alma scooped up the last pieces of fried cake and set them on a plate before picking up her mug of tea and taking a sip. “Why would you want to do that? ”

“It's more comfortable.”

Her stare shifted toward the hearth. “You don't have to sleep there, love. You could share a room with Tommy.”

He lifted an eyebrow.

Alma chuckled. “Yes, all right. Tommy snores. But isn't that better than a stone floor?”

“No. But the stable is.”

“Well then, sleep out there. I don't know why you'd think we would suffer for it.” She frowned, but then her expression filled with comprehension. “Oh.” She set her tea down. “You don't need to worry about us, Xander. They're not nearly as awful with the rest of us. They know we can leave.”

“While I can't.”

“You could. You can leave anytime you wish. Maybe you should. Get a job at another house. Once you're somewhere that you can rest easy at night, then you could petition the King for your birthright.”

“What you're saying makes sense. But I have this awful feeling that if I leave this house, I will never get back what was taken from me.”

A bell started chiming. Alma grimaced at the bell on the wall, connected to Xander's stepbrother's room by a series of pulleys in the walls and floor above.

“The fat one wants his breakfast.” Alma headed for the doorway and called out to one of the maids. “Liza, come and take Lord Hubben his breakfast tray.”

“I've got to go.” Xander took his mug of tea and the remainder of his cakes and left the house before Alma could bring up his inheritance again .

On the way to the stable, he saw Leo slip inside. Normally, this would lift his spirits. But today, he was reluctant to face his lover. Xander wasn't sure if he could continue the lie when facing Leovar as himself.

After taking a fortifying sip of tea, he went into the stable.

“There you are!” Leovar hurried over and hugged him.

Xander held out his arms and returned the embrace as well as he could with his hands full.

Leo stood back and noticed Xander's breakfast. “Oh, shit. I didn't make you spill anything, did I?”

“No. I'm fine.” Xander motioned at the blanket he had slept on in the first stall. “Do you want to sit down and share my tea and cakes?”

Leovar just stared at him.

“Leo?”

The Prince cleared his throat. “I'm sorry. It's just . . . sometimes you overwhelm me. You have so little, but you share it without thought.”

“It's just tea and fried cakes, Leo.” Xander stepped around him and sat down to finish his breakfast. “Sit down and stop being so strange.”

Leovar chuckled. “Yes, I guess I'm acting oddly today.” He hung his head. “I promised to find a way for us to be together.”

“Actually, what you promised was to help me reclaim my title so we could have a future.”

Leo blinked. “Oh. I, uh, I must have misunderstood.”

Xander sighed. “So, you can't do it? ”

“No!” He hurried to sit before Xander on the blanket. “I mean, yes, I think I can. It's just going to take a little longer than I had hoped. But, Xander, I don't think it will make a difference.”

Xander sipped his tea and thought about his feminine side. She had disappeared, and still, Leo wanted to marry her. “I see.”

“No, love, I don't think you do.” Leo rubbed his head. “There was that ball last night—the one we talked about.”

“I am aware.”

“Oh, yes, of course you are. Your step-people attended.”

“Step-people.” Xander snorted. “That's good. So how was the party? Did you have fun?”

“Without you? Hardly.” He watched Xander finish his cakes and take a sip of tea. “I was looking for a woman who would agree to an arrangement.”

“An arrangement?”

“Yes, a marriage that isn't real. Just for children and—”

“So, you would fuck her?”

Leovar blinked. “I . . . yes, but only until she conceived.”

“Well, then, that makes it all right.” Xander didn't know why he was getting so angry. He already knew this was Leo's plan. He had played into it.

Maybe he was angry because Leo wasn't the one at fault.

Not entirely. Xander had lied to Leo. More than lied.

And now, he was letting him speak of things he already knew.

And the woman he was speaking of fucking was Xander!

It was ridiculous. And yet, it annoyed him that Leo would be so casual about having sex with someone else .

When Leo burst into tears, Xander felt like an utter ass.

“Leo!” He pulled him into an embrace. “Don't do that. Don't cry. I'm sorry.”

“No, don't be sorry!” Leo pushed himself back and swiped at his eyes.

“You're right. You deserve so much more than I can offer you.

I know I should let you go, but I can't, Xander. The thought of life without you is so fucking unbearable.” He sniffed and straightened his shoulders.

“That's it. I'll give up the throne. It's the only way.”

“What?” Xander whispered.

“I'll give it up. I'll walk away. My father will just have to find someone else to be his heir.

You are more important to me than any kingdom.

We can leave. Go anywhere you want. I'll take enough money to support us. We can invest it in a business and become wealthy merchants or something like that. New lives for us both.”

As Xander stared at Leo, he felt his jaw fall open.

This was what he wanted. It was his dream—to be valued more than anything else in Leo's life.

And yet, his stomach soured when he thought of what Leo would have to give up for him.

How ironic that now that Leo offered it, Xander didn't want to accept it.

“Leo, I need to tell you something,” Xander whispered.

Suddenly, one of the horses bucked against a stall, startling them both.

Xander cursed and jumped to his feet. He ran down the aisle between stalls, but the horses were fine. Pausing, he looked from side to side.

“Do not tell him,” Nevan whispered in his ear.

Xander grimaced and then whispered back, “Are you spying on me?”

“I came by for your morning lesson and heard you. It's not the same.”

Xander shook his head and turned to find Leo standing in the entrance to the first stall. He shrugged at Leo. “Something must have spooked them.”

Leo nodded. “Uh, you were going to tell me something?”

“Yes.” Xander went to Leo and took his hands. “I don't want you to give up the throne for me.”

“You don't?”

“No. Because it means giving up your family. I lost my family, Leo. It was the worst thing to ever happen to me, and I don't want to be the cause of you losing yours.”

“But we can make a new family, Xander. I don't care about losing them if I have you.”

“You don't know how happy that makes me. Truly. But I don't think you really understand what it would be like. Let's hold off a little longer. Maybe I can deal with a fake marriage.”

“No. I don't want you to go through that. I didn't consider that I would have to be untrue to you, even if it's just for the short time it takes me to release into her.”

“Maybe it will work itself out. Let's give it some time.”

Leovar snorted and pulled away to return to the horse blanket. He plopped down and disturbed Xander's tea. “Damn it!” He caught the mug before it spilled completely, but some of the tea splashed his leg.

“Don't ruin your fancy trousers, Your Highness.” Xander took the mug from him and sat down.

“Oh, fuck the trousers.” He waved at the mug. “But drink that before it gets cold. It's already cooling.”

Xander sipped his tea.

“I met a woman last night. A duchess. She agreed to the marriage.”

“And?”

“And then she ran away.” Leovar chuckled. “I guess she changed her mind. My father is chasing her down. She signed a contract, and he wants to hold her to it.”

“And you don't?”

“No, that would be cruel and a horrible way to start a marriage. And he doesn't know what I asked of her. It's a lot. I thought she wanted it. She said she wanted freedom.” Leo shrugged. “But then she left.”

“What will you do if they bring her back?”

“I'll offer to tear up the contract.”

“Really? Can you do that?”

“I've already concealed it in my bedroom so my father can't use it against her.”

“That's very kind of you, Leo.”

He shrugged. “I don't want to trap her in a marriage she doesn't want. That would be unfair, and it would make us both miserable.”

“True.”

“Funny thing, though. She left a shoe behind.”

“A shoe?”

“Yes. It's made of glass, of all things. ”

“Crystal,” Xander said without thinking.

“What? How would you know that?”

“Oh, I wouldn't. I just assumed. If it's a shoe, it would have to be made of crystal, not glass. Glass wouldn't be able to take the stress of someone walking on it.”

“Oh. That's a good point. Yes, it's probably crystal.” He grimaced. “How uncomfortable. Sometimes, I feel sorry for women. They have to wear the most ridiculous things.”

Xander thought about the corset he had worn underneath his massive gown. “They certainly do.”

“Enough talk of women. Will you finish your tea already? I need you inside me as soon as possible.”

Xander tossed the mug aside and grabbed his Prince.