Page 37 of Reign

“What are you doing at the palace? I thought you quit,” Sam asked, then winced. She hadn’t meant for Liam to know that she’d gone looking for him.

When she and Jeff came back to town, she’d discovered that Liam no longer worked in the kitchens. She’d even dragged Nina to Enclave, that venue on the east side where his band had played—this time with her security team’s knowledge and a tedious sweep of the space beforehand—but there was no sign of him.

“Our band headed to the West Coast,” Liam explained. “Things didn’t work out, obviously. I came back to Washington a month ago.”

Right after she and Marshall had fled to Hawaii.

“It’s good to see you. I mean—I’m sorry that your band didn’t make it. But I’m glad you’re okay.” She eyed his uniform as she added, “And you’re a valet now?”

He grinned. “I finally got promoted from garbage duty. The hours are more flexible, which is a huge help. Some of your snobby guests tip in hundred-dollar bills.”

Sam refrained from pointing out that the guests who tipped that way might hope that Liam wouldn’t just take them home, but would go homewiththem.

He reached for a set of keys on a hook. “So, am I taking you to Loughlin House? We get alerts on our phones,” he added, when Sam glanced at him in surprise. “A notification already went out to the palace drivers, asking if anyone could take you there.”

Sam shook her head. “I’m not going to Grandma Billie’s. I just came out here to hide from my brother.”

“I used to hide from my brother all the time,” Liam replied, as if that was completely reasonable. “Did he do anything in particular?”

Sam huffed out a breath. “He let himself get pressured into this whole wedding, and now he doesn’t want me at his engagement party. And on top of that my sister suffered severe head trauma and doesn’t remember the past year! Sorry,” she added belatedly, “please don’t tell anyone that.”

“Of course I won’t tell.” There was a beat of silence; then Liam smiled wryly. “Man, I thought my band had a lot of drama.”

Sam chuckled. It seemed to loosen something in her chest, and she realized it was the first time in almost a week that she’d laughed.

“So if you aren’t going to Loughlin House, where am I taking you? Back into hiding?”

“I wasn’t in hiding.” Sam hated that phrase. It made it sound like she’d committed a crime, like she’d been forced to slink away out of shame and fear.

Then again, fear had played a large part in her decision, hadn’t it?

“I’m not going back,” she went on, in a softer tone. “I’m just leaving the palace. I can’t stay here now that I’m not a princess.”

“What are you going to do, lease an apartment?”

“I can’t afford an apartment.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Liam remarked.

Sam tugged her purse off her shoulder “This is all the money I have in the world.”

He watched, clearly torn between amusement and shock, as she opened her hot-pink wallet and withdrew a tangle ofold receipts, a punch card from her favorite taco truck on Molokai, and a few stray bills.

“You don’t have a credit card?”

“I’ve been cut off from my bank accounts. That money belongs to the royal family, of which I’m no longer a part.” Sam tried not to reveal how much it hurt to say that.

Liam cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m sure you have better options, but you’re welcome to crash with me and my housemates.” When Sam hesitated, he hurried to add, “It’s a coed house. Not just guys, I mean.”

If the Washingtons were upset that Sam had gone to Nina’s, they would be absolutely livid—not to mention appalled—at the prospect of her “crashing” with a palace employee.

Which was probably why Sam felt so tempted to say yes.

She’d felt isolated ever since she came back. Beatrice had literally forgotten her; Marshall was thousands of miles away; Nina was living her own life at school and didn’t need Sam’s drama.

But here was someone offering to help: making her feel a little less alone.

She looked back at Liam. “Your housemates wouldn’t mind?”