Page 13

Ava

I had enjoyed the day driving through the countryside more than I’d expected. Not that I’d anticipated Edoria to be boring. It was more a matter of the company.

Luc was still being his usual, grouchy self. Now and then, however, he’d open up more than I expected him to, especially when he’d told me about his history with my father. And there’d been that moment when I’d given the little girl those flowers—I was certain I’d seen something almost soft in his eyes when I did that.

It had been a good but strange day. All the same, as we drove back to Lausanne, the sight of the royal palace in the far distance was enough to make a sense of dread come over me. I wrapped my arms around my middle, as if protecting myself.

“Are you alright?” Luc asked, his eyes focused on the road.

“Fine. I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. You look tense and nervous.”

Luc may have been rough around the edges, but he was no dummy. I’d never been that great of a liar, and my skills at hiding the truth were nothing compared to his ability to see right through any amount of bullshit I tried to put in front of him.

“Maybe I am.”

“Is it about returning to the palace?”

I sighed. “Do you care?”

“Why wouldn’t I care? It’s my duty to be concerned about the princess’s welfare.” He’d stepped around the question, framing it as a matter of royal concern.

“Yeah, it’s about returning to the palace. I don’t like being there.”

“Is that so?”

“It is. It doesn’t feel right. And my father makes me nervous. There’s nothing warm or loving or welcoming about him. He didn’t even give me a hug when he saw me at lunch.”

“Would you have wanted him to? Some man you haven’t seen in decades and don’t even remember coming over to you and hugging you?”

“I don’t know. I mean… I don’t know. I know it’s only been a short time since I’ve seen him, but it’s so obvious he’s nothing like Mom.”

“Really? Tell me what you mean.” I had the distinct impression that Luc was trying to get me to talk about something happier, to not dwell on a subject that made me upset.

“Mom was… she was wonderful; I don’t know how else to say it. I have so many fond memories of her when I was growing up, how she always took the chance to make my childhood as special as she could. I learned cooking from her, you know. Mom loved being in the kitchen, and she loved it when I was there with her to watch and learn.”

“I know that your mother was a good cook. I’ve experienced her cooking firsthand.”

“Really?”

“And I know she was warm and caring. I saw that, too.”

I smiled. I couldn’t help it. “Tell me about it.”

“As I’m sure you can tell by this point, there’s a divide between the royals and the servants in the palace. It’s tradition, and something we’re all used to.”

“Still strange. Like, we’re supposed to pretend they’re not even there?”

“You sound like your mother. She felt the same way about this tradition and bucked it whatever chance she got.”

“Didn’t think it was possible to love her any more than I already do,” I said with a smile.

“Then you’ll appreciate this. Your mother loved to cook, as you know. And one of her favorite things to do was to make food for the staff. She loved surprising them with fresh bread or pastries or whatever else she made in the kitchen.”

“Really?”

“Really. And she didn’t stop there. She’d sneak off, taking one of the cars into the city and giving out treats to whatever children she spotted. It wasn’t long before she had a nickname—the Queen of Sweets.”

“That’s so awesome.”

“Your father, on the other hand, wasn’t exactly a fan of this behavior. He’s much more of a traditionalist, as you’ve seen.”

“Did he try to stop her?”

“In his own way. He made it clear that he didn’t care for the behavior. But even your father relented when he saw the effect your mother’s compassion had on the people of Edoria. He never gave her his explicit blessing, but he dropped the matter in time.”

I grinned, loving this story of how Mom did what she thought was right, damn the consequences.

Silence fell, and out of the corner of my eye I could see a strange expression on Luc’s face.

“So,” he said. “I’ve been spending the better part of the day telling you about myself, your father, your mother, and the kingdom.”

“You have. And I appreciate it.”

“Now, I have something that I want to know about you.”

“Is that right?”

“It is. Last night, you told me that you hadn’t slept with anyone because you were simply too busy.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, that’s what I said.”

“I’m not accusing you of lying, of course. But I have to wonder… is that the only reason?”

His question gave me pause. It was something I had to sit with for a second or two.

“It’s… mostly the case.”

“Mostly?”

“If you have to know, it is because I have been so busy but also because well, I just haven’t found anyone. I guess I haven’t met the right person.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized that they were wrong. “I mean, I don’t think there is a right person, like a soul mate or anything like that. But I haven’t found anyone who’s made me want to be like that with them.”

“Other than me,” he said with a teasing smile.

“That was different, jerk,” I replied, matching his smile with one of my own. “That was about distraction, remember?”

“Oh, I remember.”

I laughed. “But seriously, whenever I’ve been with guys before and it seemed like things were moving in that direction, something would always happen. They’d make the wrong move or say the wrong thing or be too pushy. It never felt right.”

“That’s good you’re so in-tune with your feelings. No reason to do anything with anyone that you’re not comfortable with.”

“Thanks. But the rest of what I said was true. My life has been so crazy and chaotic that the last thing I wanted was to throw more insanity on top of it with romance. Before all this, I’d only just found some measure of stability after working my ass off for a long time. Men and a sex life and all that comes with it was just one too many things on my plate.”

“Only room for crab cake sandwiches on that particular plate,” he said.

I smiled. “Yeah, you got it. Romance… I’d get to it eventually. That’s what I’d always told myself. And besides, it’s not like dicks are going anywhere.”

Luc let out a quick bark of a laugh at my words. It was a sound I hadn’t heard from him before.

“You know,” I said. “That’s the most I’ve heard you laugh at anything since we’ve met.”

“What can I say? You bring it out of me.”

I grinned. Together, we pulled onto the main road back toward the palace. I gazed at it on the horizon. This time, however, there was no tension.