Page 65 of Royal Trouble
“Everly!”
She forced a smile and turned toward the overly excited voice, spotting Katherine at a corner table that was mostly tucked out of view. Probably for the best. They really didn’t need an audience.
Katherine rose as she approached, and the old insecurities struck hard. Everything about the other woman screamed money, from her understated designer clothes to her perfectly manicured nails. She was even wearing nylons—on a Sunday. With her big brown eyes, long raven hair, and rosy cheeks, Katherine looked like royalty. Or one of those fine porcelain dolls that was meant to sit on a shelf and collect dust. Beside her, Everly felt like she’d just stepped out of the Target flyer in her favorite sundress and sandals.
Could their lives be more different?
“Katherine.” The other woman’s name came out like a croak, and Everly wanted to melt into the floor.
Why had she let Xander talk her into this? Clearly, it had been a moment of weakness. Probably the result of her overstimulated, sex-addled brain.
“Please, call me Kate.” Her half sister started to lean in for a hug and seemed to think better of it, instead clasping her hands in front of her. “I’m so glad you called. I didn’t think you would,” she admitted, smoothing her skirt as she sat.
“That makes two of us,” Everly said and took the seat across from her, wishing she were anywhere else. To her surprise, the other woman laughed.
A server arrived to recite the specials, and she breathed a sigh of relief when Katherine—Kate—explained they’d just be having coffee. She ordered a salted caramel latte and turned to Everly.
“I’ll have the same,” she said, unable to believe Kate had just ordered her favorite drink. What were the freaking odds?
Once the server was gone, awkward silence descended. She knew she should make an effort, but this had been Kate’s idea, so she bit her tongue and waited.
“So, you live in New York,” Kate said, a bright smile lighting her face. “I’ve never been, but I’d love to hear all about your life there. I’m hoping we can get to know one another better.”
Better? They didn’t know each other at all.
Everly bit back the snarky reply. Acting like a catty teenager would gain her nothing. She had agreed to this coffee date, and it was only natural that Kate would ask about her life in New York. That was, after all, kind of the point.
But as it turned out, she had burning questions of her own.
“Why now?” she asked, folding her hands on the table to keep them from shaking.
“I suppose that’s a fair question.” Kate nodded thoughtfully. “I’ve wanted to reach out so many times, but…I guess I was scared. I didn’t know how you’d react or if you’d even want to see me. Then I saw you at the polo match, and I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by.” Kate shrugged, her slender shoulders rising and falling delicately. “I figured it was kismet.”
“I see,” she said, trying to process the fact that Kate’s offer wasn’t entirely spur of the moment. How long had she been considering this? Days? Months?Years?
“I mean, I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me,” Kate rushed on. She wrung her hands together in her lap, but what did she have to be nervous about? “Things were so complicated when we were at school. There were so many rumors, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I just wanted to fit in.” She offered an apologetic smile.
“That must’ve been nice. I never had the luxury of fitting in.”
The server returned with their drinks, sparing Kate from responding immediately. The awkward silence hung between them again, and Everly picked up her mug, willing her hands to remain steady as she sipped her coffee, not caring if it scorched her tastebuds.
“I can’t imagine what it was like for you at Westbury,” Kate finally said, toying with her napkin. “I’m sorry if I made the experience more difficult than it already was for you.”
Everly studied the other woman. Kate appeared to be genuinely sorry, but…she didn’t know if she was ready to forgive and forget just yet. “Do your parents know we’re meeting?”
“No,” Kate said, wrapping her fingers around the steaming mug before her, “but only because it was last minute. It’s not a secret, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
That was exactly what she’d been thinking. After all, hadn’t her mother been the duke’s dirty little secret?
“When we were in school,” Kate continued, “I thought it would be an insult to my mother to befriend you, but now that I’m an adult, I realize my parents’ relationship is more like a business arrangement than a traditional marriage.” She sighed and sipped her coffee daintily. When she looked at Everly again, she wore a wry grin. “Granted, she wasn’t happy my father had a child out of wedlock, but it wasn’t like he was breaking up a blissful marriage.”
Everly arched a brow, surprised Kate had laid all the blame squarely at their father’s feet. Was this what her mother had meant when she’d said her history with the duke was complicated? Had she known that the duke’s marriage was a business arrangement? The idea galled her. She’d thought such archaic practices were out of date, but clearly, she still had a lot to learn about the inner workings of the Valerian court.
Scratch that.
She knew more than enough about the court to last a lifetime.
“I guess we both had our crap to deal with,” Everly said, realizing even as she said the words that they were true. Kate had been stuck in the middle, same as her. She’d been so wrapped up in her own pain that she’d never stopped to consider what it might be like for the duke’s other children to have her at school. And she’d certainly never imagined what dinner conversation might be like around the duke’s table.