Page 5 of Royally Drawn (Resplendent Royals #3)

Backing Off

INGRID

D uncan hurt more than my pride. He hurt my feelings. I wouldn’t say I liked the idea of being thrown overboard. What was a game to him was malicious to me. Swimming around half-naked, even accidentally, felt demoralising when you added to it. Maybe Leah didn’t get my added shame, but I wasn’t ready to be topless in mixed company. I didn’t have her I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude.

“Hey,” Lars said.

His face was sweet and gentle. He wasn’t being an opportunist as I expected Keir might have been. He brought me a towel and my beer. It was sweet.

“I am sorry for Duncan. He’s a fucking idiot.”

“Don’t need to apologise for him. He does,” I said.

Lars sat next to me on the lounger where I’d holed up. “I think he realises now you didn’t see the joke.”

I wiped away the tears on my face, embarrassed to be crying.

“I’m sorry I got so upset. I was mostly mortified since… you know… my boobs were on full disp lay.”

“No one saw anything,” Lars said. “Promise. And no one thinks ill of you.”

“Leah thought I was?—”

“No, she didn’t. She just… she’s Leah. If anything, she used it to inflict some humour into the situation. That’s how she is. She plays court jester and runs before the train to break up the tension. It’s not malice. She generally doesn’t get into spats with the women around here—just us men.”

“I’m not like her. I was completely cut off from society until I was about thirteen. So, there wasn’t anything for me to do.”

“I understand,” Lars said. “I mean, I don’t. My family is fucked up in its way, but… I know Neandia is much more conservative.”

I was raised very Catholic and only recently opened up. My sister and brother-in-law tried to turn our lives from lockdown to open doors. Rick was raised in a very bohemian society with loving parents. We had no living parents and were raised by a tyrant. Even with a bit of sunshine, we Deschamps sisters struggled.

“I am not one of you.”

Lars handed me my beer. “You’re part of the family. If Cici includes you, then you stick.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She’s not like the Americans or the Brits. Believe it or not, she doesn’t make friends with everyone. She likes you because you’re talented and kind.”

“I don’t know if I count as talented.”

“I’d trust her judgement,” Lars said.

I smiled slightly. His gaze was overly familiar. I thought he might kiss me momentarily, but he pulled back.

“Thanks. I’m going to change,” I said.

I stood, taking my beer with me to my stateroom. I disrobed and threw a few options onto the bed, opting for a one-piece with cutouts. It wouldn’t fall off as quickly, and maybe everyone would stop objectifying me. If I could just hide , perhaps the princes would leave me the fuck alone?

I’d never been chased before. I wasn’t the girl who set men ablaze. I was still green, which made it complicated for me. If either of them knew I was a virgin, they’d cut and run fast.

I needed to nip this in the bud. I should tell him my feelings. While most of me wanted them to calm down, I also enjoyed the thought of them chasing me endlessly. I wanted to be wanted.