Page 108 of The Unlikely Spare

My fingers find my signet ring, twisting it in tight circles that match the spiraling of my thoughts.

Yesterday, Eoin and I were skin to skin, every barrier dissolved. He’d whispered my name like a prayer against my skin.

Now he might as well be carved from stone, giving nothing away.

And suddenly, I’m reminded of Daniel.

Daniel, who could go from passionate to detached in the space of a heartbeat. Daniel, who kept secrets from me.

I turn to stare out the window, trying to suppress the rather inconvenient tide of panic. It’s not the same. Eoin isn’t Daniel. The situations are entirely different.

Aren’t they?

But even as I try to convince myself, the parallels stack up. The sudden emotional distance after intimacy. The sense thatthere’s something happening beneath the surface that I’m not allowed to see. Daniel had perfected the art of making me feel like my instincts were faulty, like the distance I sensed was all in my head.

What can I do?

My instincts are all screaming to retreat.

If he’s going to be like this, then I’ll match him with my own coolness and distance. I’ll slide back into the role of the untouchable prince. God knows I’ve had enough practice.

But my traitorous heart keeps replaying yesterday and how, when I was with him, I hadn’t felt like I was performing. I was just Nicholas, and somehow that was enough for him. The thought of stuffing myself back into that suffocating royal box makes me want to punch something.

Sod it all.

“Please don’t insult my intelligence.” I lean forward, keeping my eyes on him. “You and the entire security team have been on high alert all day. So I’ll ask again. What’s happening?”

Eoin hesitates, conflict clear in his eyes. “It’s just a precautionary measure. Nothing for you to be concerned about.”

“Nothing for me to be concerned about?” I repeat incredulously. “I’m the sodding bullseye on this particular dartboard, aren’t I? I think that gives me some right to know if there’s a specific threat against me.”

“We’re handling it.”

The dismissal sends a chill through me that has nothing to do with the car’s air conditioning.

And without thinking, words start to tumble out of my mouth. “I can’t stand you keeping secrets from me. It reminds me too much…” I trail off, suddenly aware of how much I’m about to reveal. I swallow hard before I finish. “Too much of someone I’d rather not have you, of all people, channeling.”

“Who don’t you want me to remind you of?” Eoin’s gaze is fixed on mine, sharp as a blade yet somehow tender at the edges.

And it’s that look in his eyes that breaks my defenses, crumbling them like centuries-old battlements finally surrendering to time and tide.

No one has ever looked at me like that. Like what I’m about to say is important, not because of the title attached to my name or how it might affect diplomatic relations, but because it matters to me.

“Someone I knew at university. Someone I was foolish enough to trust with rather more than my course notes,” I say finally. “He kept lots of secrets from me. And it didn’t end well.” That’s the understatement of the century.

I turn to look out the window at the rolling hills going past.

“What happened?” Eoin’s voice is tight.

And when I glance at him, his expression is fierce, like he will single-handedly track Daniel down and rip him limb from limb if he hears anything he doesn’t like.

Eoin wouldn’t betray me. Looking at his expression, I know that truth in my bones. And it makes me realize how deep my attraction to him actually is.

He’s the solid presence I didn’t realize I needed, someone to anchor me, someone who will call me on my bullshit when everyone else is too intimidated to try.

“Oh, it was merely your garden-variety tale of youthful infatuation, complete with eight months of me giving my heart to a guy only for him to completely shatter it.”

Memories of Daniel’s handsome face swell in my mind.