I fold my arms over my chest and look away. The wind picks up around us, rustling the tall grass. “So, what you’re telling me is this. If I accept the line of succession, I won’t be able to choose who I want to be with?”
He grips his hair. “You can, you always have a choice, but choosing someone like me is not a choice you should be making.”
Fire fumes through me as I step up to him. “Why don’t you let me worry about what choice I should and should not be making?” And then I turn on my heel and start walking away from the castle once again.
Insufferable man.
Chapter Twelve
KELLER
My phone buzzes next to me on the nightstand, stirring me awake. When I see the palace number on my screen, I quickly answer it despite the early morning hour and the lack of sleep from the night before.
“Hello?” I say into the phone, thankful the curtains of my bedroom have blocked the light from the sun.
“Keller,” Theo says. “My boy, how are you?”
“Good,” I say, whispering and getting out of bed. I throw on a pair of shorts and sneak out of my room and down the stairs. Not wanting to wake anyone up, I exit the front door and shut it behind me. “It’s early for you.”
“Yes, it is, but I didn’t get much sleep last night. There’s been another leak.”
“What?” I hiss into the phone. “What was it?”
“They dropped her name. Lilly Campbell.”
“Fuck,” I mutter as I press my fingers to my forehead. “How did you find out?”
“Henrik has been doing a wonderful job, stepping into your role while you’ve been gone. He has sources outside the palace who informed him of the drop this morning.”
“Wait, Henrik knows?”
“Yes, I had to tell him. What was I going to say you were doing for two months?”
“Theo, he could be the leak.”
Theo lightly coughs into the phone and then says, “No, it’s not him.”
“How can you be certain?”
“Keller”—his deep voice rings through the phone—“if I tell you it’s not him, it’s not. Understood?”
“Yes, sorry,” I say, still pinching my brow. “So, when everyone wakes up this morning, that’s what the news will be?”
“Yes. Local news, at the moment. Outlets have asked for the palace to comment and we haven’t said anything. We aren’t confirming or denying.”
“But it doesn’t matter, they’re going to figure it out, and once they do, there’s no chance in hell Lilly will have a normal life after this.”
“Well, it’s not global, so it’s not like people in Miami know,” Theo says. “You act as if she’s second-guessing her decision to step into this role.”
“She hasn’t committed, Theo,” I say quietly. “She’s still . . . fuck, she’s still trying to comprehend the shock of it all. I’m trying, I really am, but I don’t want to push her too hard.”
“Keller, we don’t have a choice. You either push her, or we give up our country.”
“I know . . . I know, but . . . she’s scared, Theo. I see her masking her fear, but it’s there. She needs more comfort.”
“Then offer her the comfort she needs.”
“I—I can’t,” I say, the strain in my voice easily detectable.
“Why not?” he asks and then, “Wait . . .”
I squeeze my eyes shut.
Fuck, he knows.
How could he not? It’s not as if I’m playing it cool on my end. But I’m tired. I’m so goddamn tired of trying to mask how I feel for her. Trying to act as though I don’t want to touch her even though that’s all I want. Like yesterday, even though I was reeling from my dream, I couldn’t help but touch her any chance I could, even if it was a swipe of my finger over her shoulder. And that crop top, fuck me, I wanted to lift it up over her head and feast on her tits. My self-control is wearing thinner with every second I’m around her, and it’s showing.
“Keller, is there something going on between you two?” Theo asks.
“No,” I say quickly. “No, nothing is happening between us.” That’s true, nothing’s actually happened . . . yet.
“Do you want something to happen?” he asks. I swallow, not responding right away, and that’s all it takes. “You like her.”
I heave a heavy sigh and say, “I don’t want to.”