He bowed low. “Good morning, Your Majesty. Your Highnesses.” Straightening, his attention moved around the table. “Darius. Frankie.”
Darius mumbled his hello, clearly not sure who Philip was, while Frankie swallowed her mouthful and said, “Hair looks good today.”
Hanna snickered from her position inside the doors. When Philip shot a glare at her, she lowered her face to stare intently at her shirt buttons.
“I must say how delightful it is to see you all together.” Philip gave a surprisingly genuine smile—until his attention landed on Kris and something hard glinted in his eyes. “Princess Ava, it’s heartening that your statement to the press has been received so positively. I understand you’ve been concerned about your brief return to the spotlight, but might I reassure you that while understandably curious, none of the public’s speculation about Darius runs negative. They’re thrilled that Markus is courting you. In fact, our public relations officer has informed me that you two now have the most fictional works out of any Kiralian Royal Family pairing, which is a positive sign. The nation is rooting for you.”
“Wait, what?” Kris raised a hand, baffled. “What do you mean fictional works?”
“Kristof.” Philip exchanged an amused glance with Frankie. “People like to write stories about you. They’ve been at it since you three strode out of your ranch and into these halls.”
“But . . . we’re real.”
“Real royalty,” his advisor answered. “And therefore, a perfect fantasy.”
Kris looked sideways at Frankie. “You knew?”
She tapped the emblem on her uniform. “We scan any content related to the royal family.”
Intrigued, he leaned closer. “Who have I been paired with?”
“That is beside the point,” Philip said, as Frankie rolled her eyes. “Now, a matter of business. There is an annual pride parade coming up next month. Prince Noel always made an appearance to support the festivities, and it would be an appreciated gesture if one of you three could attend. That is, if you support the—”
“Of course we do.” Kris cut him off. “I’ll go.”
Hanna made a coughing, scoffing sound, and Philip turned to her, his eyes wide with affront.
“Problem, Hanna?” Kris asked.
“No, Your Highness.” She inclined her head in apology. “It’s just—you’re literally the straightest person I’ve ever met.”
He cocked a brow. “That doesn’t mean I think everyone should be.”
Her mouth turned down at the corners, conceding his point. “If you go, would you require me to work that day? Because I signed up to walk with the ace procession.”
Philip actually spluttered.
“It’s fine, Phil. I want my guards to talk to me.” He returned his attention to Hanna. “And no, that sounds important.”
“Agreed, Johansson,” Frankie said, pouring more syrup over her breakfast. “You go. I’ll reassign his security for the day.”
Kris raised a shoulder. “Or I don’t have to go? Maybe . . .” Very carefully and as nonchalantly as he was able, he turned to his brother. “Tommy? You want to do it?”
Tommy’s jaw clenched and he took a long swallow of coffee. His hands were still, but a tremble of the tablecloth betrayed his legs were jiggling. Eventually, he set his mug down and murmured, “The crowds.”
“Fair enough.” Kris’s gaze skimmed over Mark’s in a split-second exchange of disappointment. “We’ll run through the details later, Philip.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. Enjoy your day, everyone.” Philip bowed again. When he straightened, he looked Kris dead in the eye. “I’ll meet you in the tower shortly.”
Anger tightened Kris’s bearing as his advisor swept from the room. No guesses how that encounter was going to play out. Philip would make his disapproval of his relationship with Frankie clear—and Kris wouldn’t tolerate a second of it.
Fun morning ahead.
Before long, Mark and Ava excused themselves to take Darius to the stables, and as the doors closed in their wake, Frankie’s phone chimed from her pocket.
She slid it out and then shot to her feet. “Shit. I’ve got to run.” Jamming her phone back, she looked alarmed as a waiter appeared and drew out her chair. “Oh, ah, thanks.” She stepped away from the table. “Some jackass scaled the palace wall and took the fast route down on the other side. He’s mangled both his arm and the topiary, and the head gardener is pissed.” She then seemed to experience her third and final awkward moment of the morning, hesitating with her gaze on Kris’s mouth, a goodbye kiss in her eyes. She turned away, gave him a light slap on the shoulder and said, “I’ll find you tonight.”
“Stay safe.” He leaned back in his chair, hands clasped