My ex.”
“So you brought a trained assassin cookies?”
“You’d want to stay on his good side too, wouldn’t you?”
He stops, suddenly serious. “Has he threatened you? Would he hurt you?”
“No. The royal family made him captain of the guards. If they trust him, why wouldn’t I?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t trust him farther than I can throw him.” He grins, his eyes sparkling devilishly. “You, on the other hand, I could trust really, really far. You’re so tiny.” He mimes throwing me a distance like a football, letting out a long whistle as I presumably soar through the air.
I huff and continue on to the tower room. “I’m not tiny. I’m petite.”
“I so want to toss you through the air—to a soft landing place, of course—but your ex would kill me if I touched you, so that’s out.” He shakes his head like he’s annoyed, a smile tugging at his lips.
“Throwing me was never a possibility, you nut.” I don’t think Brendan is ever serious. I mean, Michael basically just threatened him and he took it in stride. I’m a little nervous about the whole thing. Not for me, for Brendan. The poor guy is just being friendly. He doesn’t even think of me like that.
I head to the back of the tower room and use both hands to pull open a wooden bookcase that doubles as a door to a secret passageway.
Brendan’s eyes go wide, and then he gives me a warm appreciative smile. “Very cool.”
I smile back. It almost feels like he thinks I’m very cool too. Something I’ve never been accused of. I slip inside and walk down a sloped stone passageway with low ceilings. The light is dim, just what’s filtering in through the open doorway.
Brendan pulls his phone out of his dark blue blazer and turns on the flashlight. I watch his expression as he takes in the hallway. Sara showed me this place. It used to be an escape route to the side exit of the palace, a form of defense, but now it’s a storage area.
“What are these?” he asks, shining a light on a stone sculpture. “Cupids?”
“They’re cherubs.” The hallway is filled with them, mostly hung on the wall, some of them leaning against it. “They were part of an older section of the palace that was removed after the great fire.”
“This is so cool.”
I follow him as he shines his light on more cherubs, some of them broken but still cute, as we move farther down the hall. A sense of peace comes over me. It’s fun to show off a part of the palace few know about, and I love these cherubs with their sweet chubby faces just waiting for visitors to admire them once again.
Brendan turns to me, lowering his phone so the light’s not in my eyes. “I had no idea any of this was here. Did your ex show you this?”
I deflate. “No, my sister. Can we not talk about my ex? It’s kind of a touchy situation.”
He curls his lip in a snarly face and growls, “Touch her and die.” Then in his regular voice, “Got it. Psycho ex.”
“He’s just a little peeved because I turned down his proposal.”
“Oh, shit. He proposed? That’s major. I thought it was more of a casual thing. No wonder he got in my face.”
“Well, it was three months ago.”
He cocks his head. “And how long were you accidentally in a relationship with him?”
I cringe, hearing my own words come back to me. “Okay, here’s what you have to understand. It was off and on over the course of eleven months or so, only when I was here on school breaks.”
“Eleven months! That’s an awfully long time for casual.” He grins. “It’s nice to meet someone worse at relationships than I am.”
I tense, feeling defensive. “I was clear from the start I didn’t have space in my life for a relationship. I’m very focused on my studies. I’m in my second year at Columbia, one more to go, and then I’m heading to medical school. After that, there’s more training with a residency and a fellowship. I’ve got a long haul ahead of me.” I push my palm out. “I mean long haul. After I become a cancer researcher, then I’ll look for someone to settle down with.”
He puts a hand on my arm. “Chloe, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. I get it.”
I calm down. “Oh. Thanks.”
“Also, what are you, a genius? Graduating Columbia in three years instead