office, Fawn had mumbled, “You’re too jealous, prince.”
But he had only laughed, purring into her ear, “You wouldn’t have me any other way.” He had expected her to argue, but instead she was frowning worriedly at him.
“You do know there’s nothing to be jealous about...right?”
Ah.
She really was an idiot, the prince had thought, to worry about his feelings when between the two of them, she was the more vulnerable. Ever since that first night they had fought over her going out to meet Bennett, she had made a promise to him—-
Did you kiss him?
Never.
And it was a promise he knew she would never break.
Whatever she did—-
Whoever she was with—-
She would not betray him.
If only he could keep his promise not to make her cry as well.
If only.
But some things were not meant to be, and the time to leave her came sooner than he had hoped.
****
The day of the event that the prince’s friends were hosting on behalf of the student council dawned bright and clear. Fawn was excited to leave, telling him that she had never been a part of something so big. Although Grant and his family regularly organized such events, Fawn had never been invited to take part behind the scenes, and she had not expected to. For as long as she was not officially married to Grant Bennett, she was – as far as the whole world was concerned – the hired help.
“Which is why this is different,” Fawn told him giddily while practically slurping her cereal in her hurry to finish it. “I think it’s so cool that we’ve accomplished something this huge in a really short time and—-” She stopped speaking as the prince calmly used his napkin to wipe bits of cereal around her mouth.
When he pulled away, she grimaced, saying sheepishly, “Sorry for being a messy eater.”
“It’s alright,” the prince said silkily. “I’m already used to it and I even find it quite adorably grotesque—-”
In the middle of drinking her orange juice, she ended up spewing it, but again the prince was prepared for this, turning away just the right moment.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry—-”
He waved away her offer to help, murmuring, “I’m fine. Not even a single drop’s reached me.”
“Oh. That’s great. But...” She tried to stop herself from speaking but in the end she couldn’t help it, blurting out, “Do you really find me grotesque?”
“It was a joke,” the prince sighed.
“Oh.” She looked at him doubtfully. “It didn’t sound like one. I mean, look at Jason Christakos. That’s a guy who knows how to crack jokes—-”
“Yes, well, we can’t all be like the great Jason Christakos, can we?” the prince asked testily. Those fucking Christakos twins were getting on his damn nerves.
Fawn was staring at him in bemusement. “Did I do something to make you mad?”
“No.” You did something to make me want to keep you locked under key instead. But out loud, the prince said, “You should leave now if you don’t want to be late.”
Fawn checked her watch and groaned. “Oh my God, you’re right. And I even promised to have coffee with Grant and—-” Seeing the way the prince’s green eyes narrowed, she added quickly, “It’s not just Grant and me. I promise! I’m not lying! It’s the whole council.”
The prince’s face turned even grimmer.
“What?” she asked fearfully.
“Does that mean the Merrill bitch will be present as well?”
She tried but failed to stop herself from grinning. “You really should stop calling her that.”
“Why should I when it’s the truth?” the prince dismissed with a shrug. “Will she be there?”
“Yes, but she won’t be a problem,” Fawn assured him. When the prince’s expression didn’t ease, a helpless smile curved on her lips, and she cajoled, “There’s really no need to worry, prince. Stop scowling, please.”
When it still didn’t work, she said, “Please, baby?”
The prince now looked like he was torn between strangling and fucking her, and she bit back a smile. He was so cute! But of course, after being with the prince for so many months now, she knew better than to say those words out loud.
When she stood up, the prince came to his feet as well, and Fawn hesitated before impulsively throwing her arms around him, whispering, “Thanks for always looking after me.”
“If you think that’s going to get you out of trouble, it won’t.”
She laughed against his chest, knowing by the way the prince’s arms tightened around her that he didn’t really mean it. “It’s really going to be okay, prince. Your evil