The Envy of Idols (Rich Boys of Burberry Prep #3) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,104

the door opens and Creed walks in. He sees me sitting there, and slips out of his red academy jacket, giving that cavalier smirk that I used to hate but now crave with a frenzy I can’t explain.

“Did you come over to fuck me?” he asks with a saucy little wink, sauntering over and unfolding his long, boneless princely body on the couch between me and Lizzie.

“No. Did you wake up deciding to be asshole today?” I ask, but all I get are a pair of heavy-lidded blue bedroom eyes, and a racing heart. “We were just discussing what happened between me and Zack.” Creed scowls, but he doesn’t say anything. How could he? He went out of his way to flaunt girls in front of me last year, just to make me feel sad and lonely and jealous.

And I’m not doing any of this to make him feel bad.

Although … I’m starting to.

How long can I date all of these guys without hurting them?

How can I pick one without destroying the others?

That is not a question I’m eager to find the answer to.

Spring break gives me another chance to talk to Charlie about my new boyfriends. I’m planning on it, but when I get home, the first thing he does is tell me he’s transferred his care from Harper’s family’s medical center to … somewhere else.

The first person I call in a panic is Windsor, hiding in the corner of my room near the closet and hoping Dad can’t hear me talking on the phone.

“Wind, he move treatment centers,” I choke out before the prince even has a chance to say hello. There’s a long pause, and the slow easy chuckle of a man who knows he owns the world.

“Yes, I know. I was going to talk to you about that when I stopped by.”

“Stopped by?” I ask, and Wind laughs again.

“I have nowhere to stay for Spring Break, so I thought …” I narrow my eyes and lean my back against the wall. This is typical Windsor York behavior right here, acting innocent while really, he’s been calculating all along.

“You thought you’d stay here again?” I stare at myself in the vanity mirror across the room, at my big, wide brown eyes, full of fear for Charlie. I can’t lose him. I can’t fucking lose my dad or else this shiny newness I feel when I’m around the boys, it’ll just fade away into dull background noise. My whole world will fall apart.

“Only if you’re okay with it,” he says, and I hear the sound of a mattress creaking as he adjusts himself. “I was going to tell you that despite Club rules, I don’t trust Harper and her family. I moved your dad to an even better medical facility that a friend of my mother’s owns.”

“You moved my dad’s treatment center without telling me?” I ask, and there’s a long, long pause. I’m not mad, exactly, but this is a perfect example of why, although I trust Wind, I just … don’t know how to feel about him. On the one hand, I’m elated, but on the other, I just wish he’d consulted me.

“It was a last minute thing,” he says, sounding suddenly tired. And that’s weird. Because Windsor York, he’s never tired. “I didn’t mean to undermine your decision making with your father, I’m just … overwhelmed and trying to get things done without hitches in the programming, if you know what I mean.”

“You?” I choke out. “You’re overwhelmed?”

“It happens, once in a blue moon,” he says, gathering some of his usual royal confidence back in his voice. “A lot of bullshit happens behind the scenes of the Infinity Club, you know. When you finally say yes to marrying me, and join up, you’ll find out for yourself.”

“I’d rather die than join that Club,” I say cheerfully, and Windsor laughs.

“I figured as much, love. That’s why I joined for you.”

There’s a long pause as I slide down the wall in relief and lean my head back against it. Dad’s still being taken care of. Okay. That’s good. He doesn’t look great, but he swears this new pot tincture that Mrs. Fleming keeps bringing over is doing wonders for him. He seems happy, at the very least.

“You can come over and have dinner with us on Friday,” I tell Wind, already sort of wishing it was Friday, so that I could see him. He makes me happy when he’s around. Even if he’s weird, and does questionable