His Princess - Stacy Gail Page 0,6
me to do and officially completed your Mission Impractical, so a deal’s a deal. Time to bounce.”
Joelle gasped as reality snapped back into focus, and she realized she and Gus weren’t the only two people in the room. She turned her head to look at Alice, and a shaft of guilt went through her at the irritation clearly stamped all over her foster sister’s face. “Oh, my gosh, Al. I’m so, so sorry, I—”
“Who the hell interrupts a dance,” Gus snarled, glaring so hard at Alice it was like he was trying to will her off the planet by that look alone. “Wait until our goddamn dance is over, lady.”
“That was the original goddamn plan, genius, but you’re now on your fourth song and you two are still superglued together,” Alice barked back without missing a beat. Then she took a breath and laced her hands tightly in front of her. “It’s not my intention to break up your adorable sesh of looking soulfully into each other’s eyes, but the woman you’ve apparently got caught up in your perma-clench arms happens to be my ride. Remember,” she added, looking back to Joelle, “you insisted I leave my car at your place after you dressed me up in this ridiculous outfit.”
“For the record, that outfit is not ridiculous. You look sex-on-stilettos stunning.” Jo winced at another surge of guilt before she reluctantly began to pull away. Alice was right, of course. A deal was a deal. “Please forgive me for being such an idiot, Alice. I’d better—"
“Take a cab. Hell, buy a fucking cab.” A wad of bills as thick as a novel suddenly appeared, and Gus thrust it into Alice’s hands. “Have the doorman downstairs get one for you and make him walk you to it so you’re never unaccompanied. Have a nice night.”
“What the actual hell.” Alice stared at the insane amount of cash in her hands before thrusting it back at Gus. “Dude, I’m not some irritating kid sister you need to pawn off, so take your stupid money back. I can pay for my own cab fare, for heaven’s sake. If that’s what you want me to do?” Again she looked to Joelle, brows raised. “It’ll suck epic ass, but I can hang around this snoozefest of a party if you, you know… need me to.”
Clearly she was asking if Joelle thought she was safe around Gus, and she couldn’t help but smile at her foster sister’s protectiveness. “I’m good here, Al. By the way, Gus Bloch, this is my foster sister and forever partner in crime, Alice Halliday. Al, this is Gus, and I think I’m totally into staring soulfully into his eyes for the rest of the evening.”
Alice considered her for a long moment before giving a faint, baffled shake of her head. “Okay. Nice to meet you, Gus. Treat Jo like the princess she is, and we’ll get along great.”
Some of the surliness in Gus’s expression lightened. “Not a problem. I recognized her as a princess the moment I laid eyes on her.”
“Excuse me, but I am not a princess,” Joelle huffed at them, affronted. “Princesses have no power. Feel free to refer to me as the queen.”
“Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” Alice snorted, but she smiled as she backed away. “You sure about this, Jo?”
Aw. “I’m fine, Al. Go on home. And thank you for everything.”
“Text me later. I want to know you got home safely, and that this Gus Bloch dude didn’t turn you into a statistic.”
“Your foster sister’s got a mouth on her,” Gus said when Alice had left, staring after her like he wanted to make sure she stayed gone. “Someday it’s going to land her in a world of trouble.”
“Never worry about Alice. Mainly because she hates it, but also because from the time she was orphaned when she was twelve, she’s made it her mission in life to fend for herself. Offering her help of any kind is taken as an insult.”
“Yeah?” His frown became thoughtful as he returned his attention back to her. “I can understand that. Any other insights in dealing with members of your family? You don’t have parents any longer, but what about aunts and uncles? Other siblings?”
That startled a laugh out of her. “I have a younger brother, Felix, but why would you care about that? It’s not like you’re ever going to meet him.”
“Yeah, I am.” He executed a little spin that made her clutch her arms around his neck. Just