softly.
He hesitated only a little. “Freedom matters to me,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “But I can’t have that. So, I settle for the next best thing. Control.”
“Is that what this is about?”
“What ‘what’ is about?”
I sighed. “This whole romance thing. Is it a way to control the narrative? I mean, it’s not like anything is going to happen. Not for real.”
“Why not?” he asked, deliberately obtuse.
“I’m sure Old Mother could give you a thousand reasons.”
He smirked. “Perhaps. But if I let her run my life, I wouldn’t have left Aldayne thirteen years ago.”
Since he brought it up… “Why did you leave, Auggie?”
“You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you’re can figure it out.” Off my look, he sighed. “I’m sure you know how my father died.”
I nodded. Of course, I knew. Everyone knew. When the heir to a throne drives himself off a cliff, it tends to make international headlines. “Tell me anyway.”
His gaze never faltered. Was he still debating whether he could trust me? Was he trying to decide he trusted himself? Or was he still trying to wield his control? Finally, he spoke. “I couldn’t do what he did. I couldn’t give it all away and willingly shackle myself to the throne. It killed him, you know. The idea he could have all this power and this money, but he could never have what he really wanted.”
“Your mom,” I surmised. Their divorce had made the headlines, too. Her cancer, even more so.
“Because of his obligations, he hadn’t been able to spend the last years of her life with her. It literally drove him crazy.”
Softly I asked the big question. “Why’d she leave?”
He sighed. “Father was drinking pretty heavily by the time we left. All he wanted was to make everyone he loved happy. But it was impossible. She didn’t want the same fate to befall me.”
I reached across the sofa to touch his leg, to comfort him. Deep down inside, under the bravado, under the swagger, there was clearly a traumatized little boy. It broke my heart.
“Without them Aldayne didn’t feel like home. I lost every hope of family I had left by the time I was eighteen,” he trailed off, almost like his voice hitched. “Every inch of the country I loved felt like a tombstone, a beautiful reminder of what once was, but now was gone. I missed them so badly it literally hurt.”
I thought about the statue of his mother at Fifty Oaks. “I can’t imagine,” I said. “I can’t even think about losing my folks.”
He nodded. “My mother made it bearable. My mother made it normal.” I mirrored his nod, thinking about that photo way back on the very first day. Only a mother’s love could produce that happy smile. Absently, I touched my tummy. If he took notice, he didn’t draw attention to it. “She worked that magic even when King Evander fell ill. Especially when he fell ill,” he amended. Then sighed. “My parents never wanted to go back to Aldayne. They had tasted their freedom. But duty called. And it wasn’t so bad at first. Imagine Dash landing in a castle, being told he would one day become king.”
I chuckled. “You’re fooling yourself if you think he needs a drop of royal blood to do exactly that.”
He laughed. “Just as I suspected.” He leaned forward, conspiratorially. “Will you hate me terribly if I confess that he’s my favorite?”
I laughed out loud. “That’s okay. He’s everybody’s favorite.” I leaned closer still. “He gave me his tutu, you know.”
Auggie cocked an eyebrow. “His tutu, hmm?” I nodded. “Well, we will just have to see about getting him another one.”
I melted a little bit. The fact that he accepted and celebrated my brother touched my heart.
“You’re lucky to have him,” he said. “The whole clan, really,” he corrected.
“You haven’t met everyone,” I pointed out. “There’s my older brother, Archer.”
“What’s he like?”
“Different,” I acknowledged. “He’s a lawyer. Brilliant. Practical. Independent. He graduated early with a full scholarship, headed east and graduated tops of his class at Harvard. Wears a suit. Belongs to a Country Club. Votes Republican. Honestly, I’m not even sure he’s a McPhee. I’ve always suspected he was likely switched at birth.”
Auggie laughed. “Sounds like an exceptional fellow. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“We’re seeing him in Philly next week. That’s where he lives now.”
“Sounds lovely. I can’t wait.”
I laughed. I hadn’t meant to invite him, but it probably was a mere formality in the first place. Auggie was the one making