The Princess and The Jester - A.D. McCammon Page 0,52

Aidan’s heart.

“Cole is here somewhere,” I start. “But…”

As if on cue, Cole comes strolling outside with Violet under his arm and Arwen by his side. My skin heats as his glare settles on me. Those emerald eyes take a leisurely stroll over my body, one corner of his mouth curving with appreciation.

“I’m going to say hi to Violet,” Aidan says.

I acknowledge Aidan with a quick nod of my head, chewing on my bottom lip once he walks away and Cole heads in my direction.

He’s wearing an Arcade Fire shirt with a pair of ripped black jeans and purple Converse. His hair is perfectly disheveled, the grin on his face seductive as he stops in front of me. “That’s a very nice outfit, Princess. It’ll look even better later tonight when it’s lying on my floor.”

My face flushes, my center clenching as he leans in closer.

“I bet Cory can’t keep his eyes off you. He’s probably thinking of all the ways he can get you alone. Maybe I should put the poor bastard out of his misery and show him you’re already spoken for.”

“You wouldn’t,” I whisper.

Chuckling, he brushes the hair away from my shoulder and places a quick kiss there. “You want to test that theory?” He stands tall again, his eyebrow arrogantly cocked.

My lips press, but I give him a curt shake of my head. The last thing I want is a repeat of yesterday.

Mia and Cory chat away, barely including me in their conversation. But I don’t mind it. It’s cute, the way Mia keeps nervously laughing at all of Cory’s lame jokes. He looks so flattered each time. Like he’s used to people laughing at him more than they do with him.

The chime on my phone alerts me of a message on Instagram. The notification bar on my screen shows it’s from Cole to Phantom Girl, and my heart stutters.

As inconspicuously as possible, I allow my gaze to float around the yard in search of Cole. He’s on the other side of the pool, engaged in conversation with Violet and her friend Samantha.

My brow knits as I unlock my screen and open the message.

11:00 PM

You look sexy AF in yellow.

My mouth drops open, my wide eyes flickering back to him. This time his glare is fixated on me. That wickedly sexy grin adorns his lips, inciting both fear and lust in my belly.

This isn’t all that surprising. Part of me suspected Cole knew I was Phantom Girl, ever since he surprised me in my room his first night back here. I’ve been living in denial, hoping I’d never have to explain my actions.

I drag my stare back to my phone, typing in my response with shaky hands.

How long have you known?

A while.

Why didn’t you say anything?

Why didn’t you?

Have you just been screwing with me?

I could ask you the same thing.

Oh my god.

Is that why you’re staying here?

Deep down, I already know the answer to my question. He came here to get back at me, believing the messages were designed to hurt him in some way. I don’t blame him for thinking that, though.

Shane’s had me jumping through hoops for years. Breaking up with Cole was only the beginning. Any time I tried to refuse an invite to one of his parties or wasn’t friendly to him in public, he threatened to tell Cole everything.

From Cole’s perspective, I’m a traitor and a liar. That’s exactly how he looked at me when he saw me at Shane’s two months ago—with disappointment and disgust twisting his features.

He might even think Shane put me up to the whole thing. But in reality, I risked everything to talk to Cole. Just to get a small piece back of what I’d lost.

Things were never supposed to go on as long as they did. I didn’t realize I’d taken it too far until I was already falling over the edge. Still, I should’ve cut things off then. It was selfish of me to hold on, hoping it would work out. And stupid of me to believe I could get Cole back without Shane finding out.

The blinking dots mock me, appearing then disappearing. A heaviness presses on my chest as I look up from my phone. Cole is still watching me, but his smile has been replaced with a thoughtful frown.

My dizzy head shakes with disbelief, and he sends a response.

What did you expect?

You lied to me.

So it’s all been a game?

Yes and no.

His answer causes an ache in my chest. My fears have been