The Princess and The Jester - A.D. McCammon Page 0,9
still go stay with your aunt. She would love to see you. Patrick said you’d still have a job if and when you return.”
Patrick Sullyvan, the owner of Brighton Hotel, gave my mother a job as his assistant two years ago. He wasn’t even looking for one at the time, just simply did it at his daughter’s behest. The man even helped us get set up in a home of our own. Something we hadn’t had since I was five. When I turned sixteen, he offered me a job too. But he did it for my mom. She didn’t want me working at some fast food restaurant or gas station.
It was fairly obvious by then that Patrick had fallen for her, though my mother and Arwen both seemed oblivious to it. This is the first time he’s taken her with him out of town, and I can’t help wondering if something has shifted between them. This trip may be about more than business.
“I appreciate that, but I’m perfectly fine staying here,” I say. “Nina and Mark have been very welcoming.”
They’ve always been kind to me. I was the walking talking charity case that made them feel better about themselves. They loved to buy me expensive gifts my mother couldn’t afford. Which she would politely refuse on my behalf or put away until I earned it. The school supplies and new wardrobe each year were things she didn’t have the luxury to decline, though.
“And Gwen? How did she react to your arrival?” my mom inquires.
I lift my gaze to Gwen’s bedroom, the dark window causing my lips to curl. She’s either asleep or not home. Either option gives me an opportunity to play. “Oh, she was thrilled to see me,” I snicker.
There was genuine fear in her dark hazel eyes once she saw me in her bed last night. Exactly as I expected. What I hadn’t anticipated was the way her body would react to my presence. The red blotches that littered her pale skin were a dead giveaway of the lustful thoughts swirling in her head.
It made my own desires much harder to fight. Especially when she was wearing nothing more than a towel, the tremendous curves of her body barely hidden beneath it. The same ones I saw in their full glory as she’d stripped on her way to the shower.
“I know that tone. Don’t you go stirring up trouble, son,” my mother scolds.
She knows me well, but the damage is already done.
I managed to get myself into a shit storm of trouble this morning. After Gwen came down for breakfast wearing some jock’s shirt while her eyes devoured me, I couldn’t resist toying with her. Her skin lit up like a Christmas tree when my hand landed on her thigh, and it should’ve ended there. My point had been made, my theory proved.
But she started running her sweet mouth, and fury clouded my judgment. All bets were off the second I got too close to her. Then she kissed me, and I almost let myself get lost in her. It felt so good—so right, having her in my arms again—I nearly forgot everything she’d done.
“Stop worrying. Everything is fine,” I say, trying to reassure myself as much as I am her.
“This could be a chance for the two of you to mend whatever was broken.”
I let out a defeated breath, rubbing at the building tension in my shoulders. “That’s highly unlikely.”
My mom doesn’t have a clue about all the shit that went down with Gwen two years ago. She would’ve killed me if she found out I was hooking up with the Rhodes’ little princess, jeopardizing her job and the roof over our heads. I’m pretty sure my mom believes our rift is about unrequited love. Which isn’t entirely inaccurate. Everyone could see how much I cared about Gwen, and it was even harder to hide the heartache she caused me.
“You guys were so close. It’s not too late to fix this,” my mom continues.
That’s where she’s wrong. Gwen’s latest offense destroyed any hope for reconciliation between us. I’m only here to even the score.
She played me for a fool, but I’ll have the last laugh.
This morning may have ended in a victory for me, but I can’t lose control like that again. If I let her get under my skin, it’ll only be a matter of time before she finds her way into my heart. That didn’t work out so well for me the first time.