Prince Alexander of Wales, is here to see you,” the butler announces.
I whip my head up to find Xander grimacing in the doorway. I have been here for oh, what? Hours? But we planned and plotted and drank and had so much fun, I lost track of time. Hmm. Why is he here, anyway?
But oh, I’m happy he is. I’ve missed him.
And Xander is so decadent when he scowls.
I could lick him up when he has that alpha look on his face.
Yes. Licking him is an excellent idea.
“Thomas, you know not to call me that,” Xander says, his deep voice full of warning for the man.
The butler smiles. “Yes, Your Royal Highness.”
Xander scowls deeper. I decide licking him isn’t enough. I need to have crazy hot sex with him.
I’m so glad he doesn’t make love like a flailing cod.
I reach for my glass and drain the rest of it, downing another gin and tonic. I know I’m a smidge past tipsy. But, once you get used to them, they aren’t that bad.
“Ah, my darling,” Helene says, getting up and walking over to him. I watch as she takes his hands in hers and kisses him on each cheek in greeting. “Would you like to join us for a drink?”
I watch as he surveys the room, with lots of talking and loud laughter going on. Then he shifts his attention back to his great-aunt, his mouth curving up slightly in a smile.
“I think you have all had plenty of drinks this evening,” he quips. “I’m here to take Poppy home.”
“Oh, come on, Xander, have a drink with us!” Liz calls out. “We’re talking all about you anyway—wouldn’t you like to chime in?”
I blush as Xander now looks at me.
“Is that right?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow.
I rise to my feet. Whoa. I sway backwards a bit but manage to right myself. The room is a little bit dizzy. Or am I dizzy? Yes. I’m dizzy, not the room. A dizzy room would be hilarious, and I snicker to myself.
I walk towards him, clipping the edge of the coffee table with my foot and banging it loudly.
“Oof!” I mutter. “Oh, no! I hope that didn’t leave a scuff!”
I’d better check. I drop to my hands and knees in my dress and study the table leg from the floor. “Nope! No scuff!”
I feel Xander move next to me. Then his hands are on my sides, gently helping me to my feet.
Oh, he feels so good. I must have sex with him as soon as we are home.
“How many cocktails did you have this evening?” he asks me.
“One-and-a-half,” I say, thinking. “Or two. But they were big, and I’m not a gin drinker, so that’s more like four. But since I can’t hold my alcohol, is that like twenty-six? No. I would be in accident and emergency if I’d had that many drinks, right? So, like, six drinks?”
He grins. “Perhaps.”
“That’s a bit not good, isn’t it?” I ask him, frowning.
“It’s a bit all right,” he says, dropping a kiss on the top of my head.
The room seems quiet now. Or is that because I stopped talking?
“I’m going to take Poppy home,” Xander says to everyone.
I turn to them, and the room goes dizzy again. I furrow my brow and try to focus.
“Thank you all for being here. No. Thank me for being here,” I say. Crap! Not that. “No, I thank you for having me here. It was lovely. You all are so lovely.”
“Right, about the wedding dress,” I say, nodding. “Very important that we talk about that. And fascinators.”
Victoria laughs. “Yes.”
Helene comes to me. She takes my hands in hers and squeezes them. “Next time, I’ll be sure to serve dinner first.”
Then she kisses me on each cheek. “Go get some rest.”
Rest? Hell no, I’m having sex!
But I don’t tell her that. That would be MTI.
No. ITM.
Still wrong. TMI.
That’s it!
“Good night,” I say, smiling at her.
Xander says his goodbyes, and soon, his arm is draped around my shoulders. As soon as we are outside, he chuckles.
“Leave it to my aunt to get you drunk,” he says.
“I would say tipsy,” I say. “I tried to be careful, I did, but my glass was refilled at the halfway point, and I didn’t want to be rude by not eating what … no, drinking—I don’t eat gin, how would I do that? But Jillian made it, and I didn’t want to be rude.”