his lips, creating more annoyance to twist my spine. “Tomorrow.” He peered at his watch. “Actually today. In four hours.”
“Of course.” I rubbed my forehead.
“Are you mad?”
Closing my lids for a moment, I wanted to scream but took in a deep breath. I didn’t want to be this girl. The girlfriend who was always mad, needy, and demanding.
“I’m irritated you didn’t tell me. You want us to be a team, right?” I motioned to us. “You imagine this will advance between us?”
“Are you trying to ask about if I’m proposing to you or not?” He grinned cheekily, rubbing my arms and stepping in closer.
“No. That’s not…” Another deep breath. “You need to talk to me. Keep me in the loop. You can’t avoid talking to me because you don’t want to fight or upset me. That’s not how we are going to work.”
“I know.” He leaned his head back. “It’s just I knew you were still uncomfortable in the palace, and I felt bad about telling you you’d be alone for a week, and then today, all the parents meeting…”
“So, you didn’t forget.”
He glanced to the side.
“I’m so sorry, Spence.” He faced me again. “I promise I will be better about telling you.”
“Highness?” Dalton stepped up behind the prince. “The car’s ready; everyone is in place.”
My head jerked to the side, seeing Lennox was absent from his spot. Along with Hazel.
“Is my sister coming?”
Dalton’s lips pressed together. “No, the princess has firmly declared she is staying.”
Did I imagine the tinge of frustration in his voice? My imagination was getting the better of me.
After quick goodbyes to everyone, Dalton whisked us to the doors.
“I will warn you there are a lot of paparazzi and people out there. Someone must have leaked your location.”
“Bound to happen at a club.” Theo shrugged; no big deal to him. Though there were no pictures allowed in this private club, the means of letting the world know the location of the prince were endless. Social media really had changed everything. Everything was instant and in real time. The privacy you used to be able to have was long gone.
Waiting for the first sighting of the prince, the anticipation in the crowd strung energy through them like clotheslines.
“Theo!” A girl screamed when Dalton opened the door, setting everyone off like a charge exploding in the night. Theo darted out first, jogging for the large SUV primed at the corner.
Girls screamed, bulbs flashed, and the paps yelled Theo’s name over and over. The press at the polo match was afternoon tea compared to this.
“Theo, I love you!”
“You’re gorgeous!”
“Theo, marry me!”
Theo was the equivalent of a rock star. People did whatever it took to get to him, wanting to say they touched him, while the paparazzi got only inches from his face, their cameras blinding. They shoved against the line of bodyguards protecting Theo as Dalton yelled at them to move back. Didn’t they see their need to be the one to touch him could kill him? Would they even stop if they trampled him? This level of frenzy shivered horror through me.
“I got you,” a husky voice muttered in my ear, a hand going to my back. I peered at Lennox at my side. His face was serious, but his touch was soft. I didn’t respond, but knowing he was there and feeling the press of his hand on my back were calming. I felt stronger, like I was invincible next to him. “Let’s go.”
Gulping, I dashed out, following the path to the car, the shrieks as people spotted me stabbing into my eardrums like arrows.
“Spencer! Spencer! Spencer!”
“I hate you!”
“Spencer! Spencer!”
“Fuck you, you ugly gash!”
“You don’t deserve him!”
A plastic cup was chucked close to my head.
“Bloody hell,” I yelped under my breath as Lennox used his body to cover mine.
“You’re almost there,” he said in my ear, pushing me faster.
I hopped into the SUV, Lennox slamming the door behind me. I plopped next to Theo in the backseat, Dalton in the middle row. Theo’s arm stretched over the top of the seat, his leg crossed over his knee as if he was relaxing at the beach.
“Go,” Lennox commanded as he jumped into the passenger seat, the driver peeling away as girls pounded on the window, some paparazzi running for their cars or mopeds.
“Come here, luv.” Theo wrapped an arm around me, pulling me in, his mouth brushing my earlobe. “We’ll be home soon.”
Not one ounce of my earlier need and lust was left in my body. Adrenaline pumped