Royally Screwed - Lynn Van Dorn Page 0,40

you’re protective of her. Even though you know she wants to bone you and boning her is like the last thing you’d ever want to do. But you still have feelings for Angela. You can’t help that. And you know you need to put up a good front, so you hold her hand and kiss her in public, even though she’s a girl and you don’t like girls and never have. But. Maybe kissing Angela isn’t as bad as you thought. The more you do it, the less weird it seems. And then one day, it goes a bit further than either of you planned, but she’s over the moon because she’s wanted this for so long and asks if you’re straight now. How do you think you’d respond?”

“Fuck,” Yuri said, feeling like he wanted to vomit up what little he’d eaten. “Fuck fuck fuck.”

“Yeah. I mean, I could be wrong, but—”

“You’re not at all wrong, Miss Jacqueline,” Philippe said, coming back to take their plates even though Yuri had barely taken a bite. The valet took a look at it and asked, “Would you like that warmed up?”

Yuri shook his head.

“Very well, sir. And I might add, because I’ve known both of you boys since you were infants, that Miss Jacqueline’s assessment of Prince Angelo matches my own.”

“I fucked this up, didn’t I?”

Both Jacki and Philippe nodded at him. Philippe added, “I’m afraid so.”

“This isn’t fair, though!”

“Life, Prince Yuri, is rarely fair. I would think you’d have learned that by now.”

Jacki was still nodding her head. “Life is totally not fair.”

“I need to like, apologize, don’t I?”

“It’s worth a shot,” Jacki said.

“If I might venture a suggestion,” Philippe added.

Yuri waved his hand. “Don’t let me stop you. I never have in the past.”

Philippe’s mouth twitched into something that was almost a smile and his dark eyes had a glint of humor in them. Sympathy, too, if Yuri wasn’t mistaken. “Yes, sir. I think what you really should do is talk with Prince Angelo. I doubt an apology on its own will be a complete solution. A conversation won’t be, either, but it’s a start. Tell him how you feel.”

“I have!” Yuri shouted, making Jacki jump. “Sorry,” he continued in a lower voice, “but I have told him.”

“Have you tried asking him what he wants?” Jacki asked.

“Of course, I—” Yuri stopped speaking. Had he really? He couldn’t remember. “Maybe,” he amended. “Probably. But if I did, he definitely never gave me a useful answer.”

“Then ask him again.” Jacki took a sip of her tea. “And this time, listen to what he has to say.”

“And if he won’t talk to me?”

“Keep trying, I think. Philippe?”

Philippe nodded gravely. “Yes, sir. Keep trying.”

Yuri sighed. “Right. I’ll try to talk with him. But later. I need to lie down. My head is killing me.”

Jacki finished her tea then stood. She walked over to Yuri and kissed his cheek. “If Angel won’t talk with you, let me know. We can stage an intervention for him, too.”

“That’s terrifying. I wouldn’t wish that on even Francis.”

“Idiot,” she said affectionately, then left.

“Do you need anything else, Prince Yuri?”

Yes, Yuri thought, but it’s not something you can give me. “I’m fine,” he told Philippe. “I just need to lie down and get rid of this headache.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“Thanks.” Yuri went into his bedroom and plugged in his mobile. While it powered up, he undressed and considered taking another shower, then discarded the idea. Just a nap would be good. Walking back to the bed, he looked at his mobile, which had dozens of notifications. Most were from Jacki, and a few were from Philippe, but the ones that interested him were from Angelo. He read them, then read them again.

“Damn,” he said to the empty room.

16

Angelo Talks with Security

Angelo wished it was Monday instead of Sunday. He’d have work to distract him from thoughts of Yuri. He tried to amuse himself in a variety of ways, not that any of them worked. In the end, he left to take a walk to a nearby cafe to get something to eat. He settled down, ate an omelet and drank an entire pot of tea, and did his best to divert himself by reading news articles on his phone, but his mind kept going back to Yuri.

There was a paradox running through Angelo’s thoughts and he felt like he needed to reconcile it before he went insane, but he wasn’t sure how. Fact: Angelo was not gay and