apart from me. You grew up in the ocean. There’s no one better than you to take over from me, Cara.”
“What about one of my sisters? Christine is at least as good a swimmer as me, and she has a better brain for business.”
“It’s not about business, Cara.” My father smiles. “It’s about heart.”
“What if my heart isn’t in it?” I stop myself from speaking more, wanting to tell him the truth. I want to tell him my heart wants to sing. That I want to leave Argyle and find my own way in the world.
My father smiles softly and wraps me in a tight hug. “Let’s talk about it when you get back.”
When we pull apart, his eyes are misty. My father is a large man, and I’m not used to seeing him teary-eyed. He clears his throat and nods to the library door.
“Go. Don’t leave the Prince waiting.”
I slip out through the door as emotion tightens my throat. It’s not that I want to leave home—I have to. I’m compelled, like some hook has dug itself into my gut and is pulling me away. I need to see more of the world and discover things for myself.
I need to get away from the memory of Luca, and all the broken promises that he brought to me.
Will my father understand that, though?
Before I get to the front door, with my swimsuit on under my clothes and my bag slung over my shoulder, my mother appears in front of me.
She’s the exact opposite to my father. She’s thin and wiry, with sharp, green eyes. Her skin, contrary to my father’s, is pale and almost translucent. As always, her lips are painted bright red.
My mother isn’t a champion swimmer. She married my father when they were very young, and I think part of her resents the fact that Tristan Shoal is celebrated throughout the Kingdom while she’s only seen as his wife. Her family is part of the old aristocracy in Argyle, but their fortunes have been declining.
She had my six sisters and me when she was young, and her whole life has been dedicated to making sure our family is well-taken care of.
I should be grateful for everything she’s done. I know I should. It’s just that where my father’s arms are like a warm, tropical breeze, my mother’s embrace is a cold wind whipping through a barren countryside. I’m not supposed to be afraid of my own mother, but deep down, I have to admit she intimidates me.
I’ve always thought she married my father because she thought he would raise her name back up to its former glory. But my father mostly cares about swimming, and the Shoal Swim School offers far too many scholarships and free programs to turn much of a profit.
When my father wasn’t the path to riches for her, my mother arranged to marry my sisters off to dukes and earls, with the final jewel in her crown being me. I was supposed to be a princess.
And I failed.
Ever since Prince Luca left to get surgery on his back, my mother’s been in a foul mood. My marriage into the royal family was supposed to secure my whole family’s future. Joining with the royal family would ensure that we would never have to worry about a thing—even with six of us daughters and a retired Olympian to provide for.
Then, it all fell apart.
Luca doesn’t want me anymore.
“Going somewhere?” my mother asks, arching an eyebrow.
“Sailing around the Kingdom.” I try to step around her, but my mother shifts to block my path. I try not to squirm under her hawk-eye stare.
She glances out through the open door and slides her gaze back to me. “With Prince Theo?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
Something flashes in my mother’s eyes, and an uncomfortable feeling snakes down my spine. I can almost hear the gears grinding in her head.
Discomfort twists inside me as my stomach clenches. I haven’t seen that look on her face since I was a young teenager, and it was decided that Luca and I were perfect for each other. I don’t want her to get any ideas right before I leave this place for good.
“Got to go. Bye!” I yell, dodging around her. I rush through the door and slam it behind me.
As soon as I skid to a stop beside the Prince’s convertible, he flashes another smile at me and leans over to open the door. I toss my bag into the back seat and slide in. The