Stealing Kisses With a King (Kings of Carolina #3)- Sylvie Stewart Page 0,37
until I knew what he was up to.
Eyes wide, he attempted a nonchalant, “It’s just that thing at the Greenwoods’. Heart disease, I think.”
“Heart disease,” I repeated, willing to wait him out until he cracked.
His hand left his neck to raise a finger. “Now I remember. Child hunger.”
I picked up a pen and rocked back in my chair, allowing for a long pause. “Don’t you find it the least bit ironic that the Greenwoods are putting on what’s sure to be a five-course dinner to talk about starving children?”
He laughed at that, confirming my suspicion was well-founded. “They’ve never been the most percipient family, have they?”
My mouth turned down into a frown as I twirled the pen over my knuckles. “No. Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on, or do I have to bribe Ruby?”
He made a decent attempt to stare me down but, in the end, sighed and slumped into one of the wingbacks opposite me. “Fine. I’ve been… concerned about you.”
My nose wrinkled at that. “Whatever for? I was only joking when I threatened to steal the jet and relocate to the Amazon. Pythons are terrifying.”
Ignoring me, he responded, “Look. There are a dozen occasions between now and the coronation where you’ll be expected to, at the very least, give your opinion or engage in conversation among large groups of people.”
My jaw tensed and I stilled in my seat. He wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know, but I was annoyed at his presumption that I needed a babysitter—and that he would be my first choice. Surely, Rhianna could be persuaded if I promised not to cry when she spanked me.
Leo persisted. “I just want to be there in case…”
“In case what?”
“In case there’s a repeat of the hospital dinner. In case you need to be bailed out.” He dropped his palms to the rolled arms of his chair and sighed.
I leaned forward in my chair, dropping the pen and propping my forearms on the desk. “Since when have I needed someone to bail me out of anything?”
“Do you really want me to make a list?”
I scowled at my brother. So, maybe he had a point, but it was only because I believed in enjoying life and taking chances instead of sitting behind a desk crunching numbers and using my holidays to dig wells.
“I told you I was just resting for my next climb that time at Shaker Cliffs.” I thrust an index finger at him. “But you and your ‘safety police’ had to call an ambulance.”
“When you opened your eyes, you called me ‘Mummy’ and asked if I wanted to lick Nutella off your toes.” His smug expression was so annoying. I hoped I didn’t look like that when I was in the right.
“I was in the middle of a dream,” I explained.
“You had a concussion and a sprained neck.”
My fist thumped on the wood of my desk. “I have this under control, Leo, and I don’t need a babysitter!”
“So you admit there’s an issue.” Persistent little arsehole.
“I admit nothing.”
Leo stood, palms toward me. “Fine.” After a deep inhale and a glance at my desk, he continued, “I’m going to trust that the presence of coasters and the lack of crumbs on your desk mean Alice is back?”
“Remember when I said I have it under control?” I could budge a little, I supposed. He was my brother, after all.
Leo nodded, eyes unfocused as he mulled that over. “All right. But I’m coming to that dinner tonight.”
“That’s your business. Unless you’re asking me to be your date. In that case, I’ll have to refuse.” I assumed a contrite expression. “It’s me, not you.”
“God help your future wife.” He turned to leave, a quick flip of his hand in parting.
“Bite your tongue. It’s bad enough I have to be a king!” I shouted after him.
Looking down at my desk, I noticed the coaster under my cup of tea and the fresh stash of pens and highlighters filling the small tray to the side. And, sure enough, there wasn’t a crumb in sight from the chocolate scone I’d devoured earlier as I listened in on a conference call. I opened the top drawer to see if I’d missed anything else, only to find a yellow sticky note with the word “breathe” written in neat black print. My mouth relaxed into a smile just as my phone pinged with a text notification.
Alice: I wanted to remind you to dress for dinner before our appointment.