X: Command Me through Alexander's Eyes - Geneva Lee Page 0,44
kiss her cheek.
“It’s nice to meet you, and I am so sorry.” Clara is flustered, and I can’t blame her. Surely, she senses the venom behind Pepper’s greeting.
“It’s just a dress,” Pepper whispers like they’re old friends. I don’t catch what she says next.
Clara laughs, her body relaxing. Whatever Pepper said has lowered her guard. I shoot a pointed glare at my old friend.
This sham introduction is over, and she needs to move on. Pepper’s eyes widen, but she collects herself quickly. “I should be going. I brought a date, and I’ve lost him.”
Clara looks like she understands this a bit too well. She’s in good hands, though, and no one will protect her as fiercely as her best friend.
This is good because it’s time for Pepper and me to have a little chat. I brush a kiss over Clara’s cheek and murmur a reassurance before steering Pepper away from her.
“I behaved myself,” Pepper hisses when we’re a safe distance from Clara and her friends.
“I wasn’t going to stick around to see how long that would last,” I say, dropping my hold on her elbow.
I start to turn, eager to be rid of her, when she blurts out, “So, how long have you known about Albert and me?”
“I’m not sure this is the place to discuss this,” I say through clenched teeth.
“We could meet up. For coffee? Dinner?” she suggests.
“I’m fully booked,” I say coldly. But there are things I want to say—need to say to her. Now is my best opportunity to do that without winding up with photos splashed all over the tabloids again. “And we both know that you’re just hoping to make the front page again.”
“We’re news. I can’t help that,” she says, blinking as though she disdains the spotlight.
I’m news. I always have been. Looking back, I can’t remember how Pepper became so close to my sister. Did she crave the attention even as a child? Was she groomed to seek famous friends? Knowing her mother, that seems a possibility. There’s really not much I know about her at all. She’s like a heat-seeking missile that’s been tuned into my family’s frequency. Or, at least, the frequency of money.
“Let’s have a drink now,” I say, nodding toward the bar.
Her chest puffs out, her chin tilts, nose sticking up in the air. She thinks she’s won this round. Maybe she has, but losing one round might make all the difference in figuring out what she’s really after.
“Two martinis,” she says to the bartender.
I frown. “One martini—and a Scotch for me.”
“I thought you liked martinis,” she says, and I see her tuck away this encounter. For what? Further study?
“Not particularly.” She’s not getting more out of me than that. Our drinks arrive with the customary speed I expect. Being served first is one of the few perks of being born a sodding Royal.
“How did you find out about us?” Pepper asks quietly.
I’m almost surprised that she’s been so discreet. An affair with the King? The scandal would be headline fodder for weeks. “You aren’t as careful as you think you are. My father’s weekend trips have doubled in the last few months.”
“I don’t see what that has to do with me.”
“You’ve already confessed. There’s no need to play innocent now,” I advise her. Finding out was an accident, really. I’d sent Norris to dig up dirt on her, convinced she was the one who leaked the photo of me kissing Clara, and he’d stumbled on more. She doesn’t need to know why or how I know—but that I know. That’s what is important.
“No one can know,” she says swiftly, dropping her hand on mine. “If Albert found out that you knew…”
“What?” I demand. “He’d call it off? Then I’m going to tell him because the thought of you two makes me want to vomit.”
“You can’t! You don’t understand what’s at stake,” she pleads.
“Enlighten me.” I frown. She’s actually…scared.
Pepper pauses and draws a deep breath. For a moment, I think she’s going to tell me what I want to know. But she’s too calculating for that. She always has been. Whatever frightened her, she’s got it under control now. “I know things, too. Let’s not forget that. I’d hate to break sweet Clara’s heart.”
“She’s smart. She doesn’t get her news from tabloids.” I abandon my drink and stand, disgust flooding through me. “You can’t touch her.”
“Would you care to wager on that?” A wicked smile carves over her red lips. “I like my odds.”