Chapter 35
Sophie
Ashton is with Fern Theissen at The King’s Hat.
I think it’s better that I know, rather than just wondering.
Because I’ve been wondering what they were doing since they left. Thinking about how beautiful Fern is—tall and model slim, blonde hair with effortless waves drifting down her back. Fashionable clothes, because, of course, she’s a model.
Her handbag alone costs more than my entire wardrobe.
And Ashton knows her. Of course he does. He knows all the beautiful women in the world.
Maybe not all of them, but a lot of them
I glance at my phone to check if another text has come in from Ashton.
Nothing since I told Ashton to have fun with her.
Of course I would tell him to have fun with her. What else am I supposed to say—come back and sit with me in front of the fire and we can both be anti-social bumps on a log? How fun is that?
It’s all Ashton has been doing for almost a month. Of course he jumped at the chance for different scenery. Different company.
Someone who isn’t me.
Fern is definitely not me. Or Fifi. Whatever her name is.
There’s a knock at my door. “Soph? You still awake?” Kate pokes her head around the door.
“It’s only nine o’clock. I’m not that much of an old lady.” Kate’s eyes widen at my snappish tone. “Sorry,” I say.
She comes in, toeing off her heels and making herself comfortable on the couch beside me. “Don’t be. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“And that’s the problem.” She nods her head as she pulls at my blanket to cover her toes. “You’re bored.”
“I’m not bored.”
“You sound bored,” Kate points out. “Where’s Ashton? I thought he was acting as your full-time companion lately.” She glances around like he’s about to pop out from under the table.
I groan and thump my head against the back of the couch. “I don’t need another lecture about how I shouldn’t be hanging out with him.”
“Why shouldn’t you hang out with him? It’s Ashton Carrington. Women would give up regular Botox injections for a chance to meet him, and here you are, locked up in a castle, with him all to yourself.” Her hazel eyes gleam with excitement.
“It’s not like that,” I protest. “And why would any woman give up her Botox for him? Ashton probably loves women with Botox.”
“So what is it like?” she prompts. “I’ve been so swamped with the Sea Queen shindig that I haven’t kept up with the gossip.”
“There’s no gossip about me.”
Kate has the ability to raise one eyebrow at a time. I’ve always admired the talent—except for now. “Wanna bet? Have you asked him to the dance?”
“No.” I gesture impatiently at my foot. I stubbed my baby toe on the way to the bathroom earlier, so that adds to the discomfort. Also, it didn’t help my mood.
“No?”
“No, and I’m not about to. He’s out with Fern Theissen tonight.” I spit out her name like I’m referring to an evil corporation trying to steal the fish from my country.
Totally not fair to Fern. Fifi. Whatever her name is.
What kind of name is Fifi? Sounds like a dog.
Also, not very fair.
“Apparently, they’re old and dear friends,” I add, losing a bit of the spite.
“I did hear she was in town,” Kate muses, trying to sound casual. “Did her brother come with?”
I shake my head. “Just Fern. Just tall, beautiful, blonde Fern.”
“Brother is also tall, blond, and beautiful. Just saying.”
“Of course he is. Don’t give me any more reasons to dislike her. Not that I dislike her,” I quickly correct. “I’m just not sure I like… there’s nothing wrong with her… it’s just…”
There is obviously something wrong with me. I pull up my blanket, wishing I could hide beneath it.
Kate narrows her eyes. “Uh huh. You should ask him to the dance.”
“She probably already has,” I growl. “Not that I was going to.” I angrily point to my foot.
“It’s not like you to feel sorry for yourself.”
“Maybe it should be.”
Kate only laughs. “Oh, Sophie. You’ve got it bad. I haven’t seen you this hung up on a guy since Wade Wilkerson in grade five.”
“There’s been a lot of guys I’ve been hung up on since him.”
“I know.” Kate smiles sadly. “And I hate that I missed hearing about them.”
I missed a lot. We all did. Hanging out with Kate and Lyra—it’s just Kate today, but I know Lyra would be here if she were in town—talking and teasing and sharing everything and anything.
Talking about boys. I missed talking to my best friends about boys, and now we’ve moved on to men.
They are a lot more complicated.
I had friends in high school during the years of no-talk to the royal family and friends that my mother imposed. Back then, Mom’s rules were the law, and because I never knew the entire story, I went along with what she wanted.
I never knew the true story about her and Dad, and let her poison me against the royal family. And Kate, because she was still Lyra’s best friend.
I have friends now, but it’s not the same as having Kate and Lyra back in my life.
Did my mother even realize how my social life took a hit by banning Lyra from my life?
And why did I ever listen to her? There’s no way I would do that now.
Ten-year-old me was very different from the me of today.
“Me too.” Reaching out, I find her hand and give it a squeeze. “Let’s talk about some of the guys you were hung up on instead. How do you know this Patrick guy?”
Kate shakes her head, ponytail swinging. “Nope. I am fixated on this. You. You and Ashton.”
I wince. “There is no me and Ashton.” I wave both hands around. “Obviously.”
“He’s out with an old friend, who happens to be Mrs. Theissen’s daughter. Ashton’s smart enough to know that will win him some favour with her. And possibly, your father.” Another raised eyebrow.
I wonder if Kate knows anything about what’s going on between my father and Mrs. Theissen.
I’m sure she does. There’s not a lot that goes on in the castle that Kate wouldn’t know about it.
I wonder if she somehow knows about the kiss.
“You should go for it,” Kate says. “With Ashton.”
She definitely knows.
I sigh, a deep sigh that I feel from the bottom of my broken toe. “I kissed him, so I’m not really sure what else I can do. “
Kate gasps. Actually gasps so I guess there are castle secrets she doesn’t know.
But the gasp also makes me understand that I’ve had no love life for a long time.
“You kissed Ashton Carrington!”
I wonder how long it’s been since I stopped referring to Ashton as Ashton Carrington.
“What was it like? Did he kiss you back?”
I grin. “It would have been a lot worse if he didn’t kiss me back.”
“It was bad?”
“It wasn’t bad.”
“It doesn’t sound like it was good,” she exclaims, sounding suitably horrified.
“No, it was good,” I assure her. “It was good. Very… good.”
It was the kind of kiss that curls toes. The kind that leaves you breathless and wanting more. The type of kiss that sends shivers racing, knees weakening, and heart hammering like it’s trying to escape from a chest.
It was like a bungee jump at the Great Canadian Bungee in nearby Quebec—exhilarating and terrifying all at once.
And I did that. I kissed him. I made the first move… for once in my life.
“It was really good,” I finish with a small smile, remembering.
There’s a lot to remember. And unpack.
I’m still doing that.
“So good that you want to do it again, that you can’t look at him without wondering what’s wrong with him because he’s not kissing you senseless every minute?” Kate demands, hands clasped.
“Yeah.” My smile widens, but it’s a little sad, too. Because yes—it was a really good kiss with Ashton. That happened once, and never again. “That good.”
She sighs. “I want to be kissed like that.”
“So do I,” I confess.
“You’ve got more of a chance than I do. There’s been no one since Jackson left.”
“Jackson?” I all but screech. “I thought we were to never mention his name in polite company?”
“The way you looked when you told me about kissing Ashton suggests there’s nothing polite about this company.”
I chortle with laughter and hit her with a cushion.
“Jackson is a story for another time,” she promises. “I want dirt on Ashton.” She curls her legs underneath her. “Tell me everything.”
“He’s a billionaire,” I say simply. “And I’m not.”
“And I dated a prince,” she points out, because yes, some still believe that Kate, not my sister, was the love of Prince Gunnar’s life. “So I refuse to see the significance of Ashton’s father having a bit of money in the bank. Details. Now.”
So I tell Kate everything she wants to know.