Chapter 24 #2
“Some believe it’s a flaw.”
“Who?”
“People who prefer I stay quiet and agreeable.” I meet his eyes. “It doesn’t suit me very often.”
He smiles. “I think the queen has underestimated you.”
“Most people do.” I shrug. “I prefer it that way. Because they’re surprised when I win.”
He studies me, like he’s reassessing everything he thought he knew about me.
“Don’t give up, Miss Cross,” he says. “On anything you want. The things worth having rarely come easy.”
I hold his gaze. “I always find that if I’m willing to fight and lose it all, just for a chance, then it’s worth it, right?”
Something passes between us. An understanding.
He nods slowly and rises from his chair, signaling our time is done.
“This was a pleasure,” he says, walking me to the door. “I hope we’ll do it again.”
“I’d like that.”
“And, Miss Cross?” He pauses, hand on the doorframe. “See the game to the end.”
“What game?” I ask.
All he does is grin. Then I’m in the hallway with my heart pounding.
He knows something. Maybe not everything, but enough. And instead of warning me off, he told me to keep going.
I make it around two corners before a hand closes around my wrist and pulls me into a hidden nook.
Louis.
He looks like hell with dark circles under his eyes and tension carved into every line of his face. His hair is messy, but he’s here, holding me. Before I can say anything, he’s pressing me against the cool stone wall and kissing me hard.
I grab fistfuls of his shirt and pull him closer, breathing him in. Cedar and sandalwood, mixed with the freshness of his soap. His hands are everywhere, cupping my face, sliding down my sides, gripping my hips like he’s afraid I’ll disappear.
“I’ve missed you so fucking much.” He breathes against my mouth.
“Five days.” I pull back just enough to look at him. “It felt like five years.”
“I know. I’ve been counting every hour until I get to see you again.”
“I didn’t know if you were okay. I didn’t know what was happening.”
“I’m okay.” He cups my face, making me look at him. “I’m here.”
“Are we okay?”
“Yes.” He kisses my forehead, my cheeks, the tip of my nose. “We’re perfect. We’re going to survive this. As they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder.”
“I thought maybe—” I stop myself.
“Maybe what? Tell me.” He studies me, waiting patiently.
“Maybe you’d changed your mind. Maybe you’d realized this was too complicated.”
“Not fucking possible.” He presses his forehead against mine. “I’ve thought about you every night. Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, knowing you were a five-minute walk away and I couldn’t get to you.”
“Why?”
“Guards. Schedules. Eyes everywhere.” His jaw tightens. “I tried twice. Got intercepted both times.”
“So, you’re a prisoner.”
“Temporarily.” A ghost of a smile appears on his face. “But I’ve never been good at following rules.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“It’s one of my best qualities.”
Despite it all, I almost smile. “That’s debatable.”
“You love it.”
“It’s what got us into this mess,” I say, stealing another kiss.
“I’ll take the blame for us.” He laughs, and the sound makes me relax.
This is us. This is what I’ve been missing.
“I have a plan,” he says. “Tatiana and I—”
“I don’t want to talk about her yet.”
He stops. “Okay.”
“I just want this.” I grip his shirt tighter. “One more minute of just us before we go back to not speaking or seeing each other.”
He doesn’t say anything. Just pulls me against him and holds me, one hand in my hair, the other spread across my back. I press my face into his chest and breathe.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers into my hair.
“Promise?”
“Promise.” He holds me until I pull away.
I take a breath. “Tell me.”
“Tatiana’s on our side. She wants out as badly as I do. She’s in love with someone back home.” He shrugs. “We made a deal. Fake courtship until the ball. Public breakup. Then we’re both free.”
I study him. “And you actually trust her?”
“I have to.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “We’re almost through this, Addison. That’s all.”
“Did you know I was assigned to paint your engagement announcement portrait?”
His hand stills. “No.”
I keep my voice steady. “I’m supposed to capture your connection.”
“Fuck,” he whispers.
“Yeah.”
He’s quiet for a moment. “Can you do it?”
“Paint my boyfriend being in love with another woman while I pretend not to care?” I tilt my head. “Sure. Sounds easy and like a great time.”
“Addison.”
“I’ll do it.” I meet his eyes. “I’ll paint you.
I’ll paint the background, the composition, everything.
But Tatiana stays blank until the last possible second.
” I shrug, not wanting to paint that relationship into existence.
“Art takes time. I’m a perfectionist. If the portrait isn’t finished before the ball, I’ll deal with the consequences. ”
A slow grin spreads across his face. “You’re going to stall.”
“Until this fake-engagement is over.”
“You’re amazing.” He pulls me closer. “Thank you.”
“I know.”
“Humble too.”
“Always.”
I let myself lean into him, and he kisses my forehead.
“One day, we won’t have to hide in the shadows,” he promises.
“I’m holding you to that.”
He kisses me one more time before pulling away. “I’ll see you as soon as I can. Don’t believe anything you read or see. It’s all fucking lies. Okay? You and me. That’s it. Ever. There’s no other choice.”
“Okay,” I say with a laugh.
He steals one more kiss before whispering in my ear, “I promise I’ll make this up to you for the rest of our lives together.”
“Don’t tempt me with a good time,” I say as he slips away.
I stay in the nook and wait until he’s completely disappeared before I walk in the opposite direction.
I can survive this if it means forever with him.
And Tatiana’s face? That stays a ghost on my canvas until I have no other choice but to paint her features.
Some things I refuse to visualize because they’ll only make this nightmare real.