Chapter 24
A cold, wet tongue licked my feet and jolted me awake. Eugene had burrowed himself to the foot of the bed, under the comforter and sheet, and had tickled me awake by licking my toes.
“Good morning,” Knox’s husky voice said in my ear as he sprinkled kisses down my jaw and onto my shoulder.
“Good morning,” I murmured sleepily.
The night before had been amazing. Despite the guilt I had felt before drifting off, I had slept so deeply. I wasn’t sure if it was because of Knox’s arms around me all night or the absolutely mind-blowing sex that had left me exhausted.
“How did you sleep?” Knox asked, rolling me over to face him.
“Great. How about you?”
“Don’t tell Eugene, but I prefer your snuggles and morning kisses to his.”
I laughed as Eugene wriggled his way onto the floor, whining as he trotted to the door.
“That’s my cue,” Knox said, squeezing my waist.
As he slid out from under the covers, I couldn’t stop myself from admiring the way his powerful thighs flexed as he stood from the bed. The morning sunlight lit up his right arm, making the colors of the dragon tattooed across his shoulder come alive.
While Knox let Eugene out, I got up, brushed my teeth, went to the bathroom, and then brushed through the tangles that had appeared in my hair.
The smell of coffee filled the cottage and called to me like a siren song. I filled us both a mug and took Knox’s to where he stood by the back door.
“Here ya go.” I handed him the mug.
“Thank you.” He kissed the top of my head and I melted. For someone who made an austere first impression, he was a real softy when it was just the two of us. I looped my free arm through his, and we stood at the back door watching Eugene hop in and out of snow drifts.
“He really does love the snow, doesn’t he?” I giggled.
“Yes. He won’t come inside unless I make him.”
“Well, the temperature must be better than yesterday because it doesn’t seem to bother him at all.”
“Breakfast?” Knox asked me, changing the subject.
“I would love that.”
As he pulled cookware and food out of the cabinets, my phone chimed. I grabbed it from the counter and opened it to a picture of Sam standing in front of the welcome sign in the Wexstone airport.
Sam
Surprise! I’m here!
What?! You’re here early? You weren’t supposed to get here until next week!
GIRL. You didn’t think I would let you get engaged without me, did you?? I have to help you prepare! I’d have gotten here yesterday but we got rerouted like a bajillion times because of the storm, but who cares because I’M HERE NOW!
My stomach dropped into my ass at the thought of getting engaged to Oliver after everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
The thought of being with anyone else after sleeping with Knox brought a fresh wave of nausea over my body.
I didn’t know if it was the guilt or my own feelings that had grown so much despite trying to push them down, but I couldn’t ignore the bile that rose in my throat.
I had to get out of there. My time in the fantasy bubble with Knox had to end. I couldn’t let things go on any further.
“Hey? Everything okay?” Knox brushed the hair away from my neck and leaned in to kiss behind my ear and down my neck.
“Yeah.” I stepped out of his touch, drawing a concerned look onto his face.
“Birdie?” he questioned.
“Sorry,” I said as I made my way to his bathroom to find my jeans. “Sam just texted me that she is here—in Wexstone—a week early.” I smiled. “I’ve got to get back to Vince’s place.”
I could see the realization that our time here was done wash over Knox’s face before disappointment replaced it. He went to the cooktop and turned off the burner.
“Okay. Let me get dressed and I’ll drive you.”
“Okay.” We held each other's gaze for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say or having the courage to address the elephant in the room: What does this mean?
The drive to Lexington Manor was the longest car ride of my life; you could have cut the tension with a knife. The only reprieve was Eugene whining from the backseat because Knox wouldn’t let him sit on my lap.
Knox kept his hand on the center console the entire drive, never moving it. Was he waiting for me to grab his hand and tell him everything was good between us? Because I couldn’t do that. Everything was, in fact, not good between us.
I was there to court Oliver, and instead I had screwed Knox. I was supposed to be falling in love with a prince, and I was growing big, unnamable, terrifying feelings for his best friend. I was going back to Vince’s house, who had brought me here to become his queen, and I had betrayed his trust.
I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide from them all.
Knox pulled through the wrought-iron gates and up the slope of the driveway.
My heart sank deeper into my chest. This was it; after I got out of this car, things would go back to the way they were before, except I could no longer allow myself to imagine anything with Knox.
There could be no more lingering stares, no more quiet conversations alone with him, no more being kissed in all the right places, nothing.
The truck came to a stop in front of the manor.
“Birdie,” he whispered.
“Thank you for the ride back.”
“Birdie,” he said, looking at me with pleading eyes.
“I’ve got to get inside. Sam is waiting.” I opened the door. “Bye, Knox.”
I walked up the front steps, pushing down every emotion that was trying to claw its way up my throat and out through my eyes. I thought back to the thousands of times I had watched Frozen with Ellie and tried to channel Elsa: “Conceal, don’t feel.”
I opened the front door and shut it behind me, not allowing myself to look back at the truck.
I leaned my back against the thick wooden door, trying to compose myself and fight the overwhelming emotions running through my veins.
“Birdie!” Sam bounded around the corner and into the foyer. She wrapped her arms around me, giving me the deepest embrace.
“Sammy!” I said, fully enveloping her in my arms. This was exactly what I needed. I needed my best friend there with me to sift through the hole that I had dug for myself.
“I seriously didn’t think that I was going to make it here. I was stuck in Germany for a good while because of that snowstorm.”
“I can’t believe that you didn’t tell me you were coming early!”
“Vince and I wanted it to be a surprise. So, surprise!”
I let a smile wash over my face. The last six weeks had been full of surprises, yet this was one of the best to date.
“Let’s take your stuff up to my room and I can show you around. You’re bunking with me tonight. We have so much to catch up on.”
“Sounds great. I can’t wait to hear all about the competition and your budding relationship with Prince Oliver,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Or I could tell you about how I had the best sex of my life last night with his best friend.
“This way.” I started walking up the stairs.
“You had sex with Knox?!” Sam squealed.
“Lower your fucking voice, Samantha!” I ran to her and clamped my hand over her mouth. “If Vince hears you, he will flip a lid, and the staff around here gossip more than high school girls.”
“Tell me everything,” she said, her big brown eyes wide with excitement even though her words were muffled from my hand covering her lips.
I lowered my hand and sat on the end of the bed. After a moment, words started spilling out, sparing no detail of the past few weeks. As I finished, I sucked in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before I let it out.
“Wow. Knox is totally in love with you.”
“No, he’s not!” I protested. “He’s just a nice guy.”
“Birdie, I’ve slept with some really nice people and none of them have ever walked through a blizzard to make me breakfast. They’ve DoorDashed me coffee at best.”
I snorted a laugh in spite of the hurricane of thoughts and emotions swirling through my head.
“So, what are you going to do?” she prodded gently.
“I’m going to pretend this never happened.
I’m not supposed to be here for him. I’m here for Oliver.
I can’t betray him or Vince any more than I already have.
I’m going to keep going with this competition.
If Oliver chooses someone else, great; I’ll go back home.
If he chooses me, then I’ll tell him, and we’ll move on from there. ”
Sam gawked at me.
“You clearly have something to say,” I sighed.
There was a knock on the door. I took the opportunity to avoid Sam’s scrutinizing lawyer stare and got up to answer it.
“Surprise!” Adelaide and Mel shouted as I swung the door open.
“What are you doing here?” I yelled in excitement.
“I called them,” Vince said from behind the girls. “Bronson thought it best to go check on our country manor after the storm and since Sam’s here, I thought we should relive our fun times in New York. It’s party time, ladies!” He winked at Sam and me.
I turned to where Sam sat grinning on my bed. “You know what they say: When in Wexstone, do what the Wexstonians want to do,” she said brightly.
“The guys will be here later,” Vince added.
Fuck my life. Just when I needed a quiet night, Vince was throwing a fucking party. I was going to have to avoid Knox at all costs. I couldn’t let myself be alone with him.
“Cool,” I replied nonchalantly. “Well, I’m going to change, then. Adelaide, Mel, come on in.”
I shut the door on Vince after letting him know we’d be down in a little bit.
“Sam. These are my friends Mellie and Adelaide. They’re a part of the competition, too.”
“Melanie Schneider, the journalist for Kingdom Magazine. Grew up around the court, your dad is the finance director for the Department of Health, and you have kickass taste in clothing?” Sam rattled off.
“Um…” Mel stuttered, gazing at Sam like I had never seen her look at anyone, not even Oliver.
Well, well, well, Melanie. Things are making a lot more sense.
“How do you know all of that?” I asked.