18. Gabriel
GAbrIEL
ACOUPLE OF days later, we got two very unexpected visitors. Nicholas hadn’t bothered giving me a heads-up that he and Noah were planning to crash the party, and the palace had only gotten a few more hours’ notice.
No wonder Alejandro was in a mood.
I’d been lounging in the sunroom enjoying a tray of cheeses, sliced fruit, olives, and so far a couple of glasses of wine—channeling Alejandro’s daily routine, naturally, since when in Rome…
—when Nicholas appeared in the doorway, Noah by his side.
His eyebrow rose in that familiar, judgmental way he had as he took in the scene.
“Brother,” I said, grinning and lifting my glass. “I didn’t realize you’d arrived. Did I miss the trumpets?”
“The what?”
“The trumpets. Red carpet. Choir. The whole shebang.” I sat up as he continued to look at me quizzically. “Oh, I see. You didn’t get a shebang. I must be special, then.”
Nicholas stared at me before he shook his head and walked inside. “Clearly you’ve been working hard at mending relations between kingdoms. You know”—he glanced down at the half-empty wine bottle beside me—“what you came here to do.”
“I was doing just that, but you scared him off.”
“Then why do I see just one glass and not two?”
I looked down at my wine and shrugged. “He drinks from the bottle. Such a neanderthal.”
Noah laughed, even as the lines between Nicholas’s eyebrows deepened. He probably only had those because of me.
I got to my feet and held my glass out toward him. “Here, you look like you could use some of this.”
“I’ll pass.”
“Food, then?” I gestured toward the charcuterie board. “It’s all excellent, but maybe steer clear of the blue cheese. It’s a bit sharp, kinda reminds me of Alejandro before coffee.”
Nicholas didn’t make a move, but Noah crossed the room and popped a bite of brie into his mouth. After he swallowed, he asked, “And where is Prince Alejandro?”
“Stomping around the grounds, I imagine.”
“Because we’re here?”
“No, dear brother, I’m sure he’s absolutely thrilled at your arrival. As am I. Tell me again why you’re here. You don’t trust me?”
Before Nicholas could tell me that was exactly why, Noah came over to his side, resting his hand on his husband’s back.
His husband. My twin. Married.
It still blew my mind.
“Of course he trusts you,” Noah said. “It’s just we’ve seen the, uh, interactions with you two all over the news, and Nicholas just thought maybe this whole thing would be better off if he and Alejandro talked it out.” He nudged Nicholas’s side gently. “If he apologized face to face…”
He didn’t finish, but it hung in the air, clear as day: like he should’ve done in the first place.
When Nicholas nodded slowly and looked at Noah with a softness that made my chest squeeze, I had to look away.
But then my gaze settled on the empty chair across from the one I’d occupied—the one Alejandro had vacated half an hour ago, cursing under his breath after Elena had broken the news about the impending arrival of the king.
It was probably a good thing she’d waited until then to spring it on him instead of letting him stew about it all last night.
Although I would’ve been happy to let Alejandro take out any and all frustrations on my willing body.
“Well, good luck with that if you find him,” I said, clapping my brother’s shoulder before dropping back down in my chair. “He’s a spicy kit—” I cut off my words before I could let the nickname I had for him slip out. “A spicy bastard. But you already knew that.”
I took a long sip of my wine, but that damn twin connection had clearly tipped him off that something wasn’t quite right.
Before he could call me out on it, Alejandro walked into the sunroom and the temperature changed.
He still wore the dark trousers and tall boots from earlier, but he’d put on a tailored jacket the color of the wine in my glass and tied his hair back at the nape of his neck. He stood tall, proud, and entirely self-possessed…not to mention really fucking hot.
Definitely not something I should’ve been noticing right then.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was unfazed by a visit from the King of Valoria, but I could read him well now, and he was trying to decide which of us to stab first.
Alejandro’s eyes landed on Noah. Then Nicholas. Then me. There was a flicker of something in his gaze when he looked at me, but it was too brief to put a name to before he looked back at Nicholas.
“Your Majesty,” Alejandro said, bowing his head, and then to Noah, “Your Royal Highness. Welcome to Solterra.”
Damn, that was more of a welcome than I got on my arrival.
Noah immediately returned the gesture, his bow deeper, reminiscent of his years as a footman. “Thank you for having us on such short notice, Your Highness.”
“Having you implies I was given a choice.”
Oh shit. His claws were going to come out.
I sat back and picked up an olive, tossing it in my mouth as I waited for the fireworks to start.
“I think what Noah means to say…” Nicholas started, but when Noah turned to my brother and leveled him with a you’re talking for me now? glare, I wondered if it was him I’d have to save Nicholas from. “Well, I’ll let him continue.”
Smart man, my brother. When he wanted to be.
“What I meant was,” Noah said, “it’s very gracious of you to accommodate us when I know you must have a busy schedule.”
“You would think so, wouldn’t you? Chasing men around Solterra’s grounds used to take up quite a lot of my time. But now that I don’t have a fiancé or husband to worry about, I’ve found I like to take my time with whomever I choose.”
He strolled over to me and took the olive I’d just picked up, tossing it into his mouth.
“No need to worry, though.” He took a seat on the arm of my chair and patted my hand. “I’ve already been serviced once this morning. I shouldn’t need to leave again for another thirty minutes or so. Isn’t that right, Gabriel?”
That. Fucker.
Noah’s and Nicholas’s eyes immediately zeroed in on me, and despite all my years of debauchery and rebellion, the one thing I’d never done was poach any of my brother’s boyfriends—or fiancés, as it were.
But this was hardly that. Nicholas and Alejandro had never been anything more than an arrangement. There’d been no love match there. So the only reason Alejandro could possibly be hinting at the two of us being “friendly” was to get under Nicholas’s skin, which in turn would get under Noah’s.
My being annoyed at him? Well, that was more than likely icing on the cake. One he was getting really used to eating.
“Gabriel?” Nicholas said.
Oh, right, in my two hundred thoughts since Alejandro’s little bombshell, I’d forgotten my brother was actually standing in front of me, waiting for a response. “Yes, brother?”
“Is there something you need to tell us?”
Alejandro reached over and took my wine glass from me. “Well?” he said. “Is there?”
I wondered what he’d do if I told Nicholas the truth—that earlier this morning I’d had my lips wrapped around Alejandro’s cock, and right after that, I’d had mine in him.
Would he be so outlandish then? Probably so, judging by the dangerous glint in his eyes and that mood he’d left in this morning after finding out about my brother’s impending visit.
The warning in his stare was well past spicy and hurling straight toward destructive. But I wasn’t in the business of destroying those I cared about, and I wasn’t about to enter into a game with Nicholas and Noah as pawns just so Alejandro could get one up on me and my brother.
Although he probably deserved the win.
“He’s just kidding,” I said, and Alejandro’s eyes narrowed a fraction.
He was probably shocked I’d manage to resist the bait.
News flash: when it came to looking out for my brother, I did have some control, and I wasn’t about to cause trouble between him and his new husband, no matter how badly Alejandro wanted revenge.
I’d just offer my body up to him later as compensation.
“I’ve found Alejandro has quite the sense of humor.” I gestured to the chairs opposite the table for them to sit down when it was clear Alejandro wasn’t going to. “Like the night he dared me to eat a ghost pepper.”
“If my memory serves me correctly, you proclaimed rather loudly that you wanted to eat them like the locals did. So that’s what I gave you.”
“Along with heartburn and a new appreciation of spicy things.”
Alejandro angled his chin haughtily, which made me want to bite it. Then he looked back to where Nicholas was eyeing the two of us like we were a problem he needed to solve. Something he clearly didn’t appreciate.
“I doubt you’re here because of that, however. What’s the matter, Your Majesty? Worried I wouldn’t send your brother back in one piece?”
“The thought had crossed my mind.”
“And whose fault would that be?” When Alejandro’s eyes shifted to Noah, Nicholas’s jaw clenched.
“Mine. It would mine, and mine alone.”
“I don’t think so,” Alejandro said, running his eyes over Noah. “Tell me, Your Royal Highness. Did you know you were going to bed my fiancé the same night you served me dinner in my dining room, or was that just an impulsive move? I’m all about spontaneous acts of—”
“I think that’s enough wine for you,” I said, taking my glass back from Alejandro and hoping to God Nicholas didn’t launch himself across the table and punch him in the face.
“And I think you need to stop covering for your brother.” Alejandro got to his feet and glared down at me like I was the one who’d publicly humiliated him.
“Here, now, when you first arrived.” He spun around and pinned Nicholas with that furious glare.
“The night in Valoria when I was supposed to meet my fiancé but instead spent the night being wined and dined by the charming brother instead.”
Oh shit.
I’d expected fireworks from this discussion. But that? That was a nuclear bomb.
“You knew?” I said, and looked over to see Nicholas’s face had drained of all color. Much like my own, I suspected.