Reign or Shine

by H J Welch

  She yawned, showing off her sharp teeth, and nuzzled her head against Cas’s arm.

  About four years ago, Wren had been asked to become the patron for a local animal shelter. After several (dozen) of the cats had mysteriously ended up inside the palace walls, it was discreetly suggested that perhaps it wasn’t the best placement for the youngest prince. Still, it meant everyone had suddenly been gifted a new friend overnight, and Cas had to admit every single one of the roaming felines looked to be in the best shape of any cat in all of Rosavia.

  Except maybe Bella, who refused to go on any kind of diet, and swanned around like the princess she was. When she was awake.

  Cas sighed and disregarded all royal protocols by lying on the floor and cuddling with his kitty. There was no one else around to see, after all. Right then, he just needed some comfort. His anger at Wren softened as he petted the cat his little brother had found for him.

  Cas knew he was playing with fire by getting closer to Matty, but he couldn’t help it. They’d had such a magical day together. And then, since Matty had gotten the call that his luggage had arrived…nothing. He’d been quiet on the whole drive back to his hotel, and then to the school and back. Despite saying he’d text, there hadn’t been a peep in response to Cas’s couple of texts.

  This was probably for the best. What was Cas hoping to get out of their time together, anyway? Sex? Yeah, that would have been nice. But what he was really enjoying was just Matty’s company, and that wasn’t going to work out. They couldn’t be friends.

  Because Matty didn’t even have a clue who Cas really was. They were from completely different worlds.

  This was more than likely the universe stepping in and doing him a favor by pulling them apart before anything more could happen. It was also showing Wren’s current situation as a cautionary tale. But Cas felt like a small child throwing a tantrum as he lay on the carpet of his living room and scowled.

  Couldn’t he just have one thing that was his? Not something he had to do for crown or country or any of his damned brothers. Sometimes he felt like Lizzy Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, trying in vain to stop her family’s car-crash decisions that were probably inevitable no matter what she did.

  He rolled his eyes, focusing instead on the way Bella was purring pleasantly under his hand. Family was hard work and complicated, that was it. Like Matty and his sister and niece. You just did what you could, because you loved them. Cas honestly didn’t resent his duties, and was always relieved to avert a crisis. But it had been so damned nice to have something that was all his with Matty. Something fun and exciting.

  A swift knock on the door snapped Cas back to reality. Being born a prince meant yes, he was filthy rich. But he also had the weight of a whole country on his shoulders, and maybe reality was where he needed to come back to. Perhaps this vacation had been a terrible idea from the start?

  He scrambled to his feet and brushed his clothes down. “Yes?” he called out, although from the specific knock, he had a feeling he knew who it would be anyway.

  Sure enough, the door opened and Valentina stepped inside, accompanied by her trusty leather-bound portfolio, as usual. “Your Highness,” she said. Without blinking an eye, she opened a drawer in the table by the door, retrieved a clothes brush, and immediately got to work removing silver cat hair from his suit.

  Cas stood still as he sighed and raised an eyebrow down at Bella, who licked her paws, her fat tummy still on display. “Troublemaker,” he said fondly down at her.

  “Indeed,” said Valentina. For just a single word, it sure was heavy with accusation.

  Cas sighed again as she stepped back and put the clothes brush away. He was pretty certain Valentina hadn’t been agreeing that Bella was the troublemaker in the room. The thing was, did she mean Wren, or…?

  “So…” he said.

  “So,” Valentina repeated, “as far as I can tell, our favorite royal correspondent had no clue you were three feet away from her yesterday. But honestly, Your Highness must be more vigilant in the future. She’s not the only ruthless vulture out there. If the press gets a hold of what you’re doing, let alone the paparazzi-”

  “I know, I know,” Cas interrupted miserably. “I was an idiot. I knew it, I just…” He threw out his hands and shook his head. “I guess I was just being arrogant.”

  She frowned slightly. “Okay. A little dramatic, but I’m glad you’re taking this seriously.” She reached into her portfolio for a sheet of paper that at a glance looked to have a list written on it in her impossibly neat handwriting. “Here’s a selection of palace-approved delivery outlets, and I took the liberty of sending a couple of other essential items to your apartment.”

  Cas frowned as he took the sheet of paper and read down the list. “These are…” he began, confused.

  “Restaurants that offer takeout, yes,” said Valentina, as if that was obvious. “As well as an independent supermarket that will deliver groceries. I took care of fresh flowers, and in the bedroom, you’ll find some personal items.” She waggled her eyebrows, apparently completely unfazed by whatever she’d purchased. “Prince Renford’s valet, Pierce, advised me on the best establishment in town to get some most amusing things for you.”

  Cas spluttered, and he felt heat rising on his face. He did not want to be thinking about Wren and his valet right now, especially in the context of a sex shop. But was he really hearing his own valet clearly?

  “W-what? I…I don’t understand?”

  Valentina blinked, as if Cas had lost his mind. “For you and your young man. So you can have a little more privacy. I know you’re completely clueless how to date, but good call on cancelling that circus of an evening you’d originally planned. Personal is the way to go here.”

  Cas could feel his mouth hanging open. “I’m not clueless,” he mumbled eventually.

  The smile Valentina offered him was entirely patronizing. “Of course not, Your Highness.”

  Cas looked between her and the sheet of paper in his hands. “You…you’re not mad at me for breaking palace protocol and fraternizing with a commoner?” After what Wren had just gone through, he felt guilty for even suggesting what he was doing was okay.

  A muscle in Valentina’s jaw twitched, like she would have preferred not to have heard those words spoken out loud, for plausible deniability’s sake. But Cas was like a child again, needing permission to do something he really ought to have known better about.

  He watched as his valet consider her words carefully. “Your Highness has been on exemplary behavior for the entire time I’ve known him.” Which was pretty much his whole adult life. “You are a credit to your country and your family. No one here is talking about two weeks in Ibiza or Tijuana, getting off one’s face on pills and booze.”

  Cas felt faint at the very notion. “No,” he said carefully. “No one’s suggesting that.”

  Valentina pursed her lips and looked down at her portfolio. “There’s a fine line between what the crown expects, and what a young man should reasonably want from life, Your Highness. A secret little dalliance with a nice young man who may or may not have passed a background check with flying colors really shouldn’t be that big of a deal.” She looked up with a flick of a smile. “In that hypothetical situation, I’m merely suggesting that ‘in is the new out.’”

  Cas bit his lip, not quite sure what to make of this bizarre conversation. Was Valentina really encouraging him? Just when he’d been trying to talk himself out of his feelings for Matty?

  “He’s going back home in ten days,” Cas said quietly, dropping all pretense. “The day after the ball.”

  Valentina tilted her head and offered him a sad smile. “And that’s part of what makes it perfect. You don’t want to wake up one day and wonder what on earth you did with your life. Live a little, Your Highness. It’ll be okay.”

  Will it? he wanted to ask. But the only way to find out was to try, wasn’t it?

  He nodded once. “You make it sound so simple,” he
said with a weak chuckle. “But…you’re usually right, so I should probably just listen to you.”

  She smirked, but there was fondness in her eyes. “I know, Your Highness. Now, I suggest you slip out the side entrance again before anyone else knows you’re here and can start asking you any more inane questions.” She glanced down at the ball of fluff still wrapped around Cas’s foot. “I’ve been keeping a close eye on Her Highness, of course.”

  Cas managed a weak chuckle. “Thank you,” he said again sincerely. “You’re the best.”

  “That I definitely know,” said Valentina with a wink. “Now go on, shoo.”

  The truth was, Cas wasn’t sure her words of encouragement would make any difference if Matty had decided he didn’t want to see Cas anymore. It was as much of a vacation fling for him as it was for Cas, too. Perhaps he’d decided Cas wasn’t worth the effort, now he had all his things back and didn’t need Cas to buy him stuff anymore? But honestly, Matty really hadn’t felt like a gold digger. The exact opposite, in fact.

  Cas couldn’t control that. He could only control his own thoughts and actions. And he knew that deep down, despite all his reservations, if he didn’t try again, Valentina would be right. He’d regret it.

  So once he’d made it back down to his car without being spotted, he got out his phone and tapped out a message before he could change his mind.

  Would you like to have dinner at my place tomorrow night? I’ll cook.

  He jabbed the send button, then pressed the side of the phone to his forehead, breathing carefully in and out. If Matty was worried about how much money Cas was spending on him, then a home-cooked meal might coax him out of his sudden silence. If not…

  Well, then, Cas would just graciously accept that it wasn’t meant to be and remember their couple of days together with warmth and fondness. He wasn’t going to harass Matty, especially when he already had so much on his plate.

  But he couldn’t help the flicker of hope that sparked to life in his chest. Maybe, just maybe, he’d get to see Matty once last time.

  Cas just had to leave it in the hands of fate and destiny now.

  Chapter Seven

  Matty

  “So let me get this straight,” said Shommie as she swirled the Zasfer sparkling rosé in her glass and arched an eyebrow at her sister, Esosa. Then she fixed Matty with a stern glare. “This man saved your arse in a pinch, spoiled you rotten, took you on a super romantic date…and you’re not sure if you should return his texts?”

  Matty squirmed on the plastic café chair he was sitting on in the pretty little plaza, taking another gulp of his own wine. “Well, yeah, when you put it like that…” he mumbled.

  “You sound mental?” Esosa suggested with a grin. She was the older of the two women, with braided hair and a deep rumbling laugh that made Matty feel immediately at ease. Or it had, until the sisters had started interrogating him over Cas, and Matty was starting to regret asking them if they wanted to meet up after all.

  A nice cup of rose tea had quickly turned into a bottle of pink wine that was slipping down a little too easily, loosening Matty’s tongue, and before he’d known it, all his anxieties around Cas had come tumbling out. He hadn’t wanted to burden his sister or her wife on their video call earlier, and it seemed Matty could only keep a lid on all his worries for so long.

  Shommie patted his hand and offered a sympathetic smile. “So you really haven’t messaged him back since he dropped you off?”

  “No,” said Matty with a sigh.

  “But he’s messaged you?” Esosa clarified.

  Matty shrugged. “Yeah. He suggested dinner at his place tomorrow night. He, um, wants to cook.”

  He’d become aware that the sisters’ mouths were hanging open. Then Esosa clicked her fingers and motioned with her hand. “I need your phone,” she said firmly.

  “Why?” Matty asked nervously.

  Esosa grinned, her lip gloss shimmering in the afternoon sunshine. “Because you clearly can’t be trusted with a good thing, and I need a new husband anyway.”

  Shommie snorted and elbowed her sister. “What she’s trying to say, I’m sure, is that this bloke seems lovely. What’s the hesitation?”

  Matty opened his mouth to reply when Finley came running over to him, breathless and rosy cheeked. “Uncle Matty, can I have my water, please?”

  He dutifully passed her glass over, remembering to take a big gulp of his own water. He didn’t want to get too much of a buzz on while he was responsible for getting her back to her teachers shortly. Finley had been asleep when Matty (and Cas) had dropped her luggage off at Elm Willows the night before. Now the students were having an afternoon of free time in Alpina to see some culture before their training began in earnest, and those with family in town had been allowed to meet up with them.

  Matty had jumped at the chance, eager to make up for their terrible start to the vacation. Finley was more interested in playing with Shommie and Esosa’s kids, of course, but Matty was just pleased to spend any time with her. His sister was fretting a little that her baby girl was okay, so Matty had taken several selfies of the two of them to send to Reghan and Lola to reassure them that they were having fun in Rosavia.

  The kids had been excitedly jumping up and down a hopscotch they’d drawn on the flagstones in chalk, leaving the grownups to talk. Matty was appreciative of the well-timed rescue. Naturally, it didn’t last long.

  Once Finley had run off again, Matty sighed and gestured toward her, unable to avoid the sisters’ questions forever. “That’s my hesitation. I have to make sure I don’t screw this up. My sister is relying on me.”

  “You seem to be doing pretty good,” said Shommie warmly, which Matty took to heart from such a competent parent.

  “Besides,” added Esosa with a raised eyebrow. “Isn’t she going to be at that fancy school most of the time? What are you even planning on doing with yourself for the rest of the trip?”

  Matty managed a grin as he lifted his wine glass. “More of this, probably.”

  The sisters shook their heads and traded a huff. “You can drink wine with this guy. Very nice wine, from the sounds of it!”

  Matty bit his lip and placed the glass back on the plastic table covered with a rose-embroidered cloth. “That’s just it. I did try, but it felt unbalanced. He was paying for everything.”

  Shommie frowned. “I don’t see a problem.”

  Matty chuckled ruefully. “I know it sounds good on paper! But what can I offer him in return?”

  Esosa tilted her head and gave him a fond but patient smile. “I know we’ve only just met, love, but you seem very likable. Is it so crazy to think your new fancy-man just wants to spend time with you and spoil you a little?”

  Shommie poked him with a long, gelled nail. “It’s romantic, you pillock.”

  “And he’s been chasing you up!” Esosa added. “Men don’t do that for just anybody. He’s interested!”

  Matty took another sip of wine. “What if he’s only interested in…” He checked the kids were well out of earshot. “…S-E-X?”

  Shommie blinked and turned to her sister. “I still don’t see a problem.”

  Esosa laughed. “Babe. Do you fancy him?”

  “Do you want to climb him like a tree?” Shommie asked, waggling her eyebrows.

  “Oh my god,” Matty hissed, covering his face as he felt himself blush furiously. “Um, yes. He’s very hot. And I tried telling myself a vacation fling was okay, but it’s so not me. I’m worried I’m falling for him and have real feelings and stuff. He’s not going to want a clingy tourist. He’ll be looking for wham, bam, thank you, ma’am.”

  He peeked out as the sisters cackled. “You’re adorable,” said Esosa, shaking her head.

  But Shommie patted Matty’s hand again. “So you’re running away before anything happens?” she asked, a sadness to her words. “What if it’s brilliant?”

  “What if it’s a disaster?” Matty countered.

  Shommie s
hrugged her shoulders as she retracted her hand, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Bad decisions make great stories, babe,” she said.

  Matty chewed his lip, struggling to really listen to their words. They were being very kind, but they didn’t really know him. Jeremy had known him and had dumped him in a flash.

  And his parents…well. They had known him his entire life. And they’d taken away his choice to have a relationship with them, just for the way he’d been born. He didn’t really feel like being messed around by Cas right now.

  But what reason would the sisters have to lie? “He’s just gorgeous,” Matty protested weakly. “And kind, and rich, and I feel like I was lucky to spend one day with him. Why be greedy and ask for more?”

  Shommie’s expression became serious as she raised her perfectly-painted eyebrows. “Because, mate, life is too fucking short, as I think you’re fully aware. Your sister isn’t going to thank you for sitting in a beautiful foreign country just worrying about her.”

  Esosa pointed a finger at him. “She’s going to want entertaining with lots of juicy gossip.”

  “For real, though,” Shommie continued. “It’s not greedy to want new experiences. And just because something isn’t going to last forever doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for it.”

  Esosa laughed and waved her left hand at him, the indentation where a couple of rings had evidently sat for many years clear on her finger. “And even when you think some things are going to last forever, they don’t. There’s no certainty in life. If you like this guy, stop self-sabotaging and go for it.”

  “He clearly likes you,” said Shommie kindly. Then she topped up their glasses, finishing the bottle. Matty took another gulp, willing the alcohol to do its thing and help him loosen up for a goddamned minute.

  This was why his ex-boyfriends had always gotten tired of him and left in the end. He was too highly strung, fretting about everything. Why couldn’t he relax? Why couldn’t he trust that Cas was genuinely interested in him without looking for the catch?