So instead I found myself in Gideon's company. Which wasn't anything to complain about, mind you! I just missed my other prince when he wasn't by my side.
Gideon hated planning parties, and had already told me that the only reason he was here was to spend more time with me. So, of course, we'd spent most of the time poking fun at anything pokeable. So what if we were being sent on busy work by George? ? We were creating memories.
"What's that fork doing here? The crab fork? My mother's allergic to shellfish," Gideon tapped the handle of the smallest fork.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be for shellfish," I countered.
"This one's for appetizers. And it's called a shell fork."
"Yeah. For things with shells," I said pointedly.
"Shells, as in shellfish. Crab, oysters…" he began to list.
"Or snails," I said.
"Snails? Your father is serving snails? He is trying to chase me off."
I rolled my eyes. "He adores you, Gideon."
"But he'll serve me snails?"
"He's serving everyone snails. You're not going to leave me over this, are you?"
He replaced the tiny fork where he'd gotten it. "Not even close. Even though this isn't my wheelhouse at all. This is more Tristan's cup of tea."
"Well. Tristan and I are being punished, as you may have heard." I pressed my lips together to hold back the grin that threatened to burst forth.
"I'm still pleased about that. Not that you're being punished, but for the reason why?" Gideon said, grinning widely. "I never for a second thought he had it in him."
I sniffed. "Oh, he had it in him."
Gideon's hand covered mine for a moment, thumb stroking against the back of my hand. "I've got it in me too."
I looked up, leaning just a bit closer. "Do you now?"
"Too right, I do. And, unfortunately, I am not in a position to prove it. At least not this moment."
"So you'll have to deal with the snails, I'm afraid."
He scoffed. "The king can send the entire royal fleet of battle snails if he wants. No shelled gastropod will keep me from your side."
I grinned even wider, leaning over to capture his lips in a quick kiss.
I was fairly certain that my heart stopped every time I kissed Gideon. The sweet pull of his mouth was a weakness of mine. One of many I'd been discovering over the past month or so.
I broke off the kiss. "Okay, okay. No more distractions," I chastised him. The purse of my lips probably gave me away, though. And the fact that a simple tilt of his head was able to coax me back. He kissed me firmly, his hand tangling in my hair.
"If you ask me," he murmured between kisses. "This fork business is distracting me from kissing my girlfriend."
I arched an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"
"Really. It's practically a crime."
"Practically," I agreed.
"A punishable offense."
"Punishable how?" I asked, a mischievous twinkle in my eye.
Before Gideon got to answer me, however, we were interrupted by a rather loud cough. It echoed in the kitchen and caused us both to look up from the table where we were seated. My back tensed when I realized to whom the cough belonged.
George. Damned George, I thought disdainfully.
Gideon had never liked him, and I was starting to see why. Ever since that meeting with my father, he had been constantly underfoot, more so than usual, even. I was confused as to whether or not he wanted me to pick one of the princes or if he wanted me to hit him over the head with a serving platter. Because, if he kept carrying on in the way that he was, George was going to find himself on the receiving end of that particular piece of dishware.
It was becoming ridiculous. The thing that bothered me the most, however, wasn't the fact that we were interrupted; it was that stupid clucking sound George made when he sucked his teeth.
I was really starting to hate that sound. Now that Gideon had brought it up, it was all I could hear. It was like it had been amplified.
I was sick of George treating me like some stupid teenager. I was an adult. As was Gideon. As was Kostas, as was Tristan for that matter. And it wasn't as if we were getting it on in public or anything. We were inside the palace. I had even been told in more or less words that kissy-face was fine, as long as we were within the palace grounds. And we were.
Hell, there was even a choke order in place! Nobody on the payroll was going to talk about anything that went on in this house or on the grounds. They were all paid well enough to want to keep the royal family's secrets. Even if this one was the juiciest in centuries.
Yet George acted as if we were being indecent by simply being in the same room together. Heaven forbid if we kiss or touch each other. Oh, the scandal!
I was pretty sure George would suck his teeth right down his throat if I told him some of the things Tristan and I had gotten up to in his room that night, when we were really alone.
"The King would like his Highness to know that he's decided to move their tête-à-tête back until after dinner. His Majesty assumes it will be more comfortable for all parties," George divulged, speaking as though this were privileged information that simply could not wait until a later time.
"Awesome. Thanks," Gideon said with a smile, slipping his hand a little further behind my back.
"What tête-à-tête?" I asked. "I didn't know a tête-à-tête was happening. Which têtes?"
Gideon stroked my back reassuringly. "I'll tell you later."
"Also, Princess, it would probably be prudent for you and the prince to make your way to the dining hall so as to make your final selections for china and linens," George concluded.
I smirked. "Of course, George," I stood up, extending my hand towards Gideon. "Come on, Gideon. Let's go pick the ugliest china and linens so we can take a tour of the gardens."
Of course, by 'tour of the gardens', I meant 'make out in the gardens', and Gideon looked like he was absolutely fine with that. It would be the first time we'd have been really alone all day. In the kitchen, there were chefs and sous chefs, not to mention prep cooks and the wait staff flitting in and out. Smirking at each other whenever I jumped away from Gideon at any squeak of shoe soles against the tiled floors. Our little kissy-face flirtation before had been one of the first ones we'd felt comfortable enough to pursue in the crowded kitchen.
Gideon stood and followed me, allowed himself to be led through the halls and towards the dining room.
The palace was very large. I suppose that was an understatement, but it really and truly was. It was also surprisingly well laid out for such an old building. One might expect labyrinthine hallways in which to get lost on the way to the bathroom, but no, it wasn't that way at all.
My mind wasn't really on the architecture or layout of the palace at this moment, however. It was more on the layout of Gideon. The map I wanted to trace all over his body when I finally got him alone.
But, all the same, one might get lost if you were in the market for a place in which to get lost. And on the way to the dining room, there was an underused hallway leading to some of the older rooms that was perfect for just such a thing.
I tugged Gideon down into that hallway, wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders and pulling his face towards mine. His lips were smooth, but his face was constantly scratchy, as if he couldn't keep it shaved nearly close enough.
Kostas was the same way, but I was pretty sure it was on purpose. Gideon, at least, tried to be clean-shaven. It just never worked out that way for him.
It was a good thing he was blonde and, as such, his five o'clock shadow that arrived at two in the afternoon wasn't as noticeable. Unless you were rubbing your hands and face all over it.
Which I was. Rubbing my face and hands all over it.
Gideon's arm slid around my back, his hand moving down to cup my ass as he pressed me back against the wall behind me. His fingers squeezed, roving down and hooking around my thigh, which he pulled up, wrapping my leg around his waist.<
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The toes of my other foot barely brushed against the floor as he lifted me, holding me in place with one muscular thigh snug between my legs and his hips pressing me against the wall.
His lips were hot on my throat, his rough beard scratching me like the sexiest sandpaper.
"If I don't get you alone soon, I don't know what I'll do," Gideon murmured, his hands finding mine and pushing them to the wall. Not hard enough to hold me in place. Just enough to get me excited for what he might do if he did.
"We're alone now," I teased, knowing full well that wasn't what he meant.
He grinned wolfishly, capturing my lips in one final searing kiss before he eased me back down to the ground.
"Not for long, I'm afraid…" He helped me right myself, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear as I straightened my skirt and my blouse. "Plus, I'd rather our first encounter not take place in a dusty old hallway that I'm fairly certain is haunted."
Scoffing, I shook my head. "This place isn't haunted. I've lived here long enough to know."
Gideon looked around nervously, "Don't you feel like you're being watched, though?"
"Always," I admitted. "But it's not the ghosts who are interested."
I led him back out into the main hall and we hurried down to the dining room, just in case George was planning to come by and check up on is. 'In case' wasn't really the question. The question was 'when'.
It wasn't George who we found waiting for us when we entered the dining room. It was Amanda. And she didn't look entirely thrilled about being there.
She was quick to dismiss the event planner and her assistants from the room with a stern look before slapping a manila folder down on the table.
"What's this--" I began.
"Pictures," she said, pressing her lips into a tight line. "Pictures I barely managed to obtain from the Daily Justanian after a stupid photographer let it slip that he had them." I reached for the folder, only to have it snatched away from me. "I don't know if the palace is going to be able to cover this up, Princess."
Frowning, I tried to reach for the folder again. "Let me see--"
"There's no need, you already know what they are, don't you?" Amanda asked, raising an eyebrow.
Gideon tensed beside me in what I recognized as protectiveness.
"I don't know what they are, hence my desire to see them," I replied.
"They're of you and your messenger boy," Amanda said stiffly. "On your date. here's some hot and heavy action happening on his sofa, from the looks of it."
"That's private!" I exclaimed, reaching for, and failing to obtain the folder yet again. "Someone had to have been spying and that's--"
"Neither here nor there, because the photos are legit. Undoctored. How they were obtained isn't going to matter because everyone's going to see them before anything can come of their origins. They're going to see you and that courier having an affair and screwing over your princes." Amanda nodded towards Gideon.
"We know about Kostas, and we would be glad to explain the nature of our relationship to anyone who wants to listen," said Gideon firmly. His tone had changed from the soft one he used with me to a rougher, harder one that I didn't recognize. I reached for his hand and he gave it, but the stern-almost-angry look on his face didn't change one iota.
"I don't think you get it, your Highness… this isn't Etria," Amanda said calmly. And it was in that moment in which I realized that while I was annoyed by the simple revelation from my PA, I knew she was right all the same. This wasn't Etria.
Everything had just spectacularly blown up in my face.
And all because of some rude paparazzo and his wandering camera.
I sat down hard in a chair. "This is… this is horrible," I said.
"You're going to have to make a choice, Violet," Amanda said, tossing her long red hair over her shoulder. "Sooner, rather than later."
Gideon's hand closed around my shoulder and I reached up to grasp at it.
We were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. One that Amanda thoroughly glared at a second later.
But the messenger, one from the front foyer of the palace, came in nonetheless. "A visitor, for Her Highness."
"It's going to have to wait," Amanda began, but I spoke over her.
"Who is it?"
"A Mr. Esker. He says he wishes to see you immediately. He was rather adamant."
Despite everything that had just happened, I couldn't help the small smile that came to my lips at the thought of seeing Kostas. "We'll be right there to receive him," I replied. Any decision that was to be made, was better made with all of my men by my side than alone.
"You can go now, Amanda. I don't think I'll be needed any assistance in my own home," I said stiffly.
I could hear her grousing as she left the room. I was starting to be just as annoyed with her as I was with George.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Violet
As we made our way to the front hall of the palace to meet Kostas, I took a deep breath, unsure of where to even begin thinking about the turn of events that had just taken place. In fact, I was unsure if I even wanted to think about them at all. Burying my head in the sand seemed a much better approach. If not for the long run, then for my short-term mental health.
I wasn't thrilled about the concept of someone having peeped through Kostas' blinds to get pictures of us, to say the least. The very least.
I was glad we hadn't been doing more than just kissing. Well, it had been slightly more than kissing, but thankfully, we weren't undressed.
Still, I knew how this would look to the average news reader. I also knew how the Daily Justanian would force the story and make it appear worse than it was. Both on their TV show and their online news journal.
Sighing heavily, I glanced up at Gideon, who was eying me nervously.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his hand smoothing over my back as we walked.
I swallowed thickly, shaking my head no. "No, I'm not. I feel so… exposed."
"We'll think of something," he said, his hand still stroking my back in a comforting way. I wanted to turn towards him and bury myself in his arms, but this was something I needed to work through. I had to get ahead of it myself, because if I went to my parents, or worse, to George… well, that'd be the end of everything.
The only thing that would keep Kostas and I out of the news tomorrow was to come up with a bigger story, but I didn't know how to come up with anything bigger than the Princess of Justana locked in a clandestine affair with a commoner. A commoner she'd recently run over on his bike, no less.
Oh, this was quickly becoming a nightmare.
There was a silver lining, I supposed. I did have three people here who would be more than happy to assist me in thinking of something. I wasn't alone, no matter how much George wanted me to think I was.
I wasn't alone, and I didn't need his help with this.
I looked up at Gideon once more. "Thank you so much for being here," I murmured.
He gazed down at me, his arm slipping around my waist and tugging me down a hallway to the left. "Tristan," he said, by way of explanation.
Tristan was currently on some fool's errand for George --anything to keep him away from me. This time, it was to listen to the chamber music and choose which arrangements would play, and in what order, at the dinner the following evening.
I was certain Tristan did enjoy this type of thing, but it was a cut and dry process. There were only so many songs that were appropriate for a dinner this size.
We entered the room, staying towards the back while the string quartet finished off on whatever concerto they were currently playing.
Tristan looked bored enough to cry, but his face lit up when he saw us standing in the doorway.
"That's fine," he said abruptly to the musicians, rising to his feet and crossing the floor to join us. Gideon turned his attention to the quartet. .
"Do you really need my brother for this?" he asked and was met with a chorus of 'no's' an
d head shaking. "Splendid," he said with a dry smirk. "We're borrowing him, then, but if George asks, he was a tremendous help, wasn't he?"
"Of course. The Prince has a true ear for music," said the violinist.
"Too right he does," Gideon smiled widely and motioned for Tristan to follow us.
"What's wrong?" Tristan asked immediately as we made our way down the hall.
"Kostas is here," I replied, instead of answering his question.
"But that's not… wrong, that's a good thing," he mused. "Which leads me to believe that while something is wrong, you're not telling me right now. How close am I?"
Gideon shook his head. "In a moment, we'll fill you in."
The front parlor to which Kostas had been shown was one of my favorite rooms. With Kostas there, one of my favorite rooms was occupied by one of my favorite people, and so it wasn't difficult to break out a smile when I saw him waiting there in one of the high back chairs. He was dressed very well, actually, in an oxford and slacks as opposed to his usual jeans and t-shirt. He'd made an effort to look nice. He was even wearing a tie, although it was loosely-knotted and too long for him.
I smiled broadly and held out my hands for his before the attendant could even get finished announcing us.
Seriously, we were going to have to think of a shorter way to get announced if we were all going to be entering rooms together on the regular. Gideon himself had three titles before his Prince title, and I had four as well myself. Tristan only had two, but it was just additional waiting by the time we got to him. And if everything with Kostas worked out, then he'd have his own title to contend with…
Nerves rattled me once more at that thought and the smile dropped from my face as I gestured to the two sets of loveseats close to the fireplace.
We all took seats there, Kostas and I on one, Tristan and Gideon on the other. I dismissed the attendant who had been sitting with Kostas.
Gulping, I quickly greeted him, reaching for his hand and squeezing.
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