Page 52 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

I can’t hold my laughter in as I playfully shove him back. “Oh my God, you’re ridiculous.”

“But cute and ridiculous.” He’s all cheery smiles and glittering eyes. “Come on; admit it.”

I put my hand on my hip. “Admit what?”

“That you think I’m cute.”

“Nah, I’m definitely not going there with you.”

He points a finger at me. “That doesn’t sound like you’re denying it.”

“I think you already know you’re good looking”—I step toward the cafeteria—“so stop fishing for compliments. I’m sure you get them all the time.”

He backs up in front of me. “Maybe, but I feel like you don’t give those out a lot, which makes them much more valuable.”

“They’re not.” But he’s correct about the first part.

A smirk spreads across his face. Who knows what words would’ve come out his mouth next—I’m sure ones that were both equally parts amusing and annoying—but a guy wearing a button-down white shirt, slacks, and shiny shoes strolls up to Finn. If he weren’t here at the academy, I’d guess he was an accountant.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you,” he tells Finn as he drags his fingers through his brown hair. “You need to come with me.”

Finn’s entire demeanor shifts, the muscles in his face hardening, his posture stiffening. “Why?”

“Because I said so,” the guy replies with arrogance ringing in his tone. Then his gaze skates to me, and his lips curl into a smirk. “I can see why you don’t want to go, though.” His gaze drags up and down me as he openly checks me out. “And who is this lovely thing?”

I’m getting creep vibes from this guy so badly it makes me shiver.

“This lovely thing is Maddy,” I introduce myself. “And I’m guessing you’re here to do Finn’s taxes.”

His brows tug together. “What? No.”

“Oh, sorry. My bad.” I gesture at his outfit. “So, you just choose to dress this way, then? Weird.”

Finn presses me with a warning look, a move that seems out of character for him.

“You’ll have to ignore Mads,” Finn intervenes, tossing me another pressing look. “She’s new.”

Accountant Guy is blasting me with a withering look. With his narrow face and small nose, he looks very snake-like. “Well, she needs to learn her place.”

My lips part to tell this guy to screw off, but Finn beats me to the punch.

“I’ll make sure she learns.” He totally ignores me as I glower at him. “But aren’t I supposed to be going with you somewhere?”

“Yes, you are,” Accountant Guy mutters, his gaze never wavering from me. “Come on.” Tearing his gaze off me, he snaps his fingers at Finn as he strides toward the exit.

I gape at Finn as he begrudgingly follows him. “Are you seriously going to let him boss you around like that?”

“I have to,” he whispers under his breath. “Now go find Lily and forget about this.” He walks away without waiting for me to respond and leaves me standing in the middle of the cafeteria with my jaw hanging to my knees.

I remain that way for about ten seconds with the sounds of clanking plates and conversation flowing around me. I could find Lily—I should. I only came here so I could get ice cream with her. But I also want to find out where Finn is going with Accountant Guy. Sure, it might be none of my business, but the way Finn’s demeanor shifted was just plain odd. Where would they even be going? Why did he let that guy boss him around?

Why do I even care?

“Why did Finn just go with Eli?” Lily materializes by my side with a bowl of strawberry ice cream in her hand.

“I don’t know, but he was acting weird about it.”

“That’s because Eli is a real piece of shit. Like put every cliché douchebag behavior into one person, and you’d have Eli.” She stares at the door as she absentmindedly stirs her ice cream. “I don’t know why he’d go with him. Not after what Eli did to me.”

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