Page 97 of Reluctantly Rogue

They’ve known as long as I have that Torin doesn’t want to marry her and that she’s only marrying him to be queen, expecting that he’ll change the rules and allow her to keep the title and crown after he steps down.

That is, of course,notthe plan that Alfred and Diarmuid laid out, and that our group is intent on seeing through. So I had to share the situation with my friends and colleagues in the hope they had some idea about how to make this work.

Their solution? Make Torin marry her. Butdon’tlet him change the rules.

Yeah, easy for them to say.

You can take any random girl home and fuck her and it doesn’t really mean anything. But the stuff you did with Linnea last night was more than fucking. And you know it.

Yeah. It was. He’s right. If I wasn’t in love with her, I probably could have resisted the entire thing, honestly. Or, I could have just taken her v-card, showed her what it was like, made it good so she’d want more, and then happily sent her off on her date tonight.

Instead, I barely peeled myself away from her warm, naked body this morning and am going over scenarios to keep her away from Christian Waite.

Which is theoppositeof my mission here. It’s somehowworsethan the opposite of what Iris told me to do when she said to bring Linnea home single.

I’m not going to marry her, but I’m certain Iris didn’t mean for me to fall in love with her. Or to become her sex tutor.

Fuck.

Okay, I have to somehow convince Henry that this is fine. Because then I can convince myself it’s fine.

This doesn’t?—

But I’m cut off by an incoming text from Colin.

Colin: And then you slept with her right? You spent the night with her in your arms, right up against you, and you woke up like that. And now you’re done for, my friend. Done. For. You’re not getting over that.

Well, I guess that answers my question about if Colin is even reading this group text.

And he would know best about this.

Henry is a woman-loving playboy, just like Cian. The two of them have a hell of a good time. He’s never been in love. I’m sure of it.

Colin is another story. He took a job as the temporary bodyguard for an up-and-coming singer who had gotten herself a stalker. Hayden is now Colin’s wife.

I guess you could give some advice about falling for the woman you’re just supposed to be protecting. One who is supposed to be off limits.

Colin: Hayden was never off limits the way Linnea is. Linnea is a part of something much bigger that you can’t mess with. Her being Torin’s queen has always been Alfred’s plan.

The knot in my stomach tightens. I know all of this. Colin is simply voicing all of the things I’ve been trying to ignore or rationalize. It’s pissing me off.

We can’t force her to marry him.

Colin: Maybe not. But they’ll use guilt and manipulation and whatever else to try. And if you are the reason she doesn’t, the boss will fire you and Diarmuid will throw you out of the country. Then YOU won’t be there for Torin the way you’re supposed to be. Torin needs both of you.

Henry: Once Torin’s king, he could hire you back, though. So there’s that.

Yes, there’s that.

Colin: That could be years. And without Jonah and Linnea there helping him, Torin might lose it and abdicate again.

And there’sthat.

I sigh. Fuck.

She has a date with Christian Waite, the senator, tonight.

Henry: Oh. Fuck. Sorry, man.

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