Page 70 of The Duke's Virgin

My mother blinked. “A peacock.”

“Yes. I was actually inspired by a gift given to Prince Harry. He was gifted two macaws on a trip to the Caribbean in 2016.”

My mother pursed her lips, still studying me. “I don’t think apeacockis a proper gift, Luka.”

“Have youmetAeric,Maman?”

A smile quirked at her lips. “I saidproper, notfitting.”

“You’re taking away my fun.”

She sighed and shook her head. “I’m almost tempted to allow it. You’re not having a great deal of fun lately, it seems.”

That struck me silent, and I realized I hadn’t been hiding things as well as I’d thought. Geraint had realized something was bothering me, but he…well, helooked. My parents had always seemed a bit more distant. But perhaps they saw more than we realized.

“I see we won’t be discussing it.” She nodded. “Very well. Have you considered asking Violet to the party?”

The swift change in subject matter might have thrown me, and although I was grateful she hadn’t decided to linger on the matter of what was plaguing me—a beautiful, blue-eyed, American brunette I’ll never have—I really didn’t want to talk about Violet, either. She was sweet, and I had a bad feeling somebody had planted ideas in her head that she and I could become some sort of match. The way she looked at me made me think she was already picking out wedding cake flavors.

“I mentioned it briefly, but she can’t come to the party.”

“Oh?” Giving me a quizzical look, my mother cocked her head.

“No. Besides, I…well.Maman, Violet is a nice girl, but she and I aren’t compatible.”

“I see.” She gave a small nod. “I take it you have something else in mind besides a…peacock for Prince Aeric.”

Glad she’d decided to let it go, I nodded. “Of course,Maman.” I pulled my phone out from my pocket and pulled up the picture of what I’d finally decided to give to Aeric. “He goes there every year,” I told her, passing over the phone. “It seems to be something he cares for a great deal, so I decided we’d help out.”

She studied the image for a long moment, then passed me the phone and kissed my cheek. “Perhaps he’s a bit more than a peacock. And so are you.”

Embarrassment heated my face, but she didn’t say anything, just rose and left the room.

* * *

“You wentand funded two wells in Africa,” Geraint said, grumbling. “I gave him a bottle of Stoli Elite Himalayan Edition. Why didn’t you tell me about the fucking wells? I could have gone in with you, and we’d have funded three or four.”

I shot my brother an amused glance as I sipped at my serving of the Stoli. It wasverygood vodka. “If I’d done that, I wouldn’t be standing here with you enjoying this fine vodka.”

“You’ve got a bottle of it back in your suite at home,” he pointed out. “I gave it to you for your birthday.”

“You’re getting predictable.”

He grumbled again, this time too low for me to hear. Still, I smiled. I was in a relatively good mood.

The party had been underway for a couple of hours, and I still hadn’t seen Stacia.

I was taking it as a sign that she wasn’t here.

I hadn’t seen Emmett either.

A part of me felt guilty for not wanting to see my best friend, but I needed to accept the relationship between them before I could deal with seeing him again. I didn’t want to do or say something that would tarnish a friendship I valued.

Somebody called Geraint, and he nudged me on the shoulder. “I’ll see you later. Enjoy yourself for once, will you? Even if you are enjoyingmybirthday present.”

“You gave it to Aeric!” I called out behind him before retreating to the recessed sitting area where Aeric was currently enjoying his second serving of Stoli Elite and laughing as he recounted some story.

He caught sight of me and lifted his glass cheerfully. I tipped mine in return and started to sit but made the mistake of glancing around the big ballroom. I told myself I wasn’t looking for Stacia, even though I knew I lied.

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