Page 3 of Hush, Hush

“He’s not even an important prince,” she bemoans, rolling her eyes into the back of her head. “Though, the accent thing would be pretty cool.”

Unlike my sister, I let it drop. I’m not going to involve myself in her love life. She’ll figure it out. She always does.

A member of the kitchen staff stops in front of us, her hands clasped in front. “The table is arranged with hors d’oeuvres. Is there anything you would like me to do before your guests arrive?”

I peek over my shoulder to find the nicest arrangement of fruits, meats, and desserts that would actually be considered a full-fledged meal for most people. “Thank you. It looks wonderful,” I tell her. “I don’t think we’ll be needing more.”

“Thank you, miss. Also, your father would like me to tell you that the Forbes have radioed and are on their way over now.” I smile as she walks away, retreating into the interior of the yacht where she’ll make herself scarce, but also ever ready in case we need her for some sort of culinary emergency.

I place my hand over my stomach as it twists. I peer in both directions and spot a shiny dinghy making its way toward us. Two posh figures stand inside, holding onto the canopied roof for support as the vessel cuts through the waves. The closer it gets, the clearer Keegan becomes. Like usual, he’s dashing, effortlessly handsome. It’s been two weeks since we were together back at Carnegie, back in the clutches of the Knights, but it feels like only yesterday.

My current relationship with Keegan is non-existent. He’s not happy I decided to joinhisprestigious club, the Knights of Arcadia. The way I see it though, membership is my birthright just as it is his. Plus, being a Knight brings me that much closer to being worthy of everything the Astors have.

Knights rule the world—literally. And if I want to be anyone, I have to be one. I’ll carry on the traditions of my father, now an elder of the secret group, as well as his father before him. The Knights are nothing if not steeped in tradition.

Part of that tradition is remaining mysterious. The group’s existence isn’t hidden, however, the members and their doings are. Their practices, the meetings, everything that happens behind the scenes is so hush-hush, flying completely under the radar. If the world only knew that the Knights were basically in control of almost everything that happened in this world, the divide between the haves and have-nots would be so utterly obvious that chaos would ensue.

I want to make sure that never happens while also taking control of my birthright as a proud Knight.

If only Keegan saw it that way.

ChapterTwo

Keegan and his father together are too much testosterone to take. Their stares linger far longer than necessary when we greet them, welcoming them onto the Leona III. Their similar, striking blue eyes eat us up predatorily. When father arrives from somewhere within the belly of his prized possession, Eden walks off, returning a few minutes later dressed in a sundress.

I can’t even blame her.

At school, Keegan is distant and aloof, his poor little rich boy pride hurt when I became a fledgling Knight at the same time he did. Men in my world don’t see women as equals. My father had to petition the Arcadian elders to allow me into their good ol’ boy society. I don’t know this for sure, but I imagine it took some convincing, and based solely on how I’ve been treated thus far, I’m certain not everyone voted in my father’s favor. The fact is, my parents didn’t birth a male heir. Though that might seem almost criminal in some well-to-do families, it is what it is, and Alistair Astor was not going to let his Arcadian legacy die with him.

In that, I can always be proud of my father. He’s always told me there’s zero difference between me and the myriad of driven men I’m surrounded by daily. If I want something, I can’t let a little thing like gender inequality get in my way. He may have given me the opportunity to make it into the Knights of Arcadia, butI’mthe one who surpassed their trials and came out unscathed.

I shiver at the memories, darting my gaze to Keegan who’s ogling my cleavage and not even pretending to do otherwise. He’s dressed in a crisp, white shirt over khaki shorts, looking every bit the sun-kissed, rich guy. I should’ve followed Eden’s lead earlier and changed because Mr. Forbes is just as bad, but he at least has the decency to hide it in front of my dad. The elder Forbes swings his polo shirt clad arm around my shoulders, fingertips dancing down my upper arm. His shorts are a pleated blue. The combination of polo and fancy shorts, backdropped by a yacht, makes it look like he stole the captain’s uniform and decided to wear it out for the day. “How’s sweet Delilah? Keegan says you’re excelling at Carnegie.”

“I’m well. Thank you, Sir.” I don’t bother going into specifics. I learned a long time ago that when important men get together, they don’t wish to have females drone on about anything they believe you shouldn’t be educated in. Business? Economics? No, I’m just here to look good on Keegan’s arm. The face of poise, grace, and well-bred civility. Honestly, it’s kind of like being a thoroughbred racehorse.

I’m going to change all that though.

He squeezes me into his side, my breasts smashing together. He takes his fill while my father is turned away, pouring brandy into crystal decanters. Eden immediately cuts in. “Dee, the sun’s going down. You should change out of that suit.”

I eye her gratefully as Leon Forbes releases his hold. Sometimes, it’s difficult to wrangle out of his grasp. Once, I was forced to stand by his side for a whole two hours during Keegan’s high school graduation celebration. I spent more time with his father that day than I did with Keegan himself. Leon Forbes holds the reins tight, just like he operates in the boardroom of his Fortune 500 company. “Of course.” His smile tightens. “We wouldn’t want you to get sick for the start of the next semester.”

“No, Sir. We don’t.”

Turning, I make it two steps before Keegan is at my side, following me into the other room. “Damn, Dee. Sometimes I forget how much you’ve grown.”

My cheeks heat at his praise. At Carnegie, he hardly looks at me. In fact, these are the nicest words he’s spoken to me in months. An unwitting smile pulls my lips apart as I meet his gaze. I don’t want him to want me for my body, but I also can’t stop the race of hormones his words conjure. From day one, I’ve only ever sought Keegan’s affection.

We’ve been on again off again our entire lives. When we were kids, we were just friends. Then we went into pre-teen years where feelings were so new and awkward. We didn’t understand the emotions roiling through us. Though Keegan seemed to understand them well before me. He invited me to be his date for his first prep school dance, giving me my first kiss under an array of colorful streamers and twinkling garden lights. We broke up the following week because he’d found a girl at his own school to date.

When we got older, we understood the agreement between our families. We tried again when we were both in private school, but it was obvious Keegan was much more informed than I was about dating and relationships. Well,certainareas of being in a relationship. For everything he did know, he didn’t know how to actually be a boyfriend. He wanted me, the Astor heir, and whoever else he decided to sleep with on the side. The day a girl messaged me on social media that she’d slept with him at a party broke my heart.

From that day forward, our relationship has been more of a show than anything else. I’ve been biding my time, waiting for him to mature into the man I know he can be. I don’t want a piece of Keegan Forbes. I want him, heart and soul. Until he’s ready for that, we can play this game of back and forth, of pretending in front of people, but I won’t give him my whole heart until he deserves it.

“You haven’t been looking,” I chastise, fully facing him now so he can see what he’s not getting. I’m a feminist, but I also know when to work my assets. I purposefully wore this bikini today because I knew I’d get a reaction out of him. He’s basically motivated only by tits, ass, and not disappointing his father.

“Jealous?” he mocks, his pearly whites coming out to grin at me as if he’s ensnared me in his web.

I make a snorting sound in the back of my throat. “Not in the least,” I respond, hoping I sound convincing. I really am jealous, actually. I don’t understand why I can’t be enough for Keegan. If we’re going to eventually end up together, why can’t he just do it now? On the other hand, I give him some major slack because the world we grew up in promotes his behavior. Since his father is the worst offender, I knew he’d want to have his cake and eat it too. Hell, even my own father thinks he deserves anything and everything. Willpower isn’t something this world practices enough.

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