Page 66 of Exes Don't

“Nice to see you again, Duke. Anton said you might be willing to talk to me for a feature piece I’m working on about him.”

Duke smiles cordially. The resemblance between him and Anton is uncanny. They have the same ninety-degree-angle jaw and blond hair. Duke’s eyes are brown where Anton’s are blue-green, and he wears his hair shorter than Anton does, but they could be brothers.

“It would be my pleasure, Ms. Kasper. Anton says you’re an excellent interviewer.”

I refuse to be charmed by his kind eyes and friendliness. But I also need him to think I like him, so I smile back. “I’m sure he’s embellished.”

“No, I haven’t.” Anton pulls himself out the conversation he’s having and winks at me again. “Why don’t I give you guys the tour of the facilities here, and you can talk as we walk?” He looks to me and Duke to make sure we’re okay with the plan.

I nod, and Duke sweeps his hand out in front of us, inviting Anton to lead the way.

Anton slips easily back into conversation with my family, and I tell myself I’m being ridiculous for the way my heart squeezes with jealousy. He’s not paying me much attention. He’s in full-blown host mode. He’s good at it. But I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I prefer when his attention rests solely on me.

See? This is another reason why Anton and I could never work. He’s going to have a whole country who’s looking to him for his attention. I’m too small a person to be able to handle that and not feel insecure.

“So…” Duke draws my attention. The two of us have fallen into step toward the back of the group. “What sorts of secrets can I tell you about my dear cousin Anton?”

“You tell me. He said y’all are close.”

“Very.” Duke nods. “Neither of us had siblings, but we had each other. We grew up together.” Duke gets a faraway look in his eye. “Anton is the best of us, that much I’ll tell you. He’s always had the charitable heart. Sometimes to a fault.”

“Go on.”

“I worry that he’s always giving of himself, never saying no. He needs to rein it in, or he’s going to burn out. Look at what he’s been doing for the past couple of years, juggling a high-profile job here in the States and the demands that come with being a professional athlete.” Duke holds up fingers to track Anton’s commitments. “Then there are his personal charities, the Penwick Palace charities, his duties as a royal. His obligations are enough to make a normal man dizzy.”

I can’t say I disagree, but I don’t say anything in response, and Duke continues.

“I always wanted to be more like him, but I had a bit of a wild streak.” Duke says this with the perfect mix of affection for Anton and self-deprecation.

I’ve got to hand it to the guy. He’s definitely charming.

“I’ve only gotten Anton to break the rules with me on a couple of occasions. Some of my proudest moments,” he adds with a grin.

“This sounds like the sort of thing I’d like to hear about for the article.”

“Nothing so salacious,” Duke assures me. “We did take one of the palace security vehicles for a joyride in the middle of the night before we had our licenses. I don’t think Anton enjoyed one minute of it. He was so worried we were going to get caught. He drove ten miles under the posted speed limit the whole time. He didn’t want to wreck the car or hurt someone. No matter that we were in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. That’s Anton for you. Conscientious to a fault.”

“Conscientious is a good word for him,” I agree. “That seems to be a theme I’ve picked up on in my interviews with those who know him. How do you think he’ll be as a ruler of Penwick?”

Duke glances ahead and stares at the back of Anton’s head. “He’ll be the best—if he makes it that far.”

I nearly stumble over my feet, my guard flying up faster than a rocket being launched into the Texas sky. “Excuse me?”

Duke blinks and stares back at me, a sheepish expression passing over his features. “Look at him. He’s happy here. I don’t think he wants to be in Penwick. Do you?”

I feign composure and stare at Anton. I can’t argue with Duke. Anton always has seemed more himself when he’s talking football and dealing with personal charities as opposed to when he’s with his mother or doing official Penwick business. But I never considered that he wouldn’t go back to his home country.

“You said he’s conscientious, sometimes to a fault. Won’t that translate to undertaking his duty to Penwick?” I ask.

Duke tilts his head back and forth. “You’re probably right, unless something comes up that forces his hand,” he adds quietly.

Is that a threat? Is it a warning? Is it a premonition? Duke stares directly in my eyes, and the skin twists at the back of my neck with the full force of his appraising gaze.

Alarm bells blare in my ears, but I still don’t have anything concrete linking Duke to any sort of attack on Anton. Out ofthe corner of my eye, I catch sight of his assistant, Charles, who I don’t have much faith in anymore. He’s been listening to our whole conversation, and it seems he, too, is poised and ready to step in or make a move if Duke lets anything slip about his plans to harm Anton.

We’re a good distance back from where Anton has taken my family through the doors of the weight room. At least I can breathe easily knowing nothing’s going to happen to him with them. I trust those four people implicitly.

If only Anton could say the same about his family. If only heknewthat his cousin can’t be trusted. I turn my focus back to Duke.

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