Page 18 of Royal Games (The Royals of Monterra)

I could tell he wanted to walk over to me. Which I couldn’t let him do because he’d get handsy and I’d give in.

But he didn’t, probably because we weren’t alone. He gave me one of those slow, sensual smiles that made my breath catch in my throat. “Not yet.”

Aunt Sylvia stifled a laugh behind her hand, and I’d had enough. I practically ran upstairs, texting Amanda as I went. She responded right away and said she’d pick me up. It would mean I would get into Iowa City several hours before my classes started, but I had to get out of this house.

College was taking me forever to finish because I refused to take out student loans and only went as I could afford it. It was a priority for both me and Aunt Sylvia, but I should have graduated a couple of years ago. Even after I got my degree, I would still have several years of veterinary school and training ahead.

I thought of everything I had to get done that day. School this morning, shift at the diner, rehearsals for the talent show, maybe arrange another meeting for the committee working with me on the bazaar?

After showering, getting dressed, and making myself somewhat presentable, I threw on my backpack when I heard Amanda honking. I went downstairs and heard Sylvia and Rafe laughing in the kitchen as they cleaned up the breakfast dishes. It made me grumpy that she seemed to be on his side. If she liked him so much, she could marry him.

Stepping out into the cold winter morning, I ran over to Amanda’s idling truck and let myself in.

“Thanks for the ride.”

I must have said it more gruffly than I intended to because she glanced over at me as she backed out of the driveway and said, “I know it’s none of my business, but there’s something I want to ask you.”

None of her business. Like that ever stopped anyone here from constantly giving their opinions about everything.

“Why are you trying so hard to make yourself mad at him?”

I opened my mouth to respond and couldn’t. Amanda had always been someone I admired and respected. I couldn’t lie to her. Because if I was being at all honest with myself, it was an effort to stay mad at him. It didn’t feel natural at all.

“Since I’ve known you, you’ve always been this happy and mellow person. Which you haven’t really been since you got back. And especially not since he got here.”

She flipped her brights on, given that we were the only ones on the back road this early in the morning.

“I’m not sure what to say,” I finally admitted.

She shrugged. “There’s probably not much to say. I think it says a lot about Rafe that he has this kind of effect on you.”

Amanda reached over and turned on a radio station, leaving me to my thoughts. Had I really changed that much? And why was I working so hard to be angry with Rafe?

I knew why. Because it was the only way to keep myself safe from him. I ran through my list. He knew too much. He’d made me feel too much. He’d betrayed me and humiliated me.

Maybe you should let him explain why,something inside me said. The voice sounded a lot like my aunt.

I told her to be quiet and closed my eyes, trying to get some sleep on the way into the city.

Whitney had asked to take my shift at the diner, and I couldn’t say no. According to Rafe, I never said no. But in this instance it was justified, because she needed the money more than I did.

It should have given me time to study, but instead I drifted off. Facedown, on my keyboard.

Which I discovered because the smoke alarm started going off. I awoke with a start, my face throbbing from all the places where the keys had poked it. “Sylvia!” I called out, racing downstairs. I didn’t smell any smoke.

She was taking a nap on the couch, oblivious to the sound.

I burst into the kitchen, but there was no smoke there either. The oven wasn’t even on. It was then I realized that the alarm wasn’t coming from inside the farmhouse.

It was coming from the guesthouse.

That was seriously all I needed. I was pretty sure that we had no insurance on the farm, so if the whole place burned down, we’d have no way to replace anything, and then we really would lose it all.

I knocked on his door, but I didn’t think he could hear me over the alarm. So I let myself in and saw the kitchen was full of smoke. Rafe was reaching out for the burning pan on the stove.

“Wait, don’t!” I said, but I was too late.

He dropped the pan on the floor as he realized he was burning his fingers. I rushed over, grabbing the pan with a spare dishtowel and putting it in the sink. I hit it with the towel until the flames went out. I opened the window over the sink to let the room ventilate.

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