Page 18 of The Royally Broke Billionaire
When he veered them down the stairs towards the royal dining room, she gave him a perplexed look. “We’re eating with the royals?”
“Of course,” he seemed affronted that she would think otherwise.
She fervently hoped that he wasn’t just using her to gain a seat at the royal table.
Queen Tess’s brothers and their wives were already seated at the massive table when Piper and Cole entered the large, formal room and took their seats, but the royals had not yet arrived.
Although the staff attempted to be unobtrusive, Piper noticed that they scrambled to add two additional chairs and place settings to the table. She knew then that she and Cole had not been expected and wondered who the two extra, invited guests were.
She didn’t have to be curious for long because Finn entered the dining hall with a lovely brunette on his arm. The royal steward pulled out the seat for his date before taking his own place at the table.
It wasn’t lost on Piper that Cole had allowed the waitstaff to pull out both of their chairs, rather than being a gentleman, like Finn was.
The pretty woman with Finn was introduced as Amber, and Piper struggled to swallow down the unfamiliar surge of jealousy she felt bubbling deep in her stomach.
Amber gave them all a friendly, perfect smile before expertly guiding the conversation to inquire about the Donovans and their significant business holdings. Amber proved herself to be bright, funny, and utterly adorable.
Piper couldn’t stand the peppy, undeniably likable woman. Even though she hated this ugly, bitter side of herself, she couldn’t seem to control it. She felt like jumping over to scratch Amber’s pretty light blue eyes out.
Evidently not appreciating all of the attention Amber was doling out to the Donovan brothers, Cole tried several times to jump into the conversation. Rather than adding anything positive to their banter, he ended up sounding like an obnoxious braggart.
When Piper saw Amber widen her gaze in Finn’s direction, she felt envious of their private, nonverbal communication and obviously close relationship.
Piper wasn’t sure how or why she could be on a date with a gorgeous billionaire bachelor and still manage to be jealous of a perfectly lovely and friendly woman’s date with the royal steward. Being unable to understand her overwhelming negative emotions didn’t make them feel any less real to her, though.
When the four royals finally arrived at the table, the king himself apologized for their tardiness. Before arriving at the palace, Piper thought a meal with the monarchs would be stuffy and boring, but these four were more charming and real than she had ever imagined.
Once they were seated, Mo continued a conversation that the others hadn’t heard from the beginning. “They’ll kill us if we don’t pose for official pregnancy photos––or worse, not feed us.”
Everyone, except Cole, chuckled at Mo’s silly statement. Smiling and shaking her head, Piper decided that there couldn’t possibly be such a thing as a stuffy meal when Mo was around. She didn’t think the woman had a boring bone in her body.
“You can do whatever you want, but I’m not having photos of me looking like a bloated cow floating around online for all of eternity,” Tess pointedly told her friend.
Smiling at his wife across the length of the long table, the king said, “You could never look anything but stunningly beautiful.”
Trey jumped in to disagree with that assessment. Holding up a finger, he said, “Trevor and I have photographic evidence to the contrary. She went through a decidedly gawky stage around the age of twelve.”
Glaring at her brother, the queen said, “Thanks for letting everyone know about that.”
Beaming with pride, Trey said, “Anytime, sis.”
Apparently wanting to change the topic, the queen turned to address Finn and Amber. “You two were voted the palace employees of the month again? I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s wonderful to have you join us at dinner.”
After the duo murmured polite words, thanking her for being such a gracious host, the queen turned to Piper and said warmly, “We’re so glad you could be here, too.”
The queen’s pointed omission of Cole spoke volumes more than any words ever could. If the billionaire noticed her uncharacteristic coolness towards him, he gave no outward signs of feeling awkward.
Turning to flick a hand towards her brothers, Queen Tess said to Finn and Amber, “We apologize in advance that these two annoying rascals are here for your celebratory meal, but their lovely, charming wives make up for their lack of social graces.”
Trey and Trevor pretended to bluster over her ribbing, but it was clear to everyone that it was merely good-natured teasing among siblings.
Piper wasn’t sure why she was so relieved to find out that Finn and Amber were here together as an employee reward, rather than on a date; but she still found herself watching their interactions to see if she noticed a spark of attraction between them. Finn was polite and charming throughout the meal. Piper was thrilled when she caught him turning to look at her a few times.
Cole was warm by her side, and there was no denying that it was flattering to be the focus of his attention, but he also occasionally said and did things that embarrassed her. The royal steward, on the other hand, was impeccably mannered, handsome, and witty. But he was here with someone else.
When Amber laughed at something Finn said and lightly placed her hand possessively on his forearm, Piper’s stomach churned with fiery hot liquid. This jealous streak was unfamiliar and unwelcome, but she didn’t seem to have any control over it.
After their gold-rimmed dessert plates were cleared, Piper realized she had been too preoccupied to taste the delicious food the royal chefs had prepared. She had eaten, but her mind hadn’t been present. Normally, food was a priority in her life, so she knew her love triangle with the billionaire and steward, which quite possibly existed only within the confines of her own mind, had completely taken over her senses.
