Page 35 of Royal Darling
I freeze. And here I thought I was polite. She doesn’t seem like a queen. She’s younger than me, sounds American, and is very casual.
“Oh, Gabriel, stop!” Anna exclaims. “This is private family time.” She smiles at me. “Please just call me Anna.”
I nod once, keeping my mouth shut. Gabriel’s expression is hard, his jaw clenched tight. Emma did say he was the overprotective big brother, not Lucas, and I’ve already heard Lucas be overprotective. Gabriel is a thousand times worse. It won’t take much to set him off.
Silence falls as platters are passed around. Emma is nearly vibrating with tension, sitting ramrod straight next to me. Only Anna seems relaxed.
Everyone starts eating, the clink of silverware loud in the silence. I’m not sure what went on down here while I was upstairs, but it couldn’t have been good. After several excruciatingly long tense minutes, Anna breaks the silence.
“Jackson, Emma says you’ve been teaching her guitar. How lucky she is to learn from a master.”
I rub the back of my neck. I’ve never been great with compliments. “I’m a beginner compared to some.”
“No way!” she exclaims.
“I never heard her play, now that I think of it,” Lucas says. “When did these lessons happen?”
“You weren’t around enough to know,” Gabriel snaps. “Off to Milan, off on a ride—”
“Jackson went with me on that ride,” Lucas fires back. “Besides, Emma doesn’t need a babysitter. Look at her. She keeps herself on a tight leash with no help from me.”
“She’s an innocent,” Gabriel says through his teeth.
“Gabriel, I’m fine, really,” Emma says softly.
I stay out of it because it’s clear to me she is an innocent. She sneaks into my room and climbs into bed with me in the morning for a completely innocent reason—she’s too self-conscious to let her brother see her fumble as a beginner on the guitar. It’s not like she even touched…actually she did touch me, stroking my shoulder and back. I look over at her. Was that her attempt at seduction?
Her cheeks are flushed pink, her gaze on her plate as she cuts a tiny piece of asparagus. Does the virgin princess actually want me to be her first? No. Not going there. Emma brought me back the music, and I would bring her nothing but regret. But, damn, twenty-five years is a long time to wait. No wonder she seems so tightly wound, though she’s been much looser during our music mornings. And when I gave her the sheet music, it was nothing, but her delighted response made me feel like a good guy for once.
“Emma would like to stay the week,” Anna says to Gabriel. “I think we should give her this time away, as we originally said.”
Gabriel sends me a hard look. “Will you be here?”
I lift my palms. “I can go.”
“No,” Emma says, shooting Gabriel a dark look before turning to me. “You don’t have to go. I apologize for my overbearing brothers.”
“Emma,” Gabriel says gently, “you’re an innocent in the ways of…” He looks at me and then stares straight ahead. “Of men like him.”
Lucas snorts. “She’s a virgin runaway bride. Let her have some fun. Jackson’s all right.”
“Lucas!” Emma exclaims.
I have no idea what to say. It seems Lucas is cool with me after our ride today.
Anna pipes up again. “If she’s as innocent as you say, then she deserves this time to explore her sexuality.”
Emma squeaks, her cheeks scarlet. I scratch at my newly trimmed beard. Apparently, it’s a foregone conclusion that I’ll debauch the princess. I know I shouldn’t touch. Not just because she’s an innocent or because I don’t deserve her. She brought back the muse. I’d be an idiot to fuck things up and lose the music again. I can’t bring myself to say any of that out loud. It would sound like I’m tempted—God help me, I am—and I’m swearing to take the high road. No one would believe it coming from me.
“Let’s drop this inappropriate subject of conversation,” Gabriel announces with finality. “Emma cannot—”
Anna interrupts. “Gabriel, she’s two years older than me. For God’s sake, stop treating her like a child. She’s a stunted woman who needs to spread her wings!”
“By spreading her legs?” Gabriel barks.
Emma leaps from her seat, her eyes sparking fire. I watch with total admiration as she stands up for herself like a badass. “How dare you speak about me as if I’m not here! As if my personal life is anyone’s concern but my own! I have never been so embarrassed in my life!” She gestures wildly, shooing them away. “Leave! All of you! Everyone except Jackson!”
Nobody moves. They all stare at her, eyes wide.
