Page 64 of Royal Charmer
Jules is warm and cordial, chatting away in French to me, David chiming in, Alice utterly silent. I would insist on switching back to English for Alice’s sake, but I don’t think she’s up to conversation right now. Disaster is waiting for us in the salon—we both know it—and she looks like she wants to bolt.
“Alice,” I say during a brief pause in the conversation, “would you like to meet up with us for luncheon in a bit? I know you’re on a very tight book deadline.”
Her head snaps up. “Yes. My brain has really been cranking, and I’m dying to write it all down.”
“Theauteur!” Jules exclaims. “Of course you must express your art. Us men will drink our scotch while you work your magic.”
“Thank you!” She hurries off, and I nearly sag with relief.
Now I don’t have to worry about a big scene with Mason and Riley upsetting Alice. I’ll just ask the guards posted outside the salon to escort them back to the entrance hall and all will be well.
By the time we reach the salon, I’m in much better spirits. After all, we’re about to sign the loan that I helped bring about, and everything is going according to plan. Even better, I found the love of my life.
I stop in front of the guards, Louis and Claude, posted outside the door. “Please escort them back to the entrance hall to wait for me there.” I wait while they go in to retrieve Mason and Riley.
“Just a moment,” I tell Jules and David. “I’ve had a couple of unexpected visitors and, unfortunately, it’s not looking to be a pleasant visit. Nothing serious. Just a misunderstanding I need to deal with after our business is concluded.”
David’s brows shoot up. Jules looks concerned, but quickly says, “Of course.”
The salon door opens, Claude stepping outside with us, Louis trailing behind Mason and Riley. The moment Mason spots me, he says, “Hey! We’ve waited long enough! I didn’t travel all this way just to be given the runaround! I want to see Alice. Where is she?”
He stops in front of me, glowering in an attempt to look threatening, but I know what kind of man he is. He cheats and lies. He’s a coward. “What have you done with her?”
I hold the guards off because I need him to understand something. “She’s mine.”
He becomes even more agitated. Maybe I’ll get to punch him after all. “Where’s Alice?” he barks. “I have a right to see my fiancée!”
Riley pipes up, appearing at his side. “She’s not your fiancée anymore! I am!”
“She’smyfiancée,” I say through clenched teeth. “And you need to wait in the entrance hall.”
“Lucas, what is going on here?” Jules asks.
I close my eyes. In my aggravation, I nearly forgot Jules and David were here.
“Ha!” Mason barks. “There is no way Alice would get engaged again that quickly. We just ended our engagement a few weeks ago. She doesn’t rush anything; slow and careful, that’s Alice.”
I’m about to defend our rush engagement by saying it was love at first sight, which is only a slight stretch of the truth, when I hear Alice’s voice behind me, slightly out of breath.
“I got lost.”
I turn, wondering how much she heard.
Jules and David step back, allowing Alice to step forward.
She gazes into my eyes, her voice steadier. “The palace is so big I got lost.” She looks over my shoulder. “I heard your voice, Mason, and I followed it back here to tell you this—I don’t know why you’re here and I don’t care. I gave you my heart, and you weren’t careful with it. You stabbed me in the back, straight through my heart, and then youtwisted the knife—”she bares her teeth and twists an imaginary knife “—by being with my best friend. In one bloody, devastating swoop you took everything that meant something to me! You, Riley, my ability to write my favorite uplifting stories in the world—all gone!” She looks to the ceiling, blinking rapidly, and my own eyes sting in empathy.
She stares at him, and I stare at her, watching carefully in case she needs me. “I thought I might die,” she says quietly. “But I didn’t. I cried, I railed against the unfairness of it all, and then I got myself here for a much-needed refuge from all reminders of you and Riley.”
She meets my eyes. “I met Lucas.” She smiles, her sweet gentle smile, and my chest constricts, my throat tight with emotion. “I found my inspiration.” She turns to Mason, lifting her chin. “I’m writing again. And I’ve found love with a man who treats me the way I deserve. So-o-o, that’s it.” She nods once, brightening. “You and Riley need to leave. There’s nothing more I have to say to either of you, nothing more I would ever give, so goodbye.”
My lips curve in a small smile. I’m so damn proud of her. “That was badass.” She told me she was a badass the first time we met. Back then she was barely holding it together, trying to be a badass. Now she really is.
She beams. “Thank you.”
“Riley needs to talk to you,” Mason blurts.
I turn to glare at Mason. Does the man have a death wish?
