Page 61 of Damaged Prince
“Laney?” James’ voice has me blinking out of my thoughts.
“Hey.” I smile, holding up a cup of coffee. “There’s still some in the pot.”
“Thanks,” he says, going over to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup. “Excited to be going back to school?”
“Yeah,” I answer honestly. “Weird, right?” I laugh.
“Nah,” he chuckles, leaning against the counter. “It’s okay to like school. I did.” He winks.
“It’s not just school. It’s the people, too. Winter and Justin have been busy all break. Oddly, I miss Justin and his weird flirting,” I admit with a laugh.
James smiles, shaking his head. “That boy is something else. Good kid, though.”
“He is.”
“The guys are okay with that?” James asks, his attention on his cup of coffee as he stirs.
“Okay with what?” I ask, brows furrowed, not sure what he’s asking.
He looks up at me with a knowing smile. “Justin flirting with you all the time? If I know my boys, mainly Logan, he’d be jealous.”
Oh. Okay. So, we’re having this conversation, I guess.
My stomach twists in knots as my body breaks out in a nervous sweat.
“Uhhh, Logan isn’t exactly happy about it, but he knows Justin is just messing around and doesn't mean it.” I chew on my lower lip, feeling like I’m going to pass out.
James nods, grabbing his cup of coffee and bringing it over to the table. He sits across from me, and I feel like I might puke up all the food I just ate. This is so weird. So damn weird. I see this man as my dad. And he knows I don’t see his sons as my brothers, but as so much more.
“I wanna thank you, Laney.” James’s eyes are filled with sincerity, catching me off guard.
“For what?”
“For being you,” he laughs. “I’m gonna be honest with you, I’ve known for a while that the four of you have had something going on.”
“You did?” My eyes widen. I knew that he knew, but I didn’t know for how long. “Uhh, how long?” I ask, rubbing the back of my head.
“Since the summer,” he declares with a chuckle. His eyes dance with mischief, and my stomach drops.
“S-summer?” I ask in horror. Oh god. How did he find out?
“You see, a few days after you and your mother stayed at my hotel, I got a call from my security team. They wanted to let me know that my sons were getting up to no good and seemed to have forgotten there were cameras in the common areas."
No.No, no, no. Oh fuck. I’m gonna puke. Yup, all over this table. Fucking hell.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t watch the video. But my team wanted to let me each of them was with the same girl. And that the girl on the feed looked oddly similar to my new stepdaughter.”
“Oh god,” I groan, drowning in mortification.
“At first, I was going to kick their asses. But when they got home, I overheard them all talking about this mystery girl they were all with. And by the sounds of it, they didn’t know who you were. So, I let it be. I mean, how do you bring it up to your sons that their one-night stand was their future stepsister?” He chuckles, and I want to die.
Please, world, end me now. Let the ground open up and swallow me whole.
“I probably should have said something before you and your mom made it to the house, but I didn’t, and when I saw the shock on their faces, well, I thought I’d let them deal with it on their own. I mean, they’re big boys. They made adult choices and should learn how to get themselves out of it.”
“I am so sorry,” I choke out, embarrassment eating me alive. “I honestly didn’t know who they were when I met them.”
“I believe you,” he chuckles reassuringly. “Laney, I’m not upset. The only thing I care about is that my sons are treating you well. They are, aren’t they?”
