Page 92 of Rivals
A slow, incredulous smile stole over Nina’s face. “Wait a second. Did you just apologize?”
“I don’t think so. Did you hear the wordsI’m sorry? That’s the technical definition of an apology,” Daphne countered, but she was smiling, too.
“You apologized!” Nina crowed. “It happened! I heard it!”
“Look, I just—I wanted to clear the air between us.” Daphne ran her hands over the skirt of her gown, absently tracing its tulle layers. “Jefferson told me how you helped take care of him the other night. I’m really glad you were there.”
Nina’s amused joy was quickly overshadowed by guilt. She’d been trying not to think about what had happened between her and Jeff. Nothinghadhappened, she reminded herself, not really; she and Jeff might have flirted with the line, but they hadn’t crossed it.
Yet she knew deep down that her excuses were flimsy. Here was Daphne—apologizing, trying to make things right between them—while Nina had been on a couch with her boyfriend, late at night, practically cuddling.
She resolved not to do anything like that again, not as long as Jeff and Daphne were dating.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” she muttered, but Daphne didn’t seem to have heard.
“Things have been strained with me and Jefferson lately.” Daphne stared at the floor as she spoke. “Ever since school started, I’ve felt him drifting away. And that fight I picked in front of Gabriella didn’t exactly help things.” She lifted her gaze, flustered. “Sorry, I know you probably don’t want to hear any of this—but what I’m trying to say is that I’m glad you and Jefferson are friends again.”
Nina realized, stunned, that Daphnetrustedher.
And Nina had violated that trust. Even if she and Jeff hadn’t actually kissed, they shouldn’t have put themselves in a position where they might. It wasn’t fair to Daphne.
“Of course. You know I’ll always help Jeff. We’ve been friends forever,” Nina managed to say.
When they had finally worked their way through the stack of dresses, Daphne decided on a violet gown that they bothagreed would wipe the smile from Gabriella’s face. Nina, meanwhile, was torn between a black one-shouldered gown and a dress of ecru silk with stitched rosettes.
She and Daphne stared silently at the pair of gowns, which hung side by side on the fitting-room wall.
“Normally I would say you can’t wear anything white or off-white after Labor Day.” Daphne fingered the delicate embroidery. “I think this might be an exception, though. It’s so beautiful.”
“The black one is safer,” Nina pointed out.
“Since when do you play it safe? Especially with your fashion choices.”
There was something almost envious in Daphne’s tone, as if she wished she could occasionally dress a little more like Nina—orbehavea little more like Nina, doing what she wanted instead of what she thought other people wanted her to do.
“You’re right,” Nina agreed. “Meet you at the register?”
She waited until Daphne was checking out before dialing her mamá’s number. Isabella picked up on the second ring.
“Mamá?” Nina pulled the curtain shut, lowering her voice. “Sorry to bother you; I just need your advice.”
The clicking sound of her mamá’s typing fell silent. “I’m listening.”
“Do you think people can change?”
She could practically see her mamá’s puzzled smile as she replied. “Do you want to tell me what this is really about?”
Nina looked at her reflection as she answered, as if she was addressing this to herself as much as Isabella. “I’ve been spending time with someone I used to hate, someone who really hurt me. But now, I don’t know. I feel like we’re…friends?” she said hesitantly. “Do you think that’s possible?”
“Anything is possible,” her mamá assured her. “And of course people can change. What kind of world would this beif they couldn’t? We need to believe that, or there’s nothing worth fighting for.”
“I just never expected this,” Nina admitted.
Her mamá chuckled. “Oh, Nina. The world can be funny like that.”
Breakfast this morning was served out on the lawns, since the great hall was already set up for the League of Kings closing banquet. When Beatrice had walked past earlier, she’d seen dozens of staff bustling about, polishing crystal wineglasses and setting out place cards. One footman was measuring a place setting with aruler;another knelt at the base of the table, holding a handheld steamer over the tablecloth.
As if Bellevue weren’t crowded enough already, even more people were arriving for tonight’s event. Every royal in attendance could invite a plus-one, and while some hadn’t bothered to make the trip, a surprising number of guests had arrived, from queens consort and crown princes to boyfriends and casual dates. There weren’t many occasions that brought together nearlyallthe world’s royals, after all. You could hardly expect them to pass up the chance to preen and show off for one another.
