Page 153 of Tall, Royal Hater
Old habits died hard, and at some point, I’d taken my tie off and made my way to the closest wall and silently observed from a familiar position. The only difference was that while I still kept an eye on Esmeralda, she wasn’t the only one I watched. From the vantage point of being by the wall, I could see Mariyah wherever she went, whoever approached her, and however she danced.
I snuck a quick glance to check Mariyah was still at the table, taking a break; Esmeralda seemed to have disappeared from the seat next to her. “I’m just watching,” I said to Mum.
“Well, I suggest you do less watching and more dancing,” she replied, sinking back against her new husband’s side. “Don’t miss out on having fun with everyone.”
“I won’t. But are you having fun?”
Prince Arsh looked at Mum as she looked to him, and they both grinned. “Yes, we are,” she said lovingly. “Thank you, Sher. For putting this all together with Mariyah. It was lovely.”
I offered her a smile and shook my head. “No, Mum. It was the least I could do after the way I acted—have been acting.” I swallowed slowly. “I’m sorry. To the both of you.” I held PrinceArsh’s gaze. “For the things I said and for making assumptions off what happened in the past.”
I couldn’t have said I was a hundred percent comfortable with the idea of being in the public eye for the rest of my life, or having to hear and see people scrutinising Mum, or judge us when they found out whose son I was, especially if—and that wasif—I wanted to give Andrew Platmon a second chance. But the last ten days had challenged a lot of my issues, fears, and unease, and it definitely hadn’t been comfortable, but it had been what I’d needed. And the wedding, seeing Prince Arsh waiting with wet eyes at the end of the aisle for my mother had been the balm to most of my worries and shed the light that confirmed I had been wrong about a lot.
“Don’t be silly, Shehryar,” Prince Arsh said, shaking his head. “Being protective of your mother is nothing to apologise for. You’re a good son and an even better man for the way you care.”
“Still,” I said. “You were far more patient than I would have ever been.”
Mum scoffed, and Prince Arsh chuckled. “Well, I am not inherently so, but you and Katiya were and are both worth it. And it paid off. Because you’re my family now.”
Tears filled my mother’s eyes as she curled into Prince Arsh and kissed his cheek. A lump formed in my throat that I struggled to swallow around.
Somewhere inside me there was a little boy who smiled at the prospect of having some sort of father figure who actuallywantedand joyed at having me and Mother in his life.
It occurred to me then that maybe I’d resisted the idea of getting close to Prince Arsh because the thought of that little boy being let down again wasn’t something I was sure I could have handled.
Prince Arsh cleared his throat and blinked rapidly, grinning away the obvious sheen glistening in his eyes. “Moving swiftlyon.” He chuckled lightly. “Your mother and I have something for you. Nothing big, but just a small thank you for what you did for us today.”
The older man pulled his hand out from behind his back, and a little blue bag dangled from the white rope straps across his fingers. I stared at it, unsure what to do. “You didn’t have to,” I said.
“No, but we got Mariyah something, so it only seemed right that you got something too.”
Swallowing, I placed my glass into Mum’s awaiting fingers, then took the bag from Prince Arsh. Going off the brand name printed on the bag, I knew what it was, but an appreciative smile still stretched across my face as I snapped open the box inside and saw the glistening silver wristwatch with the exposed clockwork visible behind the glass face.
“Do you like it?” Mum asked.
“Yes, I do. Thank you.”
Her smile widened. “Mariyah chose it.” That made me pause. “She asked for an engraving on the back too.”
With a curious frown, I set the bag down between my feet and pulled out the velvet cushion the watch was strapped to. I slid it off, flipped it over, and on the back of the face was a detailed sketch of—
I stilled. And squinted. And brought it closer to my face. “Is that a…”
“A peanut,” Mum said curiously. “Yes, it is.”
A surprised grunt burst from my lips before I let them rise into a grated grin.
Oh, that fucking little menace.
Prince Arsh arched a brow. “I take it it’s an inside joke?”
“Yes,” I said with a shake of my head, but no fucking way was I going to explain to my mum and her new husband that the peanut was a reference to my dick.
I clipped the watch back around the cushion, slipped it into the box, and placed it back in the bag. When I looked up, Mum and Prince Arsh were staring at me with identical smug expressions.
I straightened. “What?”
“Esmeralda knew what she was talking about,” Prince Arsh said, his hazel eyes dancing.
