Page 57 of Tall, Royal Hater
“Look who finally showed up,” the sole woman said as I let Pierre slip away.
“Not my fault I was escorting a lady,” Pierre said, giving an across-the-shoulder squeeze to the beautiful brown-haired woman. “You look gorgeous, Lish.”
“Thanks Pierre,” she replied, grinning at him as he moved clockwise to the brown-skinned man standing beside her—he was almost as big and as tall as Shehryar. He patted Pierre heavily on the back during their man-hug.
“Who’s the lady?” the famous designer said, his blue eyes sparkling brightly.
Lord Candy Hamilton was the “Prince Charming meets aristocratic bad boy”of the fashion world, who made clothes mainly for women, but tailored suits for men too. But for all men and women, no matter their shape or size, and I absolutely loved him for it. He looked handsome in pictures, but in real life, the old money and blue blood was really showing in his tall, straight posture, strong nose, and thick, slightly arched brows. With blond hair, pale skin, and dark blue eyes, the dark purple suit he was wearing shouldn’t have worked, but it fit Candy’s confident image perfectly.
“Wanna introduce yourself, or want me to do it?” Pierre said, pulling away from shoulder-bumping the mixed-heritage man.
“I got this,” I said and smiled at the semi-circle of people. “I’m Mariyah Levine, Esmeralda’s best friend.”
Candy’s brows lifted like he hadn’t expected my accent. “You’re from Raven?”
“Yeah. We went to university together.”
“Well, any friend of Esmeralda’s is automatically a friend of ours, so it’s lovely to meet you, Mariyah,” the woman said, now tucked against the tall man. She pressed a hand to her chest. “I’m Alisha Sultan, and this is my husband, Zain Sultan.”
The surname rang a bell, but I couldn’t place it as I smiled at them. “It’s lovely to meet you too.”
They were a gorgeous couple. Alisha had a similar big-boobed build to Esmeralda but was closer to my height and softer around the belly. With a light golden skin tone, dark brown hair, and similar coloured eyes, she was beautiful. And her husband was just as handsome with his bronzed skin, dark beard, and relaxed demeanour. It looked like it took a lot to piss him off.
“I’m Trevor Kingston,” the mixed-heritage man said next with a light smile. From close up, he was more than cute, he was hot, but in a pretty way, with light brown eyes that outshone the stars and a playfulness behind his quiet, almost lazy confidence. He was surprisingly well-built too.
Next to him, Lord Candy tipped himself in a slight bow and took my hand in his. “Lord Candy Hamilton at your service.” He pressed a kiss to my knuckles.
“I know,” I said, the words coming out amused.
“All the beautiful ones do,” he purred then straightened.
“Relax, Candy,” Pierre said. “She wants you to introduce her to Ryan Ronal.”
Candy groaned and rolled his eyes. “I rescind what I said. You have awful taste, Mariyah.” He shook his head, disappointed. “And here I was about to tell you that I’d love nothing more than to dress you in my clothes.”
I arched a brow. “You don’t approve of Ryan?”
“All I’ll ever approve of is my assistant refusing his agent’s request to design his clothes.”
“What did I say?” Pierre said, angling to me.
“Okay, fine.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll stay away from him.”
The last man in the group introduced himself as Fay’s friend, but the two of them left quickly after to find Adam. Apparently, the youngest Touman prince had brought his girlfriend along, and Gigi was on a mission to interrogate them both, so Fay was going to try to keep her away.
“You didn’t bring the kids?” Pierre asked, changing the topic of conversation.
“No. They’re with my parents for the evening,” Alisha said. “But they made Uncle Kai a birthday card, and we have strict instructions to tell him it was from them.” She glanced at me. “We have two—Tara and Max—and they both adore Kai and Esmeralda.”
Zain grunted. “Obsessed is the word I’d use.”
“That’s so cute,” I cooed.
“They were so upset when we told them they couldn’t come, but the card helped placate them,” she added.
“Well,” I said, realising the opening she’d given me. “I guess it’s only right that I extend the invitation to them too, so they don’t feel left out.”
Her brows rose. “Invitation?”
