Page 61 of Tall, Royal Hater
Halting in my steps, I frowned and tilted my head to listen carefully.
It was a man and a woman.
Were they…no, they were talking too much to be fucking.
I moved closer, keeping my gait steady—it wasn’t as if I needed to sneak up on them.
A loud laugh bounced out from the corridor on the right just ahead, and I froze.
I’d recognise that menacing laugh anywhere.
Mariyah.
My frown tightened.What the fuck?Why is she out here?
A vicious hiss shot through my blood, and my hands curled at my sides.
Who the fuck was she with? Was it Pierre? Or Candy?
Teeth gnashed in my chest at the thought of her in a dark corner with one of them or someone else. It was anger, I told myself. Anger at her reckless behaviour when it could reflect badly on Esmeralda if someone who knew they were best friends caught her.
It had nothing to do with the fact her arse had been grinding against my lap yesterday, and the image of her doing that with another man made me want to tear his neck apart no matter who he was.
I moved quickly but silently closer. Fuck, she was going to hear it from me when I—
“Let’s keep it PG-13, Fay. But I am genuinely sorry you saw that.”
I slammed to an abrupt stop.
Fay? As in Prince Fay? Why the fuck is she with him?
Clenching my jaw, I edged towards the wall just before the turn into the corridor but stayed on the rug to keep my steps silent.
“Yeah, me too. Like I said, I’m scarred.” The shudder in the prince’s voice was obvious. “Moving swiftly on though, what kind of painting did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know. It’s up to you, I guess,” she said. “You could either do a live sketch while the ceremony is going on, or we can find a picture of them that you could replicate as a painting.”
Sketch? Painting? For what?
“I suppose if you want to give it to them as a wedding gift, you’ll want it ready beforehand, so replicating a picture might work best.”
“Like a close-up of them laughing together or something they could hang in Prince Arsh’s office. It doesn’t have to be massive, seeing how short notice this is.”
I scowled in confusion until I remembered something she’d said in the office the previous day.
She’d wanted Fay to paint a portrait of Mother and Prince Arsh for their wedding. That’s what she was talking to him about.
Wait…so was she still planning the wedding? After all that crap about not helping me until I’d apologised. She was doing it behind my back anyway. Why?
“Okay, I can do that,” Prince Fay said. “I definitely have a few smaller canvases lying around. I’ll show you around my studio tomorrow morning, and you can choose a size. Uncle Arsh usually comes in throughout the day though, so I’ll do it in the palace basement where I keep my extra pieces.”
“That sounds great,” Mariyah chimed. “I’ll talk to Queen Leila and Esmeralda about a recent picture of them and will try to get you that before the end of tomorrow. Will four-ish days be enough?”
“I don’t have much else going on, so yes, it’ll be enough.”
“Thank you, Fay.” There came a slight rustle of clothes.
“Don’t mention it, Mariyah. You’re the one who came for a holiday but took on the task of planning my uncle’s wedding anyway. I’m happy to help you in any way that I can.”
