Page 139 of Tall, Royal Hater
The rest of the day passed by with a lot of “Hmm,”“What,”“Apologies, could you repeat that please”on my part while I did my tasks in preparation for Mum and Prince Arsh’s wedding the next evening.
No one commented on it, but I noticed the funny looks they all gave me. I wasn’t usually so spaced out and unfocused, and it was bloody damn irritating that I couldn’t stop my eyes or mind from wandering for more than five seconds at a time.
Eventually, the small public room had been stacked with chairs and boxes of decorations to put up the next morning,a projector and screen had been found, the cake was nearly complete, and Fay’s painting of Mum and Prince Arsh only had a few more finishing touches to be added to it.
By mid-afternoon, I was no less lost in a circle of thoughts revolving around Mariyah and our conversation, but she was no longer in my periphery. The women left the palace to head to a spa, and King Rami had arranged for a meet-and-greet with his younger brother’s favourite football team, so the three princes, the soon-to-be groom, and the king and I headed over to their home stadium.
Dinner was also eaten separately—the ladies stayed out while we returned to the palace. But eventually, after Pierre and Nur joined us, news that they’d returned came through as text messages to the men affiliated with them. That, and Prince Arsh’s friend, two cousins, and Prince Kai’s friends—Trevor, Zain, and Alisha—showed up to join the split celebrations.
Seven of us were gathered around a varnished circular table playing Hold ’em poker, while the others munched on snacks, sitting on the sofas, or played billiards when someone tapped my shoulder.
My attention snapped to my right, where the nineteen-year-old Prince Adam was sitting. He gave me an awkward, pursed lip smile. “It’s your turn.”
Fuck.
I straightened in my velvet-cushioned chair and looked around the table. Prince Kai sat next to me, followed by Trevor, and King Rami. Opposite me, acting as the dealer was Pierre. On the other half of the table sat Prince Arsh, one of his friends, and Prince Adam.
All eight pairs of eyes were on me, plus a few others dotted around the billiards table and sofas, with varying degrees of amusement or concern.
“Sorry, I—” I cleared my throat and turned to Adam. “What did you bet?”
“Uncle Hover raised to one thousand five hundred, and I called.”
I glanced from the older man to the four cards lying face up in the middle then down to my own hand. At best, I had a pair, but I wasn’t in the mood to play my chances to the end.
“I fold,” I said, sliding my cards away from me.
“Again?” Pierre asked.
“Hmm.” I picked up my drink and gulped the fizzy liquid down.
As I set the glass on the table, I caught Prince Arsh’s searching stare. “Are you okay, Shehryar?” he asked.
“He’s been distracted all day,” Prince Fay said as Zain lined up his cue stick.
“He’s thinking about a girl,” Pierre added in a teasing, childish voice, the click of the cue hitting the ball sounding in the background.
“Is the lady who’s consuming your thoughts called Mariyah?” Prince Arsh questioned.
I gritted my teeth as a telling warmth wafted through my cheeks.
“It’s nothing,” I said, scanning the mixture of curious and amused expressions.
“That’s a lie,” Pierre coughed under his breath. I scowled in warning across to him, but his ruby-red eyes danced evermore. “What? She talks to me.”
Jealousy reared its ugly head and bared its venom-filled fangs. All I could imagine was lunging across the table at Pierre, grabbing him by the jumper, and spitting,“Don’t fucking go near her.” Though that would achieve nothing other than make me look like a controlling red flag over a woman who hadn’t said a word to me since we’d argued.
At least Pierre wasn’t as bad as Candy.
As if I’d summoned the prideful arsehole from my thoughts, four phones pinged and vibrated at the same time. Prince Kai, Trevor, Pierre, and Zain all picked up or dug pockets for their phones.
“Candy’s arrived,” Trevor announced, placing his phone back on the table.
“That took him a while,” Zain said. “What was he doing?”
“He said he was going to pick up the dresses and suits from his studio so he could bring them with him tonight when I spoke to him earlier,” Prince Kai answered.
Another round of pings and vibrations echoed around the table.
