Page 39 of Tall, Royal Hater
“Okay, fine. Fay might not be interested at all, but Adam’s still young. He might change his mind.”
“That’s true. But it could take years for Adam to change his mind, and that’s if he does.”
“So, what’s the other option?”
She shrugged. “Kareem gets married and has a baby. But that could take years too.”
Esmeralda stared at me. I stared back. She curled her bottom lip in. And I puffed my cheeks out.
“I mean…I’d be more than happy to volunteer to marry your brother and have his babies if that’s what you’re asking. It wouldn’t exactly be a chore.”
A surprised laugh burst from her mouth before she scrunched her face in disgust. “No, that wasn’t what I was asking.”
“Okay. Then, I’m offering.”
“Don’t offer! Stop offering.” I fell sideways against the pillow laughing when she shoved me. “And you would hate being queen anyway.”
“Probably.” I smirked suggestively. “But I wouldn’t hate being with Kareem.”
“Mar!” She slapped my thigh. “Stop.”
“Ow,” I cried through a laugh. “It’s your fault for having a hot brother.”
Esmeralda rolled her eyes but chuckled with me. When our laughter died away, her expression watered down too. “I’m kind of scared, Mar,” she said. “Being apart from Kai is already so hard; I don’t think I could wait years to marry him on top of that. But I’m not sure I have any other choice.”
An ache tore through my chest, and I reacted to it, practically straddling her lap to lock her in a hug. “My beautiful, baby girl, you are not going to have to wait years to marry Kai. We’ll set Kareem up on a dating app and find him a girl ASAP.” She giggled against my shoulder, and I absolutely loved the sound. “Maybe he already has a secret girl? He’s coming tomorrow, isn’t he? Talk to him. Maybe he’ll have a solution we haven’t thought of yet.”
“Hmm, I will.” She squeezed me tighter. “Thanks, Mar.”
“No thanks needed, dude.”
“I know. But I feel like I’ve been dumping a lot on you recently, so thank you.”
The little forgotten knot of anxiety from the previous night made a quiet appearance, taking signal from the opening she had offered me. I hesitated to take it immediately.
“You haven’t been dumping, but…I can return the favour if you want,” I mumbled.
Esmeralda slowly pulled back to look at me. “Tell me.”
We hauled the duvet over our legs and got comfortable against the pillows again.
“So…” I started. “I’ve had a problem for a while that I haven’t mentioned to you.”
She arched one brow teasingly. “Does this problem have anything to do with Sher?”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “Please. He’s not a problem, just a nuisance.”
“Really, Mar?”
Something about the challenge in her eyes made my cheeks warm, but I swiped a hand between us. “This problem has nothing to do with that irritating man-child, okay.”
“Okay.” Laughter laced her tone. “But wewilldiscuss him after this.”
“There is nothing to discuss.” Esmeralda opened her mouth, but I raised my voice and blurted, “I hate my job.”
My best friend clapped her lips together and frowned. “What do you mean? I thought…I thought it was your dream job.”
I grunted and dropped my head against my pillow. “So did I. I mean, it started off that way, but in the last year, I’ve come to absolutely hate it. Everything about it. To the point it’s been giving me anxiety, and I haven’t been able to eat properly.”
