Page 108 of Tall, Royal and Grumpy

Fuck no. No. No! There was no way Pierre was giving Esmeralda a painted rose before I had. There was no way she could—would accept it either. Shit, would she?

“Hey, Prince,” Candy called out. “Where are you going?”

No answer could pass through the blockade my teeth had formed as I charged past Trevor towards the eastern side of the gardens where the old cherry blossom trees were. If my ears hadn’t been ringing so loudly, I might have heard the single celebratory clap of hands behind me.

“Kai!” Uncle Arsh grinned as I passed him. “Where are you… Okay then. See you—I guess…”

I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. I had one image in my mind I wanted to destroy, but I couldn’t destroy it until I had seen the reality. It was taking everything in me not to sprint to get there quicker.

The moment I shot past the first tree, its naked branches swishing with the wind, I staggard to a halt.

Sure enough, there was Esmeralda with Pierre. Stood near the big sacks of red, green, yellow, pink, and blue powder and a large washing basin full of water the palace staff had spent the early hours of the morning placing in different locations throughout the gardens.

She was laughing at something he must have said. Just as he tucked a painted rose into her hand.

She took it and lifted it up to brush a gentle finger over its petals, smiling so sweetly at it.

Every vein and artery exploded inside me, simultaneously releasing a possessive roar.

He gave her a rose first. He gave her a fucking rose first!

“Esmeralda.” The sound came from deep within my throat but sounded distant to my ears.

Her head flew around, her smile widening. But it dropped just as quickly. Pierre, on the other hand, looked like a smug little fucker. Like he was silently telling me I was too late. He won. I lost.

“Kai,” Esmeralda uttered, a little waver to her voice.

“Oh…this suddenly feels like a very couple-y situation right here,” Pierre said, feigning awkwardness, “so I think it’s time for me to go.” He bent into Esmeralda. “I’m glad you like it, Princess.”

“What?” she croaked.

With his back to her, he winked at me, and strut off with an arrogant swagger to his stride.

I didn’t chase after him to demand why he’d done it, though I really fucking wanted to break his perfectly straight nose.

“Kai,” Esmeralda said cautiously. “Please don’t tell me you think that I—”

“You took a rose from him.”

She blinked. Paused. “What?”

“You took a rose from him,” I repeated, my voice hoarse. “Before I had the chance to give you one.”

She tipped the flower by the stem pressed between her fingers as if she’d remembered she was holding it. “What? No.” She shook her head weakly. “This is—it’s—”

“I’m your boyfriend,” I grated, taking a step towards her. “I was supposed to give you one first.”

Her lips pulled apart then she pursed them together after a breath. My gaze narrowed. Why was her mouth fucking twitching at the corners? “You are, Kai.”

“Then why did you take it from him?”

“I didn’t.” Her voice lifted several tones, light rather than defensive. “I didn’t take it from him.”

“I saw you. He gave it to you, and you took it.”

She curled her bottom lip into her mouth, but it did nothing to hide the tug in her cheeks.

I ground my teeth together. “Do you think this is funny?”

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