Chapter 207

For his date with Olivia, Nicholas had arranged a special two-person table in one of the sitting rooms, where they would share their lunch together.

With Julian’s insistence we eat with them, that two person table was turned into a four person table by adding two chairs and two more table settings. The new arrangement barely fit. Everything was crammed on the table, with barely room to set down a water glass, let alone food.

As such the meals were hand delivered on platters by the servants, and each of us would scoop out our portion, then the servants would return the food to the kitchens and wait to be summoned for the next course, or perhaps, seconds.

What they had prepared was delicious, as always, so the four of us – Nicholas, Julian, Olivia, and me – ate in silence for a time, as we each enjoyed the meal.

The seating arrangement had another, more personal problem. Julian had chosen to sit beside Nicholas, which placed me between Julian and Olivia. That would have been fine, except now, seating across from Nicholas, every time I raised my gaze, I would find myself looking directly at him.

He was the very last person I wanted to eat with at the moment, let alone look at.

The camera crews captured it all.

Remembering what Charlotte had said, that some of the viewers catalogued every stolen glance and touch Nicholas and I shared, I did my best to avoid looking at him too closely. Instead, I tried to focus my full attention on Julian.

Julian seemed absolutely delighted by the change. He smiled brightly whenever our gazes met. More than once, he nudged his hand against mine for no other reason than to gain my attention. Then he would wink at me.

His winks always made me blush. They seemed so lewd somehow, even if it was just such a simple gesture.

“Piper,” Julian said. “You have to try this.”

“Try what?” I asked, looking up.

He held his fork out, a bit of food on the end. He smirked as he held it out for me to bite.

I really wanted to roll my eyes at his antics. But with the cameras watching, I had to play up the role of the doting girlfriend.

So I did the best I could. I quickly said, “Thanks,” and snatched the food off the fork with my mouth.

Julian hummed, pleased.

I chewed and swallowed. “That is good,” I said. I wasn’t surprised, exactly. Everything the chefs had prepared was excellent. But for Julian to select something I would actually enjoy more than most was a surprise to me.

A pleasant surprise.

“Thank you, Prince Julian,” I said, to properly convey my thanks, and not just for the cameras.

“My pleasure,” he said.

On the other side of me, Olivia daintily clinked her fork down on her plate. “You haven’t touched your food, Prince Nicholas,” she said. “Do you not feel well?”

I didn’t mean to look. Really, I didn’t.

But the thought of Nicholas being sick forced my gaze. Olivia was right. Nicholas’s plate was fully covered in food, as if he hadn’t taken one bite.

“I feel fine,” Nicholas said. “I just lost my appetite all of the sudden.”

I glanced up at him and found him staring back at me. My heartbeat kicked into fast gear and thundered in my ears.

His eyes were molten, liquid gold. I was trapped. I was melting…

“Is the food selection not to your liking?” Olivia asked. “We can request a different meal prepared…”

Nicholas dropped his gaze, then slid it over to Olivia. “Do not trouble the staff with that. The food was excellent, as always. The fault is mine alone.”

Julian, who had just finished his own meal, stretched his arm out over the back of my chair. “Such a pity, brother. This was definitely a meal to savor. A pity you quit it so soon…”

Slowly, Julian moved his arm forward, placing his hand onto my shoulder instead.

In my head, I commanded myself, Don’t go stiff. Don’t go stiff. Don’t go stiff.

If I cared for Julian romantically, I would be pleased by this clear sign of ownership and affection. So I tried to play the part and smile. It felt uneasy on my lips.

God, I was such a terrible liar. The cameras were likely capturing my awkwardness.

I had to try harder. I really had to sell my feelings for Julian.

I took a breath, giving myself a moment to think. If Nicholas had done this instead of Julian, how would I have reacted?

It wouldn’t be the same, but if I was playing pretend…

I imagined Julian to be Nicholas, and that it was Nicholas’s arm around me.

Then I smiled for real.

Julian’s own smile slipped. He blinked, his eyes wide for a moment. He swallowed hard.

On the other side of the table, Olivia was speaking softly, asking Nicholas things such as, “Perhaps we can try again at dinner?” Or, “Would you like to go for a walk when we are done here?”

Nicholas gave no reply to either of those questions.

Curious, I slanted my gaze toward him. The ferocity of his glare stole my breath away. He looked as if he wanted to take Julian’s head clear off his shoulders with his bare hands.

Julian, seeing Nicholas’s expression as I did, just smirked wider.

A second more, and Nicholas’s gaze slid to me instead. It instantly softened. My heart turned to goo at the sight. His eyes were so full of affection that I couldn’t look away even if I’d want to.

I remembered, rather suddenly, that I wanted to.

Or, at least, I was supposed to want to.

How was my plan to dote all of my affection onto Julian supposed to work when Nicholas kept looking at me like that?

I knew then that I needed to speak with him again. If he knew the danger he was causing simply by looking at me like that, then surely he would stop.

For the good of the kingdom, and all that…

I waited until our double date was officially over. When both Julian and Olivia were pandering to different cameras, I slunk back into the shadows and asked Nicholas, “Can we talk?”

He didn’t say anything, just nodded, and led me toward the foyer. A series of closets lined one wall. There was chatter around, but no one in the direct vicinity. No one would see us talking here.

“You have to stop,” I said.

He stared at me. He didn’t say a word.

Maybe he was waiting for me to clarify myself.

“You look at me like you love me,” I said. “And the cameras see it. Charlotte said the public has been able to tell. That some of them are rooting for me and you instead of me and Julian. So it has to stop, Nick. When we’re in front of the cameras, you have to, to…”

I didn’t know how else to say it. He was still quiet, still staring.

“Maybe just don’t look at me when they are near,” I said.

He licked his lips. Was he even listening to me?

My frustration began to spike. “You know what? Forget it. Do what you want.”

I started to turn, ready to walk away from him, from everything. If he couldn’t stop, then I’d just have to avoid him. I could talk to Julian about it. If we could get on the same page, then –

Nicholas grabbed my wrist. With his other hand, he reached for one of the closets and opened it. He yanked me inside, then closed the door behind us.

Before I could even realize what was happening, his mouth was on mine.

And I was lost.