Chapter 212

Nicholas continued to stare at me, waiting for my answer. He seemed entirely unbothered by the gathered crowd of their assumptions.

“Piper?” he asked, when I hesitated.

“Of course we can speak,” I said.

Nodding, he turned.

“If you will excuse me,” I said, first to Julian and then to the gathered crowd. Then I darted to follow in Nicholas’s shadow. He had already started walking away.

When we were far enough out of earshot, I moved from Nicholas’s shadow to his side.

“Those girls are the same ones who have made assumptions about us… I’m afraid your request might have added more fuel to the fire,” I said.

“I need to speak with you. Did you want me to wait until after the ball?”

“No, of course not. But those girls… and probably others…” I stepped closer to him and lowered my voice. I didn’t want to risk being overheard. “They can tell about us just from the way you look at me.”

Nicolas lifted his brow, then glanced at the limited space between us. I quickly stepped to the side, away from him. He frowned, clearly displeased by the action.

The displeasure seeped into his voice. “Am I supposed to stop looking at you?”

“No,” I huffed. “But when you look at me in a certain way…”

“What certain way?” he asked.

I glanced around quickly. Nicholas had walked us into the corner of the room, away from the any eavesdroppers. Good. I could drop the act for a minute.

“Come on, Nick. Why are you being so difficult about this?”

“I’m not being difficult, Piper. I just don’t think it matters. They are always going to think what they want, but they don’t have proof.”

“But we need to play our parts. We need to keep up appearances.”

“We are doing that.”

“Are we? When we keep looking at each other like we –” love each other? I bit back the words. I didn’t dare say them aloud.

Nicholas didn’t like that. His brow lowered. He stepped closer to me, right up into my space. “Looking at each other like we what, Piper?”

I swallowed down the words. Looking up at the intensity of his gaze, I felt a warmth in my chest. He knew what I had been about to say. He had to. He just wanted me to admit it.

But how could I? This was hardly the time or the place, even though my heart hammered from simply being near him. From him looking at me like this.

I looked away first.

He didn’t initially react, not that I could tell. But oh so slowly, he stepped backwards, creating more space between us. It felt as wide as a canyon. I hated it.

Yet I couldn’t take it back. The moment, rightly or not, had ended. All I could do was press forward.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked.

“I didn’t get the chance to speak with you before,” he said, sounding earnest, “but Piper, please don’t act tonight without telling me. I know how eager you are to take down Jane, but it’s dangerous. Too dangerous for you alone. Bring me with you. Let me be your muscle.”

The offer seemed genuine, but I knew better than to assume it could be fully counted on. Nicholas on his own was sure and true. If he made promises, he sought to keep them. But tonight, his attention was divided. How much did he owe to me, and how much did he owe to his actual date Olivia?

“Won’t you be too busy with Olivia?” I said, cruelly. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I was hurt. So the words slipped out. I dipped my head in shame.

A moment’s quiet passed between us. Outside our small, two person bubble, the ball proceeded in fashion. Music began, and the cameras took to capturing the smiling faces of the dancers.

Then, to me, Nicholas spoke again, “Look at me, Piper.”

I hesitated at first, but he didn’t move from his spot in front of me, like he was patiently waiting me out.

So, eventually, I chanced a glance upwards.

Nicholas captured my gaze with his own and held me captive. He held so much emotion in his eyes – blatant affection – it stole my breath away.

“You know who I’d rather be with,” he said.

He meant me.

And the words stole my breath away.

I’d rather be with him too. “Nicholas…”

“Find me,” he said, “before you make a move on Jane…” He sighed. “Or find Julian. Just don’t do anything on your own.”

This felt like a pivotal moment, like he was barring his heart, and it was time for me to do the same. I wouldn’t disappoint him. I wanted him to know his affections were reciprocated, in case there was any question about it.

“I’ll find you,” I said. It was a difficult thing to promise. No one knew when or how Jane would appear. It was likely that Nicholas would be in an entirely different part of the room. But no, I would still make an effort to get to him.

I would try, anyway. Because he wanted me to.

Slowly, he nodded. “Thank you.” But I could see with the flash of uncertainty in his eyes that he didn’t quite believe me.

“I’ll have my necklace,” I said, gesturing to where the full moon pendant rested just above my bosom.

Nicholas frowned deeper at it. “Yes, but…”

Beside us, Julian cleared his throat, making us both jump. This added a few more inches between us.

“If you are done stealing my girlfriend, Nicholas?” Julian said. “I think your fangirls got enough pictures of you two to satisfy them.”

We all glanced back at the overeager group of women who had inched closer to where they now stood. Many looked embarrassed at having finally been noticed. The woman with the glasses was still recording on her phone, unashamed.

Julian made a show of offering his arm to Piper. Piper quickly accepted, afraid any hesitation would come off poorly on the video.

Nicholas glowered, but I couldn’t point it out to him without making it seem like I was speaking to him privately again. So I just accepted that he would glare. The girl with glasses moved her fingers over the screen like she was zooming in.

Julian all but rushed me away from Nicholas, and the group of girls.

“You two all huddled and broody in the corner,” Julian said. He spoke with an upbeat cantor, but I knew I was being lectured. “Did you forget the purpose of tonight’s event?”

“To catch Jane…”

“No!” Julian swooped me onto the dance floor.

Suddenly his hand was on my hip and the other clutching mine as he pulled me into step with the rest of the dancers.

“We are supposed to look like we are having fun, remember? All sunshine and happiness, to let all the good people at home know how great everything is,” Julian said. His smile was bright and wide, and it didn’t look fake at all.

God he was a good actor. Dangerously good.

If he wasn’t a prince, he could have been a movie star. He had the looks and the talent, not that I would admit either to him. He was smug enough as it was.

But he was right in this too. I hadn’t forgotten the theme of the night’s event exactly, I’d just been preoccupied.

“I’ve always believed in putting art into practice,” Julian said as he spun me around. I felt light as a feather in his capable hands. “So maybe rather than pretending to have fun… how about we actually have some?”