Chapter 294

I waited until Elva’s snores became more consistent, and then, after checking the nanny and the guard would keep watch over her while she slept, I made my way back downstairs.

By now the bonfire had started, and I saw the flicker of flames through the sliding glass door before I ever opened it to go out to the deck and down to the beach.

One of the staff stopped me halfway down the stairs. “What would you like to drink, Miss?”

I ordered another delicious boat drink. I could see the others with their wine glasses and mixed drinks. Even Nicholas had a sifter of whiskey. Tonight, it seemed, was going to be a night of possibly drunken mischief.

This was something none of us could afford to have happen in front of cameras. Truly, a vacation was just what we all needed.

As I headed down to the beach, I found Julian strumming lightly on a dusty old guitar as he tried to bring it in tune.

“I didn’t know you could play guitar,” I said to him.

He grinned at me. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know, Piper.”

I rolled my eyes and kept walking.

Veronica was waiting patiently with a long stick while Jessica struggled to open a bag of marshmallows. Good thing Elva didn’t see the bag before heading upstairs or sleep would have been the last thing on her mind.

Not far from them, Bridget was holding her wine glass and laughing away. Nicholas, beside her, nodded at whatever she was saying. He seemed amused, but not as much as she was, to be laughing so bombastically.

When Nicholas spotted me heading closer, he excused himself from Bridget and made his way over to me.

The outside lights had been turned off and only the fire now illuminated all. Nicholas was even more devilishly handsome in the dancing orange light, and my heart toppled over itself all over again.

“You’re back,” he said.

“I’m back.”

“Elva down for the night?”

“Like a light,” I said. I wouldn’t tell him anything she said, about him and me and her being a family soon. I had no idea how I would explain it, and hearing Nicholas laugh it off as childish musings might actually break my heart.

“Good,” Nicholas said. He moved to stand beside me while facing the fire. “It’s a beautiful night.”

“It is,” I said.

He glanced sideways at me. Then he said, “If we were anyone but the people we are, would we be strangers?”

I looked back at him, wondering about what kind of game he wanted to play. “Would you want to be?”

“Maybe,” he said. “Then I could see if I could win your heart all over again.”

“For the third time?” I asked.

He blinked. “Third?”

What, had he assumed that he had no hold over my heart now since we’d become reacquainted? Had he forgotten everything that had happened since I moved here?

Or was it simply because we didn’t overly talk about that stuff anymore, knowing everything was so futile?

Before I could think of a satisfying answer, the waiter reappeared, holding my drink. He handed it to me and excused himself. He was here only four or five seconds, but it had been long enough for the mood to shift.

“I didn’t mean to bring up old wounds,” Nicholas said.

“You didn’t.”

Julian finally tuned the guitar and began to play. It was a soft kind of ballad that fit in perfectly with a night light this. The bonfire crackled. Jessica laughed as she finally opened that bag of marshmallows. Bridget had wandered closer to them and plucked on from the bag, straight into her mouth.

This night felt special, even with Bridget’s presence. A night like this, out here in the night air with the lights off and the big dark ocean stretched out before us… It felt like freedom.

With no cameras and no responsibilities, maybe this was freedom. It might only be for a week, but even now, after only a handful of hours, it was the breath of fresh air we all so desperately needed.

Everyone was starting to unwind.

I glanced at Nicholas. He was staring hard now into the fire. It made the shadows flicker and dance over the hard plains of his face.

“I wouldn’t want you to be a stranger,” I told him.

He glanced back at me.

“To become strangers means I would have to forget everything that came before this moment.” I smiled at him, genuinely, from the heart. “Every memory with you is a precious one. I’d never want to forget.”

Something shifted on his face. He suddenly seemed much more open. He turned to me, opened him mouth and his arms.

“Piper,” he began.

“Let’s play a game!” Bridget called, bringing us all to attention.

Nicholas’s mouth closed. He looked down.

The moment was gone.

Fifteen minutes later, we were all seated in a small circle beside the bonfire. Bridget, somehow, likely through her superb acting abilities, had managed to convince everyone to take part in this game.

The game she chose?

“Two truths and a lie,” Bridget said. “Does everyone know how to play?”

Everyone nodded, except for Jessica, who just looked confused. She glanced at Veronica for answers. The two were becoming fast friends.

“We go around the circle and everyone says three things about themselves,” Veronica explained. “They say two truths and one lie but don’t reveal which is which. It’s left to the others to guess.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“I’ll start,” Bridget said. Her smile was bright, though her eyes were a bit glassy. I wasn’t sure how many red wines she was in, but I was hopeful that her tipsiness might give the rest of us an advantage in this game. As a trained professional liar, she had a clear leg up over everyone else.

“Go easy on us,” Julian said. He grinned at her. She pretended she didn’t hear him. He wilted slightly.

“Okay…” she looked around at each of us, and suddenly I began to feel somewhat nervous.

The first person to go usually set the tone for everyone else. When Bridget had suggested the game, she had seemed to be in a good mood, full of marshmallows and wine. Now, she was taking on a more serious expression.

The whole thing began to make me feel very nervous. Maybe this was a really bad idea after all.

“Okay. I’m an actress,” she began.

“That’s a truth!” Jessica announced quickly.

Veronica leaned to her. “Wait until she is done, and then guess the lie.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Jessica sipped her own boat drink through the curly straw.

Bridget smiled wider and continued. Her gaze shifted to Nicholas at my right side. “I am in love with Prince Nicholas.”

My heart twisted uncomfortably in my chest. Was that a truth? Was it a lie? What would be the third thing she said?

Then her gaze slid to me. Her smile sharpened.

“I am in love with Prince Julian.”

The air felt sucked from the entire universe. I immediately turned to look at Julian, whose gaze had dropped to the ground.

“Julian,” I whispered, but he shook his head at me.

Wordlessly, he stood and turned to head inside.

Veronica’s face twisted with disgust. “That was a cruel, callous thing to do.”

Bridget looked at her with wide-eyed innocence. “What did I do? It’s just a game.”

“It’s not just a game to some of us,” I snapped.

That was the wrong thing to do apparently, because Bridget’s smile twitched even wider as soon as I opened my mouth.

“Oh, Piper. I know it’s not a game to you. You all want to be mad at me for playing with two men’s hearts, but isn’t that exactly what you are doing, Piper?”

I straighten, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach.

“You are openly dating Julian, but strutting around in Nicholas’s clothes,” Bridget’s eyes were as blazing as the bonfire. “Why don’t you tell everyone which of the two you actually love?”