But he hated the wounded look in her eyes when he shut her down, and he couldn’t seem to stop himself from trying to fix it, even knowing he’d likely make it worse. “Theo and I have been friends for so long, sometimes it feels like we’re two halves to a whole. We don’t have misunderstandings. We know each other as well as we know ourselves. Fuck yeah, we fight. We’re both stubborn bastards and that throws wrenches into the gears sometimes. It’s not effortless, but I know what Theo needs from me and vice-versa. This is different.”
“This is temporary.”
“Yeah, you keep saying that. Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”
She didn’t seem to have an answer for that, so he kept going. “I won’t use sex as a weapon again.” He allowed himself a slow smile. “Though I meant what I said. Iamgoing to take my frustrations out on your sweet pussy.”
She blushed a cute pink. “Yeah, I got the memo.” Meg turned to face Theo. “Are those shots?”
“Indeed.” He passed out one to each of them and raised his own. “We’re alive. A celebration is in order. Bourbon, good food, and fucking until dawn.”
Meg laughed. “That’s a toast I can support.”
They took their shots as one. Theo met Galen’s gaze and raised his eyebrows, and then turned to Meg. “Why don’t you grab that shower while I get food started?”
She looked between them and sighed. “If you needed time to talk, you could just say so.”
“We could,” Galen agreed. “But you have a nasty tendency to eavesdrop. It’s a terrible habit.”
This time, her smile was bright enough to light up the room. “You love it. What’s the point in devising all those ways to punish me if I never do anything to deserve said punishment?”
Theo chuckled. “She’s got you there.”
“Shower. Now.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” She blew them both a kiss and strode to the only door in the interior. There was a spare bedroom and second bathroom downstairs, but no one had ever used them. They were an eventuality that Galen had planned for without ever following through on. He’d had Theo here. Why would he want to bring someone else?
Meg sure as fuck wouldn’t be using the spare bed.
They waited for the shower to start going before moving to the kitchen. Theo poured another set of shots and slid on toward him. “What if this wasn’t temporary?”
“Don’t.”
“I’m just saying?—”
Galen downed his shot. “Thishasto be temporary, Theo. You have to marry one of the nobles to keep everyone in line. Your mother was a foreigner, and if your father had married another outsider for his second wife, the Families would have revolted.”
“Fuck the Families.”
“You can say that and get away with it. No one else can.” He couldn’t let Theo do this, couldn’t let him offer hope where there was none. “With most things in life, you can power through them and bulldoze people into doing what you want. This isn’t one ofthose things. We’re taking back our country, Theo. That comes with responsibilities for you. A marriage. Being king. You don’t have the luxury of choosing.”
Theo looked at him a moment too long. “This isn’t only about Meg, is it? You’re already working on the wall you’re going to build between us. How does that look in your head, Galen? This future you’re planning without talking to anyone.”
Of all the variations of Theo, Galen hated the reasonable one the most. His friend was so much easier to deal with when he was being sardonic or driven or fanciful. He clenched his jaw. “Like I said—you marry one of those noble girls. She has your babies. Your children inherit. There is no place for me in that picture, not outside of being your head of security.”
When they were young and dumb, they’d gotten blindingly drunk one night and talked about what it would be like if they got married. It was a pretty thought, but it couldn’t happen. The succession had to be cemented, and it had to be cemented without anything too complicated fucking it up. Theo and Galen getting married had complicated written all over it. An impossible dream, just like a future with them and Meg together. Emphasis onimpossible.
“What if we just walked?”
“That’s not funny.”
“Who’s laughing?” Theo took his shot and set the glass down on the counter with a clink. “Phillip might be fucking evil, and Edward might be a child, but I have no doubt they want what they think is best for Thalania. They aren’t going to drive it into the ground and scatter its people to the wind. Maybe it was narcissistic to think that I should be king. I have you. We have Meg. We have more money than we could spend in a lifetime. Why the fuck do I need a country, too?”
Galen snagged the bottle and put it away before either of them could give into the temptation to get shit-faced. “No, Theo.You’re not going down the road. Your father wanted you to be king. He trained you to be king. You have visions for Thalania that are a damn sight better than not driving it into the ground and scattering its people to the wind. Thatmatters.”
“Why?”
He turned to look at his friend. Theo seemed to have aged years in the last few weeks. It should have made him look strung out and exhausted, but the stress had only sharpened his good looks. He really was a pretty fucker. Galen shook his head. “You know why.”
