I smother my second bout of disappointment for the morning with a too-wide smile. I’m sure it looks more like a sneer. “Mr. Phillips.”
“Good morning, princess,” he says flatly, not even bothering to humor me with a smile. He’s dressed in brown trousers, a white shirt, and a cream waistcoat, but every article is either wrinkled or improperly buttoned. His hair makes him look like he just rolled out of bed, though I suppose it always has that quality. Before I can say anything else, he barges over the threshold and strolls into my sitting room like he owns it.
I remain by the still-open door, my fingers resting on the handle. “To what do I owe—”
“Close the door, won’t you, Rosey?” He slumps onto the divan.
I clench my jaw. I’m still not fond of that nickname. “My lady’s maid is fetching my breakfast. It wouldn’t be proper to be alone together.”
Placing his arms behind his head, he settles further onto the floral-patterned upholstery. “Aren’t you bored of our game?”
“I’m not sure bored is the right word.”
“Let’s end it.”
My interest sparks. Does he mean end the game? Or end…us?
“You’re one more point away from winning,” he says. “I originally stated we’d play seven games, but if you win the next, there’s no reason to play another. I’ve received word that Father is coming home early. He’ll arrive first thing in the morning, so…let’s just end our game here. With one final play. An easy win.”
A slow and heavy thud pounds in my chest, a rhythm of dread and hope. Half my heart rages at the thought of entertaining even one more game. The other reminds me that this is what I came to do. Marry Monty. Break the curse. If this game’s win is as easy as he says, I won’t have to negotiate with his father. It will be over. I’ll have won.
I’ll have lost, a small voice says inside me, and with it comes a flash of Thorne’s face in my mind’s eye.
No, won, I argue back, picturing my parents rising from their enchanted sleep, their eyes brimming with happy tears when they see me—their hero, their savior. The girl who broke their curse and saved their throne, their reputation, and their finances all at once.
I wait for my pride to swell, for my resolve to strengthen…but it doesn’t.
Still, I swallow the dryness coating my tongue and force myself to speak. “All right. One more game.”
“First,” Monty says, “close the door.”
My hands shake as I do as he said. I’m still determined not to play along if he asks me to do anything I don’t want to do, but…this could really be the end. The fulfillment of my bargain with Thorne.
Thorne.
Thorne.
His name echoes in my heart, an almost painful resonance.
I secure the door and slowly turn to face Monty. He sits upright on the divan, lips curled in a glowing smile. If I didn’t dislike him so much, I’d find him incredibly handsome. His curly blond hair, those dimples that form when he grins, his roguish appeal. But try as I might, I only see an enemy.
An obstacle.
A treacherous roadblock that stands between me and what I truly want. I shudder as I realize a terrifying truth—that he’s not alone on that hateful divide. Beside him stands my family.
My blood runs cold.
Since when did my family become an obstacle? They’re supposed to be my goal. My happiness. My deepest wish. Yet if they’re the divide…then what’s waiting for me on the other side? What is it I truly want, if not them?
“Let’s play our final game,” Monty says, pulling me from my thoughts. He pats his knee. “Sit on my lap and kiss me the way you kissed Thorne yesterday.”
I blink a few times as I reconcile his words.
The way…I kissed Thorne.
Visions of our lovemaking flood my mind. My stomach takes a dive before I realize that isn’t what he means. He’s referring to the kissing game in the gallery.
My pulse calms. “You want me to…kiss you.”
