But there was no possession, no claim in the way he said the words. It wasn’t what I thought, like so many things at Camelot Court. He said it because I mattered to both of them.
Like that was simply the way it was supposed to be, when they both couldn’t be with me.
Landon nodded and went inside. Kingston watched him go before turning back to me and holding out his hand. “Ready for one more peek behind the curtain?”
“Yes.” I gripped him tightly. “I’m with you.”
When we reached the bedrooms, I ducked into mine to grab my toiletries and—I’ll be honest—my cutest sleep shirt before I crossed the hall to Kingston’s open door.
When I knocked on the doorframe, he didn’t answer, but the sound of running water came from somewhere in the room. I knocked louder and cleared my throat.
My breath caught when he came to the door.
Shirtless, again.
“Uh…”
My words—my every coherent thought—evaporated like snowflakes on my tongue. After everything he’d shared today, I needed to lock it up. His mind had to be far from thoughts like that, but my breathless question gave away his effect on me.
“Permission to enter?”
Kingston took my hand off the doorframe and tugged me into the room. He pulled me into his arms, wrapping them around me. His lips curved as he kissed the top of my head.
“You have no idea what that look on your face does to me.”
“What look?”
“Like I’m more than my family, more than Camelot Court and my role here. A person separate from all of that.” Cradlingmy face in his hands, awe brightened his blue-gray eyes. “You look at me like I’mreal.”
I hugged him tighter. “You are real. And so much more, Kingston. I don’t have all the answers yet, but I do know that.”
He nodded, his chin jostling the top of my head, and a sound coming from the back of his throat. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to speak, but he stayed silent.
We held each other there until finally, he pulled back.
“It was nice to see the two of them like that.”
I tilted my head. “What do you mean?”
“On the same side. Beside you.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “There’s been bad blood between us for so long, it’s hard for them to remember when it started. Which offense caused all the hate and distrust. Sometimes, it’s hard for them to see it wasn’t put there by our hands at all.”
He guided me to the bed, taking steps back until he sat on the edge. His legs opened to slide alongside mine, and I stepped easily into the space between them.
I brushed his hair back and away from his face. “But you remember?”
Kingston closed his eyes as my fingers ran through his soft curls, a murmured assent his only response.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
He nodded, swallowing deeply. “It ties into when all this started with my father. But it’s not—Quinn, there are some parts of my past that might be difficult for you to hear. Parts you might not want to know.”
Leaning forward, I pressed my lips against his. Quieting any more statements like that.
“I want to knowyou, Kingston. The good, the bad…the parts you think might turn me away. Your scars—they’re the pieces I want to know most of all. They’re safe with me.”
My three broody men connected in more ways than one. I’d needed my time with LandonandMax to get to this point.
To look Kingston in the eye and say, “And to prove it, you can see mine first.”
