“Thanks, Erich. We appreciate it. I’ll have the itinerary sent to your team. We really appreciate it,” Thomas said.
“Of course,” I said. I kept a close eye on Jaq who was doing everything he could not to look interested in the conversation. His gaze swept across the room, and he paused when he looked at me. There was sadness in his eyes, longing maybe? For his own family or something else? I wished that I could ask. I wished that I was seated next to him where I belonged.
Chapter 8
Erich
One hour prior
I sat on the couch in the family room, a glass of scotch in my hand with the fire roaring in front of me. I slowly took a sip, savoring the taste. Prior to this last trip to Asach, I had been home for a month, the longest stretch I’d had without travel in a long time. I didn’t miss it. But I was no closer to being honest with Jaq about my feelings. We spent just as much time together, but anytime I tried to begin a conversation, it was as if he had a sixth sense for what I was going to say and he found a way to distract me or to outright kick me out of his room.
“Hey. I didn’t expect you to be here.” My brother, Cort, came into the room sans his entourage that usually followed him around. The family room was generally off limits to everyone who wasn’t family. His bodyguard was no doubt outside the door.
“I’m surprised you’re here,” I said.
He sat down and let out a long breath. “Yeah. I don’t get breaks very often. It seems like every minute is scheduled. I had to schedule a bathroom break today.”
“Oh, it must be tough to be king,” I teased. I knew that it actually was. But I also knew he had a whole team of people to cater to his every whim. He simply had to say the word and they would bend to his will.
“Fuck off,” he said. “Weren’t you supposed to be in Asach for another few days? The reports I got back about the party said that everything went well.”
“Yes. The trip was fine, I suppose. It was nice to see the king and his family. I just wanted to be home.” And in Jaq’s arms.
“Is that all?” Cort asked.
I grimaced, my back tensing until my back teeth ached. “If I can speak candidly…”
“Of course. You don’t need to censor yourself around me.”
“Well, in most cases I wouldn’t, but this is about your in-laws.”
Cort winced. “Ah. Yes. Them. Would it help if I told you they weren’t my favorite people?”
I snorted. I doubted that asshole former king was anyone’s favorite person. “I couldn’t stand to spend another minute looking at Jaq’s father and wanting to throttle the man. I doubt I was subtle about my dislike for him, and I avoided speaking to him as much as I could while I was there. I hope that doesn’t cause any issues.”
Cort waved a hand in the air. “That is fine. King Damien isn’t unlike us. He understands and respects the crown, but he doesn’t live and die by the stupid fucking rules that have dictated our lives since the beginning of time. He knows Jaq deserves better than what he has received from the former king. Any diplomatic issues usually stem from the former king, and we have to listen to his thoughts less and less. I pay no attention to the things he says to me.”
I had a feeling I didn’t want to know what the former king had said to my brother. Knowing that we’d housed his illegitimate son for the past five years, he probably had a lot to say.
“He’s a piece of work,” I said, and I took another sip.
Cort raised a brow. “Yes. Yes, he is. I’m surprised you care so much.”
“Jaq isn’t allowed back there, is he?”
Cort let out a long breath through his nose. “Not officially. And Damien would never deny him access to his home country if he were to choose to return. However, if it had been left up to the former king, Jaq would have been barred from the country and his citizenship revoked. A rumor I have from a person who doesn’t exist is that the former king had the paperwork all ready to go to have his citizenship dissolved. Even going so far as to remove records that he had been born.”
I clenched my fist. That was so unfair and utterly ridiculous. What kind of person would ever consider doing that to their child?
I suspected something as vile as that, yet hearing the words was like a punch to the gut. No wonder Jacques didn’t trust anyone and didn’t want to put down roots anywhere, when the one place he should have been able to do all of that treated him like garbage.
“I think he’s happy here,” Cort continued. “He seems to be enjoying his work. He has his classes, and the kids love him. Obviously, Thomas and I are doing everything we can to make him stay. We aren’t above using the children as bribery.”
“Why not give him a title?” I doubted it would help, but it was the best I could come up with.
“I’ve tried. I’ve drafted every sort of document with every version of a title there is, but anytime we even start the conversation, he shuts it down. That’s when he starts to talk about some job leads he has someplace. I have no doubt he could get a job anywhere, and I know he has looked. He always seems to have one foot outthe door. We can convince him to stay, but just barely, and we use the kids as leverage.”
“Thomas’s pregnancy couldn’t come at a better time,” I said. I swirled the amber liquid around in my glass, wondering if something stronger would be necessary.
