“How long must we stay?” Callum asked.
“I don’t know.” My eyes scanned the crowd, searching for the blond-haired prince who had summoned me for the evening’s festivities. “Ryker hasn’t even bothered to make an appearance despite insisting I had to be in attendance, so I can’t ask him.”
My brother let out a frustrated grunt, while Eamon chuckled from my other side.
“What?” I snapped, taking my frustration out on the hulking giant.
“Oh, nothing,” he said as he rocked back on his heels, his hands stuffed into his pockets. “It’s just amusing watching you squirm.”
“I’m not squirming.”
“You are,” Callum said, earning my ire.
I sucked in a breath as I straightened my midnight-blue gown. “I’m not squirming, I am surveying.”
Eamon’s gaze sparked with laughter. “What’s the difference?”
I was spared from having to respond when my brother made a choking sound next to me.
“Who is that?” Callum growled.
When I followed his gaze, my eyes landed on Riordan and the beautiful redhead draped over his arm.
“That’s Lady Beaumont.” Eamon’s tone held a note of amusement as he studied Callum. “She has been courting ourdear Prince for some time now, and it looks like she’s wearing him down.”
My brother ground his teeth together, his fists clenching at his sides. “If you’ll excuse me.” He handed me his goblet before he stormed in Riordan’s direction.
“What was that about?”
“No idea.” Eamon tried to appear aloof, but the crinkle at the corners of his eyes suggested he knew exactly what had my brother worked up.
As Callum approached Riordan, a smug smirk tipped his lips, and he pulled his date closer to his side. The redhead laughed at something the Prince said, her fingers trailing up his arm possessively.
“Well, this should be interesting,” Eamon mumbled, taking a sip of his wine.
I watched as my brother reached them, his shoulders tense beneath his formal attire. Though I couldn’t hear their exchange, I could read the aggression in Callum’s stance, the deliberate way Riordan angled his body to keep the redhead between them.
“Should we intervene?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the impending collision between my brother and the Prince.
Eamon shrugged. “And miss the show? Absolutely not.”
I shot him a glare, but didn’t move. Call it morbid curiosity, but a part of me wanted to watch the wreckage unfold.
“What are we watching?” A familiar voice asked from beside me, making me jump.
Storm-grey eyes danced with mirth as I turned to face Ryker. Eamon grunted something unintelligible as he took a monstrous bite from a turkey leg.
“Ah,” Ryker said, as if he’d understood Eamon’s every word.
“And where have you been?”
“Miss me, Temptress?” The smirk in his tone was clear, and my irritation flared in response.
“Hardly. I simply don’t appreciate being paraded around as if I’m some prized possession only to be abandoned.”
Across the room, Callum’s voice rose above the polite murmurs of conversation, and Riordan looked downright gleeful. The woman at Riordan’s side stepped back, her perfectly painted lips pressing into a thin line.
“Interesting, isn’t it?” Ryker said.
