Cassie smiled extra sweetly. ‘I’m sure. As I said, this is my only chance to enjoy some freedom while I can. Something you take for granted.’
‘Are any of us really free though?’
‘Spare me the philosophical debate, and yes, some are freer than others. My brother certainly enjoyed his freedom as crown prince, before he became king, after our father died.’
‘Or, in his case,nothis father.’
Cassie’s smile slipped as she recalled that brutal bombshell. They’d found out mere hours before it had made international headlines and Caius had had to leave Sadat Sur Mer to avoid the scrum of paparazzi who had descended on the island. Not to mention the shock and ire of the people who had idolised him.
The starters were served, traditional Greek salad with a twist.
‘No,’ Cassie echoed, ‘not his father.’
‘What happened to you after your brother left Sadat to escape the press?’ Ares popped an olive into his mouth.
Cassie tried not to fixate on those sculpted lips. She shrugged lightly, belying the fear she’d felt in those moments, all alone. Abandoned by her brother. ‘I holed up in the palace and had to wait it out, as our advisors and press corps came up with a response, naming me as queen. There was no other alternative.’
She had to acknowledge, ‘Caius wanted to stay, to shield me as much as possible, but people were angry. They felt betrayed. He would have caused more headlines staying in Sadat.’
‘Overnight you became ruler.’
‘More or less…but not officially until the coronation.’
Ares waved a hand. ‘That’s just a ceremony and paperwork.’
Cassie let out a laugh. ‘I think Pierre, my chief advisor, who runs on anxiety and adrenalin, wouldn’t quite agree. You’re not a royalist?’
Ares took a healthy sip of wine. ‘Why would I be?’
‘Greece still has a royal family, even if it no longer has any power. You come from a dynasty that probably has traditions and bloodlines dating back as far as theirs does.’
Ares went still on the other side of the table. Cassie sensed it.
He said, ‘You’re not far wrong. Maybe that’s why I’m not a fan of entitled privilege.’
‘What happened to you?’
His eyes flashed dark golden for a moment. She was transgressing but she didn’t care. He’d hijacked her peace. But then he shrugged and said, ‘I didn’t care to inherit something I hadn’t worked for.’
Cassie was sure there was more to it than that but she just said a little mockingly, ‘My, my, you must be dizzy on such high moral ground. No wonder your opinion of me is so low. I don’t even have a business to inherit, just a rock of land and and an ancient title.’
He had the grace to look slightly shamed. He said, ‘It’s not quite the same, I grant you. My lack of love for royalty stems more from an unfortunate incident with a princess from another European royal family.’
Cassie’s eyes widened. The waiter put down their main courses. She hadn’t even noticed their starters being removed. She came forward and rested an elbow on the table, her chin on her hand. ‘Do tell.’
Ares couldn’t have looked less inclined to tell, but after spearing a morsel of food from his plate and wiping his mouth with a napkin he said, ‘Princess such and such… I was tasked with protecting her as she did one public event in Paris and then proceeded to shop and party like a one-woman hen party.’
‘So? That can’t have come as a massive surprise. After all, my brother did his best imitation of a one-man stag party. Sometimes with you in tow.’
Ares glared at her. ‘Not the same at all.’
Cassie swallowed a piece of delicious fish and smiled. ‘Double standards much?’
‘Your brother is not spoiled.’
Cassie looked at Ares. ‘No, he’s not.’ And neither was Ares, she was beginning to appreciate.
Ares continued, ‘I think we both know he puts up that playboy front as a smokescreen to prevent people getting too close.’
