“Thank you, ma’am,” I said, nodding my gratitude.
“Where is the old boy?” King Leroy asked, referring to my father.
“He should be here shortly, if he hasn’t already slipped in.”
King Leroy took his wife’s hand, interlacing their fingers. “We’ll be sure to send him your way if we see him. Congratulations again, Adelaide. It’s quite a feat to pull off an event like this.”
I dipped another quick curtsy and watched as the couple continued through the courtyard, stopping several feet away to greet a small group of our regular donors.
“Adelaide.”
I swallowed, turning to face the man I had been foolishly hoping to avoid for the rest of my life.
“Your Highness.” Coldness laced my voice as I curtsied yet again.
Oliver’s voice lowered so only I could hear him. “Adelaide, can we talk?”
“Oh,nowyou want to talk?”
“Please?”
My stomach hollowed out as I stared at him, my eyes wide, daring him to blink first. He didn’t. After what might have been seconds or an eternity, I answered, “Fine.”
“Is there somewhere private we can go?”
I knew I shouldn’t be alone with him. But I also knew I didn’t have it in me to be kind, and I didn’t want someone to overhear me being disrespectful to the prince.
“There’s a corridor at the back of the building. Go through the doors behind us, turn left, take the second right, then follow that corridor to the end and turn left again. I’ll go first; follow me in two minutes.” I didn’t wait for his response, spinning on my designer-clad heel and marching off.
Several minutes later, I was pacing the hall when Oliver turned the corner, tucking his phone into the breast pocket of his jacket. I wasn’t naive enough to think that he hadn’t had to alert his security team about where he was disappearing to. After all, try as I might, I had not forgotten the party at Vince and Chauncey’s place all those years ago.
Oliver’s silver eyes brightened when they landed on me. He stopped a few paces in front of me, his hands in his pockets. “You look beautiful tonight.”
I shook my head. “Not here.” I knew the odds of anyone venturing this far into the school was unlikely, but I still felttoo exposed. The last thing I needed was for anyone to find us together. I glanced around and spotted a storage closet a few meters to the right. “In here,” I said, ducking inside and pulling the chain for the light.
Oliver followed me in, bemusement on his face, and closed the door. I instantly regretted my decision—the small closet had us just inches from each other—but it was too late now. I pasted on a bored look and pretended to be unaffected by my proximity to the man who had once given me the best sex of my life.
I crossed my arms. “Okay. You wanted to talk, so talk.”
“Adelaide, I just…what happened? After the party, after our night together? Did you not?—”
Anger flared in me and I narrowed my eyes. “What the hell do you mean, ‘What happened?’ I woke up the next morning, and you were gone, Oliver. I never heard from you again. So perhapsyoushould be the one tellingmewhat happened,” I spat.
Oliver’s eyes widened. “Laidie, I left you a note.”
My stomach fell into my ass as my vision narrowed. That was the last thing I had expected him to say. In my shock, my arms dropped to my side. “What? No, you didn’t.”
Oliver stepped forward, closing the small space between us and took my hands in his. I could still feel light calluses on his fingertips from his guitar. “I promise you I did. There was a security emergency early that morning, before dawn, and I got called back to the palace. You looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to wake you, so I wrote you a note saying that I wanted to see where things could go and that you could call or text me any time if you felt the same way. I gave it to your flatmate before I left.”
I closed my eyes, trying to process what I was hearing. “Collete,” I muttered. She had never said a word, insteadfeigning ignorance and joining in my rants about the audacity of men in the weeks that followed. She had been as relieved as Dash was when Theo and I broke up, and I knew that she was distrustful of the aristocracy, but I had never expected this. I was suddenly glad we had drifted apart over the last few years, as this new information would certainly have destroyed any remaining friendship.
I opened my eyes, my gaze meeting Oliver’s. His eyes were wide, a mix of concern and hope in their depths. “You never got the note, did you?”
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I didn’t.”
“Would you have…” His words trailed off, but he didn’t have to finish his sentence for me to understand the question.
Yes, I would have called him. Yes, because despite my trepidations, Oliver had gently taken down my walls, brick by brick, and shown me what it looked like to have someone take care of you. Yes, because I had fallen for him, hook, line, and sinker.
