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12

Kit

Blood rushed in my ears,the twinkling lights of the room swimming worryingly around me.

Andy’s face changed from surprise to something else, something sadder. Disappointment, I thought. Disappointment in me, probably, for what seemed like yet another betrayal, yet another secret.

Except what Will was saying wasn’ttrue. It was a joke. It’d always been a joke.

Andy turned on me, pretty pink lips parted in surprise, brows knitted together. I couldn’t look him in the eyes, but I knew what they’d look like all the same. Betrayed. Accusing.

Upset. Upset, with me, again. As he had every right to be.

“Oh dear,” Will said with a smirk. “I seem to have started a fight. Better get out of the way.”

I wondered for a moment if the consequences of murdering him in public could possibly outweigh the satisfaction.

Luckily for both of us, he disappeared into the crowd before I had time to decide.

“Have you been secretly engaged this entire time?” Andy asked, and I could tell hewantedto sound angry, but his voice was uncertain. “Is that why you never dated? Is that why you wanted me to pretend to be your boyfriend?”

I never dated because I was only ever interested in you, I didn’t say.Couldn’tsay. Not now.

“No,” I said, taking a step toward him and barely stopping myself from sighing with relief when he didn’t back away from me.

I might have deserved it, if he had.

“No, Andy, please. Please believe me. Will and I were caught kissing behind the boat shed once,one time, when we were in school. That’s all.”

“Boat shed?” Andy raised an eyebrow.

“For the rowing club,” I explained. “I never was much of a rower.”

“You’re so weird,” Andy responded, but he sounded much less upset. There was even, maybe, the hint of a smile in his tone.

“Extremely, but rowing is very normal for… for, umm…”

“People like you,” Andy said. “People who grow up to inherit titles.”

I nodded, wincing internally at how much it felt like an accusation. Possibly itwasn’t, possibly I was just imagining Andy’s distaste for my background, like I always had.

So far, he’d seemed more fascinated than angry. The only thing that had made him truly unhappy was that he hadn’t known.

Maybe I could’ve told him. Maybe he wouldn’t have treated me any differently.

Maybe I’d made a very long, drawn-out mistake.

“Yes,” I said. “Anyway, Mother was delighted. I, uh… I should explain, if you want the closest available thing to arealprince, that would be Will. Since his father passed on a few years ago, he’s been a duke.”

“You say that like I’m supposed to understand what it means.”

“It’s… it’s the rank below prince, sort of.”

Andy’s eyes widened.

“Oh,” he said. “Glad I didn’t throw my drink on him for being an asshole.”

A smile tugged at my lips despite the anxiety over how Andy felt about all this still warring in my stomach. “I rather wish you had.”