“Coffee would be perfect.”
There’s noise coming from the kitchen.Probably Brenton having his own afternoon pick-me-up. But I stop dead, seeing it’s indeed not my bodyguard. Aurelia stiffens next to me, then tries to step behind my larger frame, but my brother turns around too quickly.
“Oh, good,” Claus drawls. “You’re finished quickly. Been a while, has it, brother?” He gives my shoulder a nudge.
“Knew I should have never given you the code to the door,” I mutter, swatting him away. “How long have you been down here?”
“Long enough.” He waggles his eyebrows over my shoulder, where Aurelia is trying to hide. I swear I can feel the mortification radiating from her.
“Christ.” I rub my hand down my face.
“Relax, Fritz. It’s not the first time I’ve heard your name cried in the throes of passion.”
My shy little nanny makes a strangled sort of sound in her throat, which only makes my dick of a brother grin wider.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” he asks, turning back to the counter.
I look at Aurelia over my shoulder. She’s as red as a Christmas flower, and her eyes are about to pop out of her head. I shrug to her. There’s no escape now. Undoubtedly, Claus has already recognized her from the party at the palace on Friday. He’s like Father—never forgets a face. I silently coax her from behind my back.
“Aurelia, this is my younger brother, Claus. Secondin line for the throne, first in line for the crown of assholery.”
“That crown will one day be mine when you shed your own assholery and take the throne,” he says, turning back to us with a steaming cup in hand. “Coffee, Miss Aurelia?”
The corners of her mouth tick up, and I guess I’ll sacrifice myself at the expense of her ease.
“Oh, yes, please.” She takes the offered mug, a white one with an artful letter “R” on the side.
“Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?” I ask my brother as I take a glass bottle of cream from the fridge and pour some for Aurelia, remembering our coffee date on the train. She smiles despite the embarrassment still clear by the color of her cheeks.
“I needed coffee.”
I blink at him, but he just smirks. “There’s coffee made literally around the clock at the palace.”
Claus shrugs, taking a smug sip. “Yeah. But I like the kind you have better.”
“All you have to do is put in a request to the storeroom manager,” I mutter, grumpily dumping sugar into my coffee, splashing a few drops over the side.
“And miss the chance to meet your new lady friend?” He flashes a wink at Aurelia. “Though I’m not sure how dear Cousin Beatrix would feel about you shagging her date.”
Both Aurelia and I sputter out some version ofwe weren’t shagging,and his grin grows.
“Assholery,” I murmur as I push a stray strand ofhair behind her ear and press a kiss to her forehead. “I’m sorry, mi’ lady. This wasn’t quite how I imagined you meeting a member of my family.”
She chuckles. “I didn’t expect you to have the kind of family that just shows up unannounced.”
“It’s a curse,” I growl, glancing up at my brother, who’s still wearing the fake sweet smile that always worked on the nannies.
“I, uh…” Aurelia bites her lower lip in that way that makes me what to kiss her silly. “I should probably get going.”
“Don’t let him scare you off.” I gesture back at my asshole brother. “He’s a dick, but he’s mostly harmless.”
She huffs a little laugh, and I don’t stop myself from kissing her again, even as Claus makes gagging noises behind me.
“No,” she says, a little breathless as I pull away. “It’s not that. But I do have some studying to do and dinner with my aunt later.”
“Let me call you a car then.”
“She can borrow Chase,” Claus calls from the sitting room, where I’m sure he’s not using a coaster on Uncle Wilbur’s rustic side tables that I’d sanded and refinished just last week.
“Chase is his protection officer,” I explain to Aurelia. “I’d offer to ride with you, but I know you don’t want to risk the media attention if we’re caught together.”
She smiles up at me, and it nearly knocks all the air from my lungs.Fuck she’s beautiful.
“It’s fine; I’m sure Chase can handle getting me home just fine.”
“I’ll walk you out.” I reach for her hand, relishing that I can actually hold it now that we’re in the privacy of Kipton grounds.
“It was nice to meet you, Golden Girl,” Claus yells from the sofa.
