“What the hell am I going to do?”
I leaned forward, shut the jets off, and hit the drain. As I wrapped the fluffy robe that had been left for me on, I found myself hoping dinner would go smoothly and that Mark and Julian wouldn’t go at it like animals.
A quick glance at the clock showed I had half an hour until dinner, so I dressed and got ready. I got down to the dining room…after only getting lost twice…and found Hannah and Mark in there, no Julian.
“Where’s Julian?”
“Apparently he got called away for some royal business, so it’s just the three of us.” Hannah smiled.
I wondered why Julian hadn’t told me, but it wasn’t like he had to. “Oh, okay.” I looked at Mark, who seemed irritated. “I’m not going to marry him.” I pulled the chair out and sat across from him.
“I know you’re not an idiot, Wynn, but those papers read like someone who was trying to trap you.”
I shook my head. “No, his lawyers were literally working every angle. They’re royalty, Mark; their plans have plans.”
We were silent while the staff brought our food out. Once they’d left, Hannah spoke up.
“Wynn, you’re going to make whatever choice is best for you in this relationship, and Mark and I are going to support you.”
“Thank you.”
She held up her hand. “That said, something feels off about this.”
“The murder part, because that’s really fucking off.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, it’s crazy that you’re a suspect, but how Julian is acting. It does feel like he’s using this as an excuse to like…” She shrugged. “Keep you here, I guess.”
She wasn’t far off. He’d made it clear he wanted to keep me, and I had a feeling after the forty-eight hours if I said no to his proposal, he wouldn’t accept that.
“Maybe it’s guilt.” What was I even saying? Sure, he probably was somewhat consumed by that, but I was defending the part of him that was scaring me.
“Guilt, for what?” Mark scoffed.
“For inviting me to that dinner. If I hadn’t gone, I’d never be a suspect.”
Mark wiped his mouth. “Just be careful, Wynn.”
“Of course.”
We finished dinner and I made my excuses, claiming I was tired. The truth was, I wouldn’t know what to say if Mark or Hannah brought up Julian and the future.
I’d agreed to stay with Julian in his room, because I was seriously an idiot and Mark was wrong that I wasn’t. It was strange being in this huge room, surrounded by his things but he wasn’t there. I couldn’t bring myself to get into the bed, so I brushed my teeth, washed up, slipped on my pajamas, and went over to the huge sofa by the window. It was comfortable, and the throw blanket was warm. Soon enough, I fell into a deep sleep.
I was gently jostled, and it pulled me from my delicious dream. Or did it? I turned my head and my nose nuzzled into cotton, and the scent was Julian. I rubbed my face against the hard cotton and…Wait. Hard cotton?I opened my eyes in time to see Julian place me down. A swift glance proved he’d carried me to bed.
“Why were you on the couch?” he asked.
I took in his appearance. His blond hair was slightly disheveled. His gray button-up shirt had some wrinkles, and his eyes were tired.
“Where were you?”
“Why were you on the couch?” He arched a brow.
“It felt weird sleeping in this big bed alone.”
The corner of his mouth curved up. “Let me shower quickly, and I’ll be right back.” He left without answering my question.
Suddenly wide awake, I heard the shower turn on. I shouldn’t have wanted Julian like this after he’d practically ordered me to marry him, but I did. It was so fucked up.
