Page 71 of Fit for a King

This was torture.

How could I not notice the downward tilt to his mouth, or the way his hazel eyes looked darker today? I couldn’t imagine having to be in his shoes, what it must be like to see me with Alejandro and having to melt into the shadows.

I would’ve been happy to disappear into the shadows with him right about now, instead of readying myself for a performance. Where was Gabriel when I needed him?

“All set, sir.” Noah fastened the last medal and took a step back, scanning me to make sure everything was right where it needed to be. Then he nodded, and when he looked up at me again, I felt my heart squeeze.

“Thank you…Bennett,” I said, remembering at the last second not to use his first name with others in the room.

Noah’s eyes searched mine, so many emotions flickering through his gaze, one after the other. Then he bowed his head and I was whisked away to the formal dining room that overlooked the vast grounds, which seemed as though they were dripping in gold from the setting sun.

“You look very handsome this evening, Your Majesty,” Alejandro said as we settled into our seats, and it would never not feel strange to sit at the head of someone else’s table, but that was the way of it as king.

“Thank you,” I said, returning his once-over with one of my own, playing my role to perfection. “You look very dashing as well.”

His smile was bright as the footmen moved between us and his other guests to pour glasses of wine, like some well-rehearsed dance. It was a standard task that was so seamless and efficient, I wouldn’t usually pay attention to it. But the fact it was Noah standing at my side did nothing to help my awareness of the fact he was there.

Close enough to touch. Yet so far away he might as well be on another planet.

But by my side was the rightful place of my senior footman—and, in my mind, the only place for Noah.

“I can’t tell you what an honor it is to host you this evening. I was very pleased to hear your tour would bring you my way.”

I reached for my glass and took a sip, knowing I needed to play the attentive and content fiancé. Gabriel had done such a convincing job of being thrilled to be betrothed to Alejandro that if I messed it up now, this union’s failure would be on my shoulders alone.

“A happy coincidence, that’s for sure. We appreciate your hospitality.”

“Of course,” Alejandro said, leaning over and placing his hand over the top of mine, and it took everything I had not to jerk it away. “I was thrilled to learn I’d be seeing you again so soon. Our time together at Montclair was cut much too short.”

My heart raced as he stroked his thumb along the back of my hand, but it had nothing to do with his touch and everything to do with the feeling of guilt churning in the pit of my stomach, knowing that Noah was seeing this.

It also occurred to me that this touch was a little more personal than I’d presume to partake in after one meeting.

Just how close had Gabriel gotten to Alejandro de la Vega?

“Well, hopefully this makes up for it.”

“One night?” Alejandro chuckled. “Doubtful. But what’s more romantic than a long-distance love affair?” He said it with such drama as he fell back into his seat and looked down the table at the rest of his guests. “Am I right? They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. I suppose that will make us madly in love by the time of our nuptials.”

There was a muffled cough to my left, and I turned to see Noah standing ramrod straight beside one of Alejandro’s footmen, his head angled high, his eyes fixed on the opposite side of the room.

For a moment I thought I’d imagined it, but then Noah shifted on his feet and I saw his jaw bunch.

“Sir?” Alejandro said, waiting for me to respond.

It took every ounce of acting skill I possessed to force a smile to my mouth. “I have no doubt about it.”

But I must have been convincing, because Alejandro’s guests all raised their glasses in a salute to the “loving couple.”

I felt like I was going to be sick.

The first and second courses came and went smoothly enough, though if anyone asked me what I’d eaten, I wouldn’t be able to say. My mind was constantly wandering to the man on my left offering a platter, replacing my cutlery, or filling my glass, instead of the man to my right whom I was supposed to be concentrating on.

It wasn’t fair to either man, and the longer the dinner went on, the more irritated I became with myself. What kind of man was I to be breaking bread with one while thinking about another? And even worse, having that man serve the bread.

It was despicable behavior, certainly not the kind befitting a king. But when my serviette fell from my lap and Noah immediately appeared by my side to replace it, my mind transported me to our time together the night before.

I glanced down as he gently placed it across my lap, and the sadness in his eyes just about broke my heart before he moved back to his place with the other staff against the wall.