Page 55 of Unmasked

My lip peeled back in anger as I sat, but I grabbed the phone first, ordering dinner and dessert.

“He came to her on the plane. Twice. He didn’t sit in the seat to face her; he sat next to her… as if they were friends or… intimate. He felt her forehead. I’m not sure if he detected her sickness or it had to do with their past⁠—”

“Their past?” Theo looked over, asking between bites.

“The first time she met him she was sick. She had a fever… the flu. He put her in a suite in the palace. He had a doctor come in to check her out.”

“Did he accompany the doctor, because that would be telling.”

Annoyance built within me.

“He did, and he tried to get her to stay until she was well, but you know Penelope.”

He took a drink. “She didn’t.”

“No. She left almost immediately. She’s met him two other times as well. They spent hours together.” I sighed. “They have history, and he probably would have chosen her then had she not got into that scandal with the pictures.”

“Ah. Yes. I know of it.”

My eyes cut over as he worked on finishing off his plate.

“It was in the headlines. My life is the news.”

I lifted my hand, signaling for him to be quiet.

Penelope stood back from the mirror, sliding in one last pin for the twisted up-do. Shorter layers framed her face with loose waves. Black outlined her eyes without the shadow above being too dramatic. Her lipstick was in nude, and she was every bit refined elegance. My breath came out slow… deep. My heart ached at her beauty. When her hand fitted over her stomach, rubbing over the surface, my chest warmed even more.

Baby. Yes. My baby.

“I’m truly jealous of you, just so you know.”

There was no humor in Theodore’s tone. It had me looking over at him.

“She loves you. Like really loves you. And she’s warm and caring and…strong.” He looked over at me. “You chose right. She would die for you. Kill for you. And not just for you, but this,” he said, lifting his hands. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like Penelope before.”

I breathed out, watching as she headed for her door. “Me either. Which is why I can’t let anything happen to her. Because if I lose her, I lose the only good within me. If that’s taken,” I stopped, swallowing back the hellish thoughts that came, “the world should worry.”

Silence played between us, and I festered in the weight. It was the footage from The Reeve’s camera that had me cursing. I watched as Penelope headed for the door on one screen and took in King Lawrence approaching Rowan in the other.

He was wearing all black just as her, and I seethed even more as I took in the velvet trim to the black dinner jacket he sported. It was as if they’d chosen their outfits to match… as if…

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Theodore’s head shook. “He knew she was ready. Are you not the only one watching her?”

“If he⁠—”

I couldn’t go on as Penelope opened the door. She jerked to a stop, and her voice was loud being so close to the camera.

“Your Majesty.”

Surprise.

Disbelief.

It filled her tone.

“How convenient. I was just about to head down. You will accompany me.”