I laugh a little. “Maybe even especially Elliot. Only one of you three that thinks like I do.”
She chuckles and then burrows back into my chest. I kiss her head again and then look out the window at the clouds passing by underneath the plane.
She goes quiet. “You think this will work out?”
I could lie, but that’s not us. “I think we’ll find a way. But this temporary space, this cool down—it’s necessary. So we’ll survive it together.”
She nods, and the grief on her face is a little less bone-deep than before. “I wish we could see them.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket like a little reminder. “Well, we can’t see them, but we’ll still be in contact despite what I believe the queen would prefer.”
Piper sits up and looks at me. “What do you mean?”
I dig out my phone as it vibrates again and show Piper Elliot’s message. “I’m sure Kellen’s lines will be monitored, but Elliot’s won’t be.Can’tbe with our tech. Here.”
We read Elliot’s message together:Have been instructed (by Kellen’s mother, no less) to discontinue contact with Piper. Please confirm compliance. Will contact when permitted.
I show Piper the message. She snorts. “Are they kidding? They can’t control him like that.”
“Like I said, Kellen’s lines are easy to monitor.” I type a quick response to Elliot confirming that communication will only be happening between us and then pocket my phone once more.
Piper crosses her arms. “They’re treating me like a criminal.”
“I don’t agree with it either.” In fact, I think it’s all stupid as fuck. “But if Kellen allows his parents this bit of control, he may have an easier time talking to them about all of this.”
For a long time, neither of us says anything. The jet hum fills the cabin, and the world outside is a flat expanse of indifference. But in here, the air is thick with Piper’s vanilla-cherry scent and resigned togetherness. There’s no playbook for moments like this, not for anyone.
The best we can do is be together as we are.
Eventually Piper steps out into the aisle and stretches. “Thanks for not letting me wallow.”
“Always, Piper.” I stand, too, and make way for the galley. “I’m happy to hold you whenever you need it. In the meantime.” I fish out two one-cup servings of pre-packaged mint chocolate chip ice cream and hold one out to Piper.
Her eyes light up. “Yes, thank you!”
There are very few things in Piper’s world that mint chocolate chip ice cream can’t at leasthelpfix.
We eat together in companionable silence save for the jet hum and the sounds of spoons scraping against the plastic cups. The sweet chill of mint numbs our tongues.
When the plane eventually lands with a gentle bump that rocks us both forward, the California sun streams through the windows, painting Piper’s face in gold. For the first time since takeoff, her shoulders aren’t tight against her ears. The next few days—the interviews, the damage control, the inevitable questions about the prince—actually seem manageable.
And if it ever seems not, I’ll fix it. That’s my job.
CHAPTER 24
Elliot
Kellen disappeared on me.It doesn’t happen often, but in the days since Piper left the palace grounds, itkeepshappening as I’m drawn into endless meetings and other detail work that takes me away from Kellen.
It’s not that I don’t trust the other Ravenwood Shield security personnel. But Kellen has been my charge since long before I got the badge.
I go up to his quarters first when I return to his manor estate as he’s not in the living room, but he’s not up there either. Most others would search the study next. They’d also find that empty.
There’s only one other place Kellen would be. I round the corner and push open the doors to Kellen’s private kitchen. There he is, having a bare-knuckle fistfight with a mound of dough in the kitchen.
I lean in the doorway. “You know, most people use a rolling pin.”
He doesn’t stop kneading. “Rolling pin’s for flatbreads. This needs hands.” The accent’s gone when he bakes, I’ve noticed. Like he can’t keep up the royal front when there’s flour involved.
