Page 34 of Fit for a King

Alejandro de la Vega.

He would be here tomorrow, the crown prince, with his fiery personality and excellent bloodline that would make our match an advantageous one. My father had been keen on joining our kingdoms, and my advisors and the de la Vegas were moving things forward at a pace that made my head spin.

It wasn’t that Alejandro wasn’t attractive—he definitely was. And it wasn’t that he wasn’t intelligent, or that I didn’t know that, logically, this was a smart decision. Of course I did.

The problem was that this match mattered so much to everyone…but me. My life had always been arranged, down to the smallest detail, and I could see the way it would all unfold.

Tomorrow they’d place Alejandro at my side publicly, and though we wouldn’t be announcing anything, all of Valoria would watch and whisper, and by morning the papers would be splashing a royal future wedding on the front page. One I didn’t choose but would be expected to follow through with.

A prince for a king.

The words sat heavy on my chest, but as I started through the wide ballroom doors, I forgot all about it. Because Noah Bennett stood inside, alone in the center of the room, still perfectly dressed in his livery, though his hair had fallen over his forehead as he looked down at his feet and muttered to himself.

“That’s not right,” I thought I heard him say.

Curious, I watched him, waiting to see what he was up to and what “wasn’t right.” A few seconds later he began to count, and that was when I noticed it matched the beat of the soft waltz that was playing.

Noah stepped forward, then to the side, but if he was attempting to dance the waltz, he’d just gone in the opposite direction. Like he knew it, he cursed, and I couldn’t help my grin at the way he glared at his feet like they weren’t following his orders.

That was going to be a problem.

Not the fact he couldn’t dance; he wouldn’t be at the ball as a guest. But the fact he made me want to smile—among other things.

Noah Bennett was a complication I wasn’t sure how to navigate. But every time I found myself in his vicinity, I was immediately aware of him—from his thick hair, which had lighter strands running through it, to his pressed and tailored livery and the way it fit him to perfection.

Of course it did; it was measured to his exact specifications. But for some reason, the uniform seemed to accentuate his broad shoulders in a way that always had me taking a second look, and third, until, like now, I found myself unable to look away.

I could have him removed from my service, transferred to some other part of the palace. But that didn’t seem fair when he’d done nothing to deserve it.

Also, selfishly, I didn’t want him to go anywhere. I liked having him in my presence, would miss him if he was gone, and for that reason, I would continue to tempt fate.

I was so busy watching him that I didn’t think to be more discreet, so when he spun around—again, the wrong way—he happened to look up, and when he saw me standing there, he started toward the small speaker on a nearby table.

“Your Majesty, I apologize. I didn’t realize you were finished for the evening.”

“Leave it.”

His brow furrowed, his fingers hovering over the speaker. “Sir?”

“Keep it on. The music.”

“Oh…are you sure?”

Was I sure? If I were smart, I’d demand he turn it off and leave. I’d retire upstairs alone and then spend the next couple of hours tossing and turning while sleep evaded me.

Instead, I walked inside, and that was my first mistake.

Actually, if I were honest with myself, I’d made more than one with Noah. Starting with when I’d taken Gabriel’s place at the mahjong table and realized how beautiful Noah was when he smiled. Or when I’d asked him to touch me during the shave and meant it. That memory stayed with me, popping up at the most inappropriate times, like when I was getting a briefing from Gilbert, my private secretary, or when I was supposed to be paying attention to the tennis game with the marquess and kept getting a glimpse of Noah out of the corner of my eye.

And then when I’d let him challenge me after Charlie had broken the pitcher, a moment I shouldn’t have allowed. I should’ve been furious Noah had spoken to me that way, but I’d listened, and God only knew why.

I moved farther into the room as Noah dropped his hand and straightened.

“Can I do something for you, sir?”

“What are you doing?”

He glanced toward the place cards stacked in careful rows, along with a final seating chart. “Working.”