Page 8 of Cross Me

“Great,” I said flatly.

He stole a glance at me, no doubt picking up on my tone. “Not what you thought?”

“Someone has to give the empty speeches.” That’s what it felt like, at least. The speaker currently on stage was outlining what sounded like an ambitious plan to make certain that children living in poverty received adequate nutrition. The speech they had passed to me with all the pertinent information would take me less than three minutes. It had taken longer to put on my stockings this morning. Maybe no one remembered I’d once helped execute campaigns to raise social awareness. Maybe they didn’t care.

“Alexander once told me he went to war because he grew tired of being trotted out like a prize stallion.” Brex’s words were filled with sympathy.

“Before or after you got stuck with babysitting duty?” I asked. When they’d first met, Brex had expected to waste his time protecting the Royal heir.

A good-natured smile lit up his face at the memory. “After. It takes him a while to open up.”

I cringed slightly at the implication. How much had he overheard between Alexander and I?

Despite how his relationship with my husband had started, I knew that he sympathized with the position his friend was in. Brex also knew what Alexander was capable of—more than most. Neither of them spoke often about their time at war, but I had watched the two of them together and I knew the kind of respect that Brex gave my husband wasn’t given out of obligation. Alexander had earned it from him. I had never asked why. For whatever reason, Brex seemed to extend this respect to me. Sometimes, he seemed more upfront with me than Alexander.

It was the last thing I wanted to obsess over before giving a public speech. Any other topic would be a welcome change of subject. Only one came to mind.

“So you and Georgia?” I tipped my head in the direction of the woman, who was a few meters away scanning the audience.

“That’s a favorite question from your family.”

So I wasn’t the only one to notice. Had Alexander picked up on it, too?

“That isn’t an answer,” I pointed out.

“I like keeping it a mystery. It makes me seem cooler than I am,” Brex confided in me. Lowering his voice, he added, “And less like a loser.”

Clearly, I had picked a sore subject. “Shot you down?”

“I’m in security. I do risk assessment,” he explained. “I didn’t even try to breach the walls she put up. Whatever she’s protecting, I’m not getting past her defenses.”

“You’re not even going to try?” I wasn’t certain why I cared so much about this. I wasn’t Georgia’s biggest fan, but I liked Brex and it was obvious to me he was hung up on her. There was no explaining attraction. Although I did wonder how much he knew about her. Brex, despite his self-assured attitude, didn’t strike me as being into the same things she was. Maybe he knew more about her than I thought. If Alexander had opened up about other things to Brex, had he shared his past with Georgia? “Is there a reason?”

Brex shook his head. “It might not seem like a good one, but I think there are some people you can’t reach. Some people can’t change. Or maybe they just don’t want to.”

“I don’t believe that’s true,” I said softly. There had been a time when Alexander couldn’t use the word love—a time when I’d thought a future with him was a fantasy. No matter what trials we faced, I remembered that we had chosen each other. I had reached him when it had seemed impossible.

“Weren’t you the one punishing your husband earlier by sending away your bodyguard?” he asked.

It wasn’t like Brex to speak so freely around me, but I didn’t mind. I had been the one to bring up his personal life. It was only fair that he be allowed to do the same.

“Marriage isn’t easy.” I knew it wasn’t much of an explanation. “Neither is love.”

“You’re really selling me on breaking down her defenses,” Brex teased.

But never trying? How could I explain to him that it was still worth it? I had to try. “Love stories never really end. There are no happily ever afters. Love is fighting and compromising and choosing one person over and over again. No matter what.”

“I guess that means you’re going to forgive him for whatever he did to piss you off,” Brex said with a low chuckle.

“Maybe not immediately,” I confessed, but my spirits felt lighter. Maybe I would forgive Alexander. Maybe I would forgive him across his desk this afternoon. Then again, sometimes Alexander needed to sweat a little longer. Someone had to keep him in check.

“Don’t worry. I want to… I don’t want to settle for…” His words faded away as a distant look came over his face. I recognized what was happening. Someone was speaking to him through the security earpiece he wore. I didn’t have to wait long for him to update her. I’d expected it to be an update, a heads up that they were nearly ready for me. Instead, Brex grabbed my elbow and gently started pulling me toward the hallway. “We need to leave here now.”

It was remarkable how calm he sounded given the implication in that statement. I had been trained on this by Norris. When a member of the security team—as long it was it was my personal security—informed me it was time to leave, I was to do so without question. The problem was that I wasn’t very good at not questioning things. My head whipped around and I pulled against his hold, nearly crashing into Georgia.

“What about those people?” I asked. The auditorium was full. Any threat I faced was also a danger to them.

“Our job is to get you out of here,” Brex explained, tugging at me. I refused to budge. “Look, the important thing is to get you out of here now and then to make sure everyone else gets out in an orderly fashion.”