Page 69 of Heavy Crown

“I thought Posey said something about an overuse injury.”

“Yeah,” Julia agrees. “Those crop up when Posey calls him crying because she misses him.”

I gape at her. “She calls him crying?” Despite a few eyebrow-raising comments, I’m still shocked to hear Julia’s claim.

She laughs. “Don’t worry. Posey doesn’t realize I know that either.” She winks at me. “Despite training for the Olympics, he’d do anything to make her happy.” Her expression turns pensive. “If she asked him to quit, I think he would. But she’d never do that. You have to protect each other’s happiness, don’t you?” She nods toward the front door. “Don’t forget that when you’re in there. It’s not what makes him happy. You both have to be okay with whatever you decide.”

The sudden urge to confess everything that’s happened between me and Alex sits on the tip of my tongue. My instinct tells me Alex wouldn’t like me confiding in Julia. I haven’t even told Posey what happened between Alex and me last weekend. No matter what happens at dinner tonight, I can’t go back to Derrick. Even coming here tonight makes me feel like I’m cheating on Alex.

We’re not friends. We’ll never be friends. Slapping on an ill-fitting friendship label is as good as not using one at all. Another surge of anger rushes through me at the reminder of our horseback ride. We spent most of it in silence, and while we both spoke to Edward when we returned, it was hardly the relaxing ride I anticipated when I wanted it for my birthday.

“I don’t think there’s anything Derrick could say that would make what happened between us acceptable.” Not to mention that I’m positive I’m completely over him. “I’m here for the food.” Truthfully, I was tempted to cancel, but Alex made me so frustrated this week that keeping this date is my unknown eff-you. I’m such a rebel.

“You sure you want to take a cab back?” Julia asks when I open the passenger door.

“I’ll ask them to drop me at the gates. The guard who’s on tonight knows me, so it should be fine.”

Julia grins. “Your cheese bread has been a real hit with the staff.”

“It has been a very useful conversation starter.” I return her smile. “One of the guards calls me the bread woman whenever we cross paths.” I climb out of the car and hold the door. “Thanks so much for the ride.”

“Any time! If you change your mind about a ride home, just call. Nick and I are being boring tonight.”

Derrick’s car is a few spaces to the right in the parking lot. One good thing about him—he’s always early for everything. I’ve never had to wait on him. When I enter the restaurant, the tiered tables and seats are a wash of gray, taupe, and white. Every table has a view of the ocean. None of the customers face me at the hostess’s stand, which resembles a desk more than a lectern.

A slim brunette slips out a side door, and the delicious smell of grilled steak wafts out with her. “Good evening. Who is your reservation under?”

“Derrick McGuinty.” I tug my purse higher onto my shoulder.

“Right this way. The other member of your party is already here.” She takes us down the wide staircase to a table at the front with a prime ocean view.

He didn’t just get a cancellation. He managed to snag one of the best tables in the restaurant. An unobstructed view of the water stretches out before us, and the sun will set in an hour or so, coating the sky in an orange-pink blush.

Derrick sips his beer at the table, and when he sees me, he grins.

This date might be pointless, but the view is spectacular. Is there anything he could say to earn a second chance? The memory of Alex’s lips slanted across mine rises to the surface, and I touch my fingers to my mouth.

Go back to someone bad for me or seize the opportunity for something else, brief though it may be? The choice should be easy, but where I’m sure Derrick can’t shatter my heart, I can’t say the same for Alex. Derrick might be the bad choice, but he’s also the safe one.

twenty-seven

Alex

My burner phone is blowing up with notifications. With Rory busy tonight, I worked later than normal, and then I powered up my second phone and logged into my accounts to check what was new in the social media world. Most of the time, I don’t have a spare moment or the interest to scroll through the noise and nonsense. When I do have the time and inclination, I comment on posts as Joe Nobody, a secondary account. Small things amuse me.

I’m not amused right now.

A flood of people are @-ing me on every major platform. I’ve gone viral before, but I’ve sensed it coming or been told it would happen. A stupid comment. A big royal reveal. A woman rescued from a car crash.

Said woman is currently cozied up with her ex-boyfriend—Derrick the Dumbass—at Café Plutus, and Bellerive is losing their collective minds.

I’m definitely losing mine.

Dinner with an ex-boyfriend and documenting the occasion on social media is a move I’d expect of many, many women. Not Rory. To be fair, she isn’t the one pushing the narrative now, either. The unexpectedness of her date hits me almost as hard as her glowing smile. She’s smiling at him like that. Him. What. The. Fuck.

I’m tagged in photos on gossip posts as a sidenote as though I won’t see all their nonsense. There’s even a brief video of her laughing at something Derrick says. My chest has never been this tight with a combination of anger and despair.

Isn’t she the one @HRH_PrinceAlexander rescued from the car crash?