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“Um, because you’re you, and you can’t go without him finding out you’re also Julie.Duh.”
I sighed. “Would it be so bad if he found out?”
“Well, it would certainly blow your cover. Is Operation Dirt Retrieval completely off, then?”
"No.” I paused. “I don’t know.”
“Well you better figure it out because once your cover is blown, there’s no going back. This is your one shot to get back at the Royals for years of torture. Don’t blow it just because you have googly eyes for the king.”
I scowled. “I don’t have googly eyes.”
“Mmhm.” She glanced toward the lounge, and I followed her gaze.
Topher sat with JT, Mikey, Luca, and a gaggle of girls, including Gabby, who was practically sitting on his lap, laughing and running her fingers through his hair.
I understood why she’d be skeptical. Even I still wondered whether the different version of him I’d seen these last couple weeks was all for show.
But then, Scarlett didn’t know him like I did.
“Go with me,” I blurted.
“As much as I’d love to watch some man candy playing with their balls in a pool, I can’t. I help at the bakery all weekend.”
“Ugh, again?”
“Trust me, I’ve had my fill of selling overpriced pastries and coffee to all the Lakeview housewives. Did you know Luca’s mom came in last weekend at, like, six a.m. and had me put the blueberry muffins she bought in her fancy crystal cake stand?”
I frowned. “Why wouldn’t she just do it herself when she got home?”
“Because she said her husband would find the evidence she bought them. God forbid he find our box in the trashcan. She probably puts a dirty bowl in the sink for effect.”
“Weird.”
“Very.”
My gaze drifted to the Royal table once more, thinking of how different they were from us. How everything with them was about their image and being perfect, and it was as if Scarlett read my thoughts. “Just remember,” she said, picking at her food, “he may seem different, but actions speak louder than words, and from where I’m sitting, once a king, always a king.”
TOPHER
I scanned the bleachers starting to fill up, and even though it was early and my game hadn’t started yet, there was no sign of Julie. Although, truth be told, I only had a vague recollection of what she looked like. Blond and tall, with a pretty smile was the image she conjured, so it had been partly strategic to find out what she’d be wearing. Seeing as how I was trying to change her mind about me, the last thing I wanted to do was have her come and be unable to pick her out of the crowd.
I paused my search for a moment when I noticed Gabby and Xia. They sat at the back of the bleachers, sunglasses propped on the top of their heads, and when they waved to me, I offered a curt nod. So far, Gabby and I were still “off,” and I’d like to keep it that way.
Mom caught my eye and beckoned me over from her perch in the front row, so I jogged toward her, accepting the sports drink she handed me even though I didn’t really need it. Dad sat beside her, sunglasses shielding his eyes, looking stiff in khakis and a gold shirt.
“Thanks,” I murmured, and my mother followed my gaze to the back of the stands.
“Are you looking for someone?” she asked. “I saw Gabby and Xia over there.” She nodded in their direction, but I didn’t look.
“Uh, yeah. No. Just . . . nothing,” I said, then proceeded with some arm stretches to warm my shoulders up when Coach came up beside me and clapped me on the back.
“You must be proud,” Coach said, a smile touching the corners of his lips. “Scholarships for water polo are rare, so I was glad when Topher decided to take that meeting.”
Dad cocked his head, and my stomach clenched.
“Meeting?” he asked.
Coach’s smile slipped. His eyes darted toward me, then back again as he nodded. “The one with Bucknell.”
