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“Let me start over,” Harriet said. “I adored Jas from the moment I met him. How could I not? Smart, handsome, and from a good family.”
“I was attracted to her top-notch tits,” Jasper said, helping himself to another hors d’oeuvre from the tray Margery had brought in earlier.
“You ass!” Harriet rolled her eyes at him but continued. “I certainly didn’t marry him for his title, but I can’t deny that a part of me thought being Viscountess Hastings would be a bit more... magical.”
“Like a fairy tale,” Mary added.
“Exactly.”
Dani reared back. “And you’re saying it’s not?”
“Not even close. These days it’s rather naff.”
She studied them all for a second before shaking her head. “Sorry, I don’t know what that means but I’m not buying it. If you ask any two ordinary people if they’d rather be a rapper or royalty—”
“Rapper, no question. Look at how Jameson is dressed,” Rhys announced, pointing to the black-and-white joggers and white trainers Jameson had gotten during his shopping spree with Dani.
Jameson dusted a hand down the front of his basic black T-shirt. “I know it’s difficult for you, Rhys, but you’re permitted to try new things.”
“I think he looks great,” Dani said, bending down to give him a quick kiss.
A kiss he would’ve deepened if they’d been alone.
Harriet nodded. “I agree.”
“Oh, we know how you feel,” Jasper said.
Jameson shook his head. “Come now, mates. There’s no need for jealousy.”
“Jealous? Because you fancy yourself to be the new David Beckham?” Oliver asked, giving rise to another round of laughter.
A relaxing evening full of fun and laughter, spending time with good friends and the woman he loved? This is what he’d been missing; what he’d always wanted. Even though he hadn’t known it.
“We haven’t gone over this yet,” Jameson said, sliding his hand along Dani’s thigh and squeezing, “but Jasper and Harriet aren’t royalty.”
Dani pursed her lips. “But he’s a viscount.”
“Yes, but there’s a difference between royalty and nobility. Royalty only includes the immediate family of the ruling monarch. Nobility is much broader; it involves class and hereditary titles.”
“I guess I still have a lot to learn. Do you guys get hounded by the press the way Jay’s family does?”
“No one is stalked by the rags more than the royal family. Jasand I will get our picture taken if we attend a notable event, but we’re too boring to sell papers.”
“The papers can be merciless,” Oliver said.
“Just ask Julian,” Mary said, still managing to smirk while taking a sip of her wine.
Silence blanketed the room and glances bounced around, landing on Jameson before quickly flitting away.
“And on that note...” Rhys rattled the ice in his empty tumbler and pushed to his feet.
“Oh, come on! We’ve said much worse,” Mary said, crossing her arms and sinking back into the settee.
“Only after Jameson starts,” Oliver said.
Jameson shrugged a shoulder. “Feel free to dispense with that formality.”
“In that case,” Harriet said. “Jameson, you must be concerned. At the Children’s Village reception that Jas and I attended two weeks ago, Julian strolled in as if nothing had occurred. The poor bastard seemed stricken when he realized he wasn’t getting his usual welcome.”
