PRINCE CHARMING: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance(43)
Quincy’s brow pulled together. “Are you saying I haven’t been?”
“I wasn’t trying to compare either of you like you are, apparently,” she said as her lips twitched. “Does it bother you that he likes me?”
His grip tightened around her waist. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to,” she said. “It’s all over your face. You can’t get annoyed at me when you’re dancing with Gigi for hours on end at these damn things.”
“Really? You’ve never said anything about it before.”
The other dancers around them stopped and started to switch, but Quincy told the next man to go around him so he could stay in front of Olivia.
“You’re supposed to switch,” she reminded him and curtsied again as they continued the dance.
“We’re not finished with our conversation.”
“We would be if you would just admit that you’re jealous.” He twirled her out and pulled her close when she came back in. “Why are you so aggravated all of a sudden? You were fine before we came down. What happened?” Quincy muttered something under his breath, but she didn’t catch it. She wanted to stop dancing but didn’t want to draw attention to them. “Will you tell me later?”
“Might need some wine for this conversation.”
She nodded, and they danced across the floor until the music changed to a slower song. She expected him to find Gigi, but he kept his grip on her hand and guided her around in a waltz. Olivia tried not to notice everyone’s eyes on them, but no one looked suspicious. Most wore sweet expressions on their faces, as if it was the best thing for the prince to be so kind to dance with his soon-to-be stepsister.
If they only knew what else we were doing together.
“So, do you fancy him?” Quincy asked.
Olivia glanced past his shoulder to find Edric at the edge of the dancers. He looked a bit put out that he wasn’t dancing with her but smiled when he caught her looking. “Like I said, he’s a gentleman, but past that… no, no fancying him happening here.”
“That’s too bad,” he whispered, and Olivia flinched. “Like I said, lots of wine.”
Their dance ended, and he excused himself to mingle with the other guests while Olivia tried hard to keep a smile on her face when her heart sunk in her chest. The room grew hot, and for a moment, the walls appeared to close in around her. In all the time they’d spent together, she’d never seen that look in his eyes. He was angry, but there was something else behind it. Regret maybe? His smile didn’t reach his eyes as he spoke with Gigi and the other women gathered around him, and she longed to go to him. She wanted to hear his laughter and see his eyes light up, but when he caught her eye from across the room, she sucked in a breath at the pain suddenly there.
“Princess Olivia? Are you alright? Do you need some air?” Edric asked as he approached her.
“Yes, air would be good, thank you. I think this dress is tighter than I thought.”
He escorted her to the courtyard, empty except for a few other couples strolling in the moonlight. Olivia’s hands were folded in front of her as she’d been instructed by Allete to do, though all she wanted was to hold her stomach. It ached, and she felt sick but forced herself to breathe and swallow. Bad enough she ran out on one ball. She was not going to be sick in the courtyard.
“Are you sure you feel alright, Princess? You look pale.”
“Maybe I just need to sit down,” she murmured and made it to a stone bench beneath a large palm tree. It helped, and she managed a few deep breaths as she watched the other couples milling about. The flowers around them were brightly colored oranges and reds, framing the paths. “You know, this is the first time I’ve actually sat out here.”
“Really? But you live here,” Edric said with a smile.
“Yes, well I’ve been busy with all these balls and dinners… It takes a lot to be a princess, apparently.”
“I forget, sometimes, that you are not used to this life, Princess.”
“When we’re alone you don’t have to call me that,” she said. “It’s still weird. I’m just plain old Olivia from Nebraska. A girl who misses her blue jeans and flannel shirts.” She laughed as she stared at her dress. “I wake up some mornings and think I’m dreaming.”
Edric laughed with her. “I can’t picture you in flannel and jeans, Olivia.”
He really was a nice guy, and it didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes. Why had Quincy said what he did about her not liking Edric? She pushed it from her mind for the time being and focused on the conversation at hand. She wasn’t going to get any answers until the ball ended anyway, so she might as well enjoy herself, even if the man she really wanted to speak with was busy inside the ballroom, surrounded by women vying for a heart he’d already given to her.
Chapter 14
Olivia pushed Allete out of her room as nicely as possible and locked the door behind her. She leaned against it, sagging in her tight dress, and kicked her heels off, sending them flying across the room.
“If those were your shoes, I resent that! They weren’t even that tall, miss!”
“Go to bed, Allete,” Olivia called through the door. She heard the woman yelling about shoes and princesses but stopped listening and shook her head. She needed to get out of the dress and open a bottle of wine.