Paper Princess (The Royals #1)(61)

“Daniel?”

“Did some other guy ask you out, too?”

I wish he wasn’t wearing sunglasses. I can’t see his eyes. Is he mad? Frustrated? Pleased?

“No, just Daniel. And I’m thinking about it.” I search his profile. “Any reason not to?”

A muscle in his jaw flexes. If he gives me the smallest opening, I’d take it. Come on, Reed. Come on.

He offers a brief glance before returning his eyes to the road. “I think we called a truce last night, right?”

I want it to be more than a truce, and the thought surprises me. A ceasefire is one thing, but admitting to myself—and to him—that I want to act on the attraction between us? That feels like a dangerous mistake.

“Yeah, something like that,” I murmur.

“Then I’d be a dick if I told you not to go out with him.”

No, I think, you’d be telling me you cared about me. “I don’t think looking out for someone’s well-being violates the spirit of our truce,” I say lightly.

“If you’re asking if he’s going to hurt you, I’d say no. Haven’t heard of him bragging in the locker room about girls he’s hooked up with. I think everyone considers him a decent guy.” Reed shrugs. “He’s with the lacrosse team. Those guys tend to stick together so I don’t know him too well, but well enough, I guess. If I had a sister, I wouldn’t object to her dating him.”

That’s not my question! I shout at him in my head. Out loud, I poke at him from a different angle. “Are you and Abby getting back together?”

“We were never together,” he says roughly.

“You looked kinda cozy just now. Daniel said you two are meant to be a couple.”

“Did he?” Reed sounds amused. “Didn’t know Daniel had that kind of interest in my love life.”

“So Abby is part of your love life?” I’m a glutton for punishment with all these questions.

“What exactly are you asking?” He turns left and I can’t see his face because of it.

Too embarrassed to press the topic, I slump back into the seat. “Nothing.”

After a beat, Reed sighs. “Look, I’m going away to college next year. And unlike Gideon I’m not coming back every other weekend. I need time away from this town. This family. Abby and I had a nice time, sure, but she’s not my future and I’m not going to dick her around—or anyone else, for that matter—just to get my nut off.”

And there’s my answer. Even if he is attracted to me—though I notice he was careful not to say it—he’s not going to do anything about it. He’s leaving as soon as possible. I should admire that kind of honesty, but I don’t. Some silly part of me wants him to declare that if he wanted me bad enough, no principles would ever prevent him from having me. God, I’m a sick puppy.

I turn away from him and watch the city pass us by as Reed navigates home.

Finally, tired of the silence, I blurt out, “Why do you fight? Is it for the money?”

He releases a sharp bark of laughter. “Hell no. I fight because it makes me feel good.”

“Because you won’t let yourself sleep with Abby? So you have to go out and pound a few guys to get rid of whatever is building up inside of you?” The words slip out before my brain catches up.

Reed stops the Rover and I look around, surprised to see we’re already home. He pulls off his sunglasses finally and stares at me.

My throat goes dry. “What is it?”

He reaches out and fingers a lock of my hair. His knuckles are inches away from my breast and it takes superhuman effort not to lean into his touch, not to press his hand fully against me.

“Do you really think it’s Abby who’s keeping me up at night?”

“I don’t know.” I hesitate. “I don’t want it to be.”

I hold my breath, waiting for him to answer, but all he does is drop my hair and grab the door handle.

Without turning back to look at me, he says, “Daniel’s a good guy. Maybe you should give him a chance.”



* * *



I sit in the car after he leaves so I can regain my composure. Neither of us explicitly stated it, but I know it’s out in the open now. I laid my feelings out there and he told me to keep them. He did it in a nice way, but a clean knife still makes a painful wound.

Brooke is sitting poolside when I enter the house. She seems to have recovered from last night’s drinking session. She’s babbling away to Reed, who stands next to her lounger, stiff as a board, as her hand runs up and down his bare calf. I’ve seen her touching Gideon like that, too, and I wonder why the boys put up with that. I know they can’t stand her. If there was one thing that Callum could do to repair his relationship with his sons, it would be to jettison Brooke.

Lonely and irritated, I seek out Easton, who’s slumped on his bed watching a car show where they take it apart and put it back together so it looks like a cartoon vehicle.

“So we’re trucing, huh?” He grins when he spots me.

“Is that even a word?” I ask as I walk into his room.

“It sounds like a word, so I guess it has to be.”

“Douchetard sounds like a word, too, but I’m pretty sure you won’t find it in the dictionary.”