Player's Princess (A Royal Sports Romance)(56)

Tensing, I nod, a bare twitch of my chin.

He closes the door and sits down on a side chair. All at once, he looks very old, like he could be my father or grandfather. He looks past me at something that has long since faded away.

"I know about the boy," he says, his voice heavy with regret.

I go as still as though I were carved from ice. I say nothing for a time, waiting. What will he do? What will he say?

"If you say something to Mother—"

"You worry that I had."

I admit, I am more than slightly shocked that he interrupted me.

"There is no need to worry about that. If I'd spoken to her on the matter, you would be home by now. No, I have said nothing. I know your secret. I have kept your secret."

"Then why do you tell me this? Is this a warning?"

"In a way."

"I'm listening."

"This may shock you to hear, but once your mother was a little girl. She was much like you. I first met her when she was younger than you are now, sixteen. I had just finished my service in the American army, and I was made her bodyguard."

"What was she like?"

"You. Innocent, in the truest sense of the world. The old sense. She was not like she is now. She is harsh on you. There can be no denying that. Nor are you deserving of it. You are a good girl. Such a good girl."

I blink a few times.

He scans the floor and looks up.

"She loved unwisely, and it broke her heart."

I nod. "My mother did not love my father."

It is not a question.

"No. He gave her seven children, and she never loved him. She never mourned a day when he died. This was not because she was hard, but she let another man take hold of her heart when she was young and innocent, as you are. That man ripped it out."

"I see," I tell him.

He looks up sharply. "You do not. I beg you, Princess, set this boy aside. Look inside yourself and see what you are doing to him. A man once said, loving someone means giving them the power to hurt you terribly and hoping they do not. This will end with the boy hurting you terribly, or you hurting yourself. You are the princess. You will be queen."

I suck in a breath. It turns into a sob. "It's not fair. You told me to go to him in the first place."

He frowns, and looks away.

“If I told you not to, it would only have hardened your conviction to see him. I’d hoped you’d have some fun and move on.”

“Are you going to stop me?”

"I'm not going to betray you to the queen. I will keep your secret."

"Why?"

"Because you must do this yourself. The queen's father, your grandfather, learned of her indiscretion. He forbade her from seeing him ever again. He married another woman. His family is in California."

I roll my shoulders and toy with the pen in my hands.

"You have something else to say."

"It killed her. It killed the girl. Only the queen remained."

"You speak of her with great familiarity."

He looks at me with deep grief in his eyes.

"I have always known my place. I never gave voice to my own desires. She grew into a beautiful woman. In a better world, you might have been my daughter."

I sit up and look up at him as he stands.

"I don't want to be like her."

"I don't want you to either."

"Thank you. I can't stop. I'm leaving tonight."

He nods. "Be careful. Please. You are precious to me."

After he leaves and Mavra brings me my evening meal, I lock myself in my room. I eat some of the food in case Jason has no plans for dinner, but I am too nervous and excited to keep down more.

As much as I would like to wear his hoodie, I leave it on my bed and put on my own, and warmups. When I climb over the back fence, he is waiting for my by the corner.

"Hey, gorgeous."

"Where are we going?" I ask, giddy with excitement.

"We're going to see the stars. Come on. Walk with me."

Walking by his side, I stroll up the street, past the student housing. I keep my hood up and my head down and bounce against him with every step.

Our route takes us out of town, away from the campus. A road leads up into a more wooded area, and we follow it. The trees reach out over the sidewalk, heavy with colorful autumn leaves. The moonlight catches them just so, deepening the colors. I stop to look, and Jason stops to watch me, a lazy smile on his face.

"Come on. The park is this way."

The farther we go, the more I edge toward him, until I'm almost pressed to his side as we walk. The only light is from streetlamps on the far side of the road, or an occasional passing car. This side is dark, and to my left, the trees are black as pitch, with only the barest hint of moonlight shining through their branches.

Jason slips his arm around my waist. "You okay?"

"Yes."

"You have nothing to worry about."

"It's been so long since I have been outside of the town."

Jason looks at me intently, and I start to blush.

"What do you do during the summers, anyway?" he asks.

"I take extra courses and study."

"What else?"

I shrug. "There is not much else. I read. Go on runs. Listen to music, watch movies."