Inheriting a SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #7)(25)

Well, now I feel about an inch tall. Because she’s right. “I’m sorry I made it seem like I didn’t care. Things are a little rough right now, but my people deserve my best. Please sit down and tell me what you’d like me to do.”

“What I’d like you to do is make my friend stop crying herself to sleep on the floor every night. What I need you to do this weekend is be present in everything. Not just show up and look pretty. I need you to play some carnival games, go on rides, sit on the grass while eating junk food with the kids, and dance at the concert. Preferably with your fiancé by your side, but I can spin it that you want to interact separately.”

I hear what she’s saying, but my brain’s still stuck on Darcy sleeping on the floor. Why the hell would she do that? I realize that Audrey’s waiting for me to respond, so I do. “I can do all of that. It sounds great. I love my people. Darcy should be by my side. If she wants to, I mean.”

“She’ll do whatever’s necessary for her mission. I’ll talk to her.”

“Does she really sleep on the floor?”

“I shouldn’t have told you that. She’d kill me if she knew I told you.”

“I don’t want it to be like this. I need my family’s jewels back, though, and she’s the only person who can tell me where they are.”

Audrey stands, and I have to look up so I can meet her eyes. “I don’t know any more than you do, Brayden. But I do know Darcy. If she says that she can’t tell you, then she has a good reason. She isn’t doing this for herself. She hasn’t told me that, but again, I know her.”

“I can’t let this go.”

“But you don’t want to let her go either, do you?”

“He’s not staying with her either way. He can’t,” Noah says. I’d almost forgotten he was sitting next to me.

“Why? What’s wrong with Darcy?”

“Nothing’s wrong with her,” I say. “She’s f*cking perfect.”

“Except that she’s not royal,” Noah reminds me. Like I could forget.

“So?”

“As you’ve seen, my country is very small. Its rules and traditions were decided centuries ago by kings who wanted to protect us from anyone who might want to conquer us. For that reason, it was put into our charter that a king could only marry another royal. Someone who would combine their forces with ours if we were ever attacked.”

“Why is Darcy even here as your fake fiancé then? Don’t the people know you can’t marry her?”

“Yes, and no. They know of the charter, but my people—especially the younger generation—hope that I’ll break it. They’ve seen other royals around the world marry commoners, and they want that, too. The staff that go out and talk to my people have found that they’d rather I marry for love, and not for tradition.”

Noah jumps in again, to shoot it all down. I know he’s right, but he could let me have the fantasy for at least a few minutes. “Those are the people with no power, though. Our Parliament would never let that happen. Those old men live and breathe tradition. I don’t think the word ‘change’ is even in their vocabulary. That’s why it’s best for the two of them to remember that this is fake.”

“I think it may be too late for that,” Audrey says, squeezing my shoulder as she walks past.

She’s right again. It’s way too late to pretend that we don’t care. But Noah’s right, too. The powerful men in this country would never let me marry Darcy, and with my coronation already set in motion, I can’t stop it now. I’ll have some time after I’m crowned, but I’ll be expected to find a suitable queen eventually. One who doesn’t have bright orange hair, and the ability to make me smile just by walking into a room. Tradition can really be a pain in the ass.





Chapter 10


Darcy

It’s Friday, and I’m really not ready for tomorrow’s festivities. Audrey told me she wants Brayden and me to be involved in all of the daytime events. I tried to say that he wouldn’t go for it, but she told me he’d already agreed to everything she suggested. Which was not only a surprise, but sent me into a near panic attack. I can handle the little kisses and even holding hands, but this is going to be so much more. It’s hours where we have to act like we’re in love. It won’t necessarily be acting, but it will be torture.

Stella’s been keeping Jenysis busy and away from me since she arrived. I can’t wait to see my boys tomorrow, but I’m still stressed. Time is running out for Brayden, and I need to keep my distance. I’ve had no other encounters with the devil himself, but I know he’s around. If he even has an inkling of me giving Brayden what he needs, the house of cards I’ve so carefully built is going to come tumbling down around all of us. That’s another reason the lovefest tomorrow is a problem. It’s not one I can get out of though. I took this mission knowing that it could create problems, but also realizing that I needed to keep everyone close in order to have some control over what goes down.

It would be easier if I could tell the Society everything, but I swore to tell no one, so my hands are tied. There’s only one person alive who can release me, and he can’t do it unless the terms are met. So there’s really no way out for me. I should be used to it, because for three years I had only myself to depend on, but in the last seven years I’ve also learned to depend on others. The women and men I work with, and call my friends, they’ve always had my back, and without them now, I’m floundering a little.