Majesty (American Royals, #2)(63)
She was Daphne Deighton, and she had never needed anyone except herself.
“Jeff?” Sam called out, as she walked around the palace’s garage. She’d checked her brother’s bedroom first, but when he wasn’t there, she’d asked Caleb to radio Jeff’s Guard, Matt, and find out where he’d gone. She’d been surprised to learn he was shooting hoops at the old basketball net their dad had installed when they were kids.
The sky was a cloudless blue, the air bright with the promise of summer. Sam pulled her sunglasses lower over her face. Up ahead, she heard the steady thump of the ball against the pavement. She turned the corner, and paused when she saw that Jeff wasn’t playing against Matt, as she’d thought.
Marshall was with him.
Oblivious to her presence, the two of them kept good-naturedly heckling each other. It seemed like they’d known each other for most of their lives, instead of a matter of weeks.
Sam watched as Marshall feinted to his left, then broke away past Jeff. He sprinted forward, hurling the ball toward the basket—just as he noticed her, standing in the shade of the garage.
Ever since their pool photos, Sam and Marshall had followed the palace’s decree and escalated their relationship: going out on public dates, attending a series of cocktail parties and receptions. Sam was desperate to know what he really thought about all this, but he treated her with the same easygoing irreverence as ever. He made her laugh, held her hand when reporters took photos of them—and that was it.
He hadn’t kissed her since the night of the party. His grandfather had probably given him the same mandate that Robert had told her: to keep things chaste from now on. So why did Sam keep fixating on it?
Sam strode behind the basket to grab the ball, her eyes meeting Marshall’s. “Looks like you missed that one,” she observed, and began dribbling between her legs.
His glance strayed to her mouth, and he smiled. “I had a pretty girl distracting me.”
Sam rolled her eyes and tossed the ball to Jeff, who took it back to the free-throw line. “Hey,” Marshall cried out in protest, “if you’re going to join mid-game, then you’re on my team!”
“I can’t go against my twin. It violates the laws of nature,” Sam said brightly as Jeff threw a perfect three-pointer. He ran over to give her a high five.
A ringtone sounded from the stone bench where the boys had thrown their stuff. “Sorry, can we take a break?” Marshall asked, jogging over. He picked up the phone and tucked it into his shoulder.
“Hey,” he answered, in a low, tender voice. Sam strained her ears, trying to catch the rest of the conversation. Was he talking to Kelsey? Marshall hadn’t mentioned her since the morning after the twins’ party. But—wasn’t he going to see her, when he and Sam went to Orange for Accession Day later this month?
Sam tried to smile as if nothing was wrong. “I didn’t know you and Marshall were hanging out today,” she told her brother, and he nodded.
“I guess I should have told you. I asked Davis if he wanted to come by, since…” Since I’m not talking to Ethan right now, he didn’t need to add.
Sam felt partially responsible for all this mess. Hadn’t she encouraged Nina to go for it, then kept the truth from Jeff? And now her brother was hurting.
She remembered how excited she’d felt, back when she’d first learned that Nina and Jeff were dating. Her two favorite people in the world, ending up together—it seemed perfect. She hadn’t realized that when they broke up, she would be left in the middle, forced to keep their secrets from each other.
“Besides,” Jeff teased, “I needed to decide if I give you and Davis my blessing.”
“Your blessing?”
“You can’t date anyone I don’t like. As your twin, I have final veto power.”
A month ago Sam would have snorted and said something like you certainly ignored my veto when it came to Daphne. But now that she’d seen a more vulnerable side of Jeff’s ex, had asked for her help, the comment felt a little petty.
Jeff picked the basketball up off the ground and spun it idly on one finger. “It’s cool, though. I approve of Davis. He’s funny, and he seems really into you.”
No, he isn’t. He’s just using me to make his ex-girlfriend jealous—the way I’m supposedly using him, Sam thought dully.
Except…she wasn’t really dating Marshall to hurt Teddy anymore, and she didn’t know when that had changed.
“We’re not that serious,” she mumbled, and her brother laughed.
“Nope. You like him; I see it on your face.” Jeff’s eyes danced. “Please, can you not scare him off the way you usually do? I like having him around.”
Of course, Sam thought. Of all the guys she’d been involved with through the years, her brother approved of the one who wasn’t actually hers. The one she didn’t get to keep.
* * *
Later that evening, Sam wandered down the palace hallway. She felt the telltale flush of sunburn on her shoulders; she’d stayed outside with the boys all afternoon, playing basketball and then sitting out on the lawn, soaking in the sunshine.
She knew she should be grateful that Marshall was making this whole charade so easy on her. So why did she feel a hollow ache pressing down on her sternum?