Page 62 of Gilded Princess

My gaze flies between his eyes, searching for answers to questions I haven’t even formulated yet. But he offers me nothing more than his own disbelief.

“That . . . is a very good question,” he murmurs, his brows slanting low over his eyes.

“I didn’t ask a question.” I trail off as my heart slams against my ribs. In my mind’s eye, I’m second-guessing every interaction with him, wondering if there was an obvious sign and I missed it.

“Why are you here?”

I tilt my head to the side and counter, “Why are you here?”

“I live here—”

“Sometimes,” Dante interrupts him.

Somehow, I’d forgotten that I was sitting on his lap having this bizarre conversation. I scramble off Dante’s lap, my movements clumsy and awkward as I put distance between us. I stop halfway to the projection screen, but the need to flee rides me hard.

I clench my shaky fingers as I look between the two men on the couch. I can feel how wide my eyes are, and I’m sure I look ten shades of crazy, especially with the credits scrolling on half of my body.

I take a deep breath and expel it, lowering my hand to hang at my side. “Okay, so you sometimes live here. In this house.”

Leo nods. “That’s right. And why exactly are you here?”

It’s not an accusation exactly, but it’s not the warm and fuzzy way I’d grown accustomed to from him.

“I’m staying here. Temporarily,” I offer as I cross my arms. Suddenly I feel like I need to defend myself.

Leo nods again, the movement slow and somehow sarcastic. “Cool. So somehow you moved in with my brother. Temporarily. And you didn’t bother to tell me.”

I tighten my arms across my chest and square my shoulders. “I didn’t know you two were brothers. Otherwise, I would’ve never agreed to see you.”

His lips curve downward in displeasure for a single moment. Then he plasters an obvious fake smile on his face. “Right, right. ‘Cuz you’ve got something going on with his best friend here. I see.”

I rear back in shock. “What? No. It’s not like that—”

“Then what’s it like?” Leo interrupts me, his face hard and unreadable.

I glance at Dante for the first time since I saw Leo, pleading with my gaze. His face might as well be carved from stone for all the emotion I see on it.

My heart sinks.

Dante leans back and spreads his arms across the back of the couch. Tipping his head to the side, he regards Leo with a smirk plastered on his face. “It’s none of your fucking business, kid.”

My shoulders sag in relief that he shut him down, that he’s on my side. My mind stumbles, drunk on the overwhelming confusion and coincidence.

Only, I don’t much believe in coincidences. No, fate’s playing one of her games again, and I can’t tell if it’ll end up being for my benefit or against it.

“That right? Then I bet my brother would be delighted to know what I walked in on. You and I both know he doesn’t just invite people to stay here.” Leo stares at Dante, challenge tightening the skin around his eyes.

Dante tenses, his muscles tightening with tension as he stares at him. “Don’t act like you give a shit about your brother. Besides, I know he watches the cameras—and he knows I know, which means you don’t need to do shit.”

My brows scrunch at Dante’s words, and immediately, I scan the corners of the room for these alleged cameras. I don’t know what I’m expecting, but I don’t see anything that screams camera.

Leo drums his fingers along the back of the couch as he stares down Dante with a smirk. “We’ll see.”

“So you two know each other?” Dante asks.

“Yeah, we know each other, alright. Dante, meet my date I told you about. Madison, meet my cousin, Dante.” Leo settles against the back of the couch, his chin tipped upward and his eyes locked on me.

“You’re cousins?” My gaze bounces between the two of them. Twin beacons of masculinity and power. They sit on opposite ends of the couch, all forced nonchalance, but the tension in their arms gives them away. They’re practically vibrating with energy, and neither one wavers, their attention solely on me.

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