Page 63 of RAKEish

Ms. Princess purred and pawed the box.

“Oh,” Lux allowed her fingers to brush over the musical trinket box as she pondered his words. If she was willing to dispend her doubt as to the validity of curses, why not ghost cats with careers? Doing so could not hurt, other than diminishing her bank account. Not doing so could mean the difference between success and failure. “It is lovely.” She could always give it to Scott as a wedding gift. Her way of proving to him that, even though a part of her loved him and that’s why she could break his curse, she had no plans to wilt away from a broken heart once he was out of her life.

The cat nudged her hand with a paw as if trying to help her make the decision.

“It’s the least I can do since you got me this far,” she said to Ms. Princess.

Lux gathered the box and brought it to the counter. “I didn’t recognize the song it played. Do you know its name?”

“I’m afraid not. The words just came to me,” the shopkeeper informed her, his eyes reflecting a depth of unspoken knowledge. “When that happens, it’s usually a sign of a shift in the universe.”

A chill went through Lux…because of course one did.

Her purse pinged, causing both her and the cat to jump. Lux pulled out her phone and saw a new meme in which she’d been tagged. It was of a prince and a princess getting married. Instead of a crown on the princess’s head, there was a frog with Lux’s face imposed on it. The hashtag read: #Alwaysthefrog-nevertheprincess “Rude,” she muttered.

Four hours later, Lux stood in her kitchen, a fresh batch of love knots ready to be delivered. She’d burnt the first three batches. Not giving herself time to think about it, she sent Scott a text.

Can we meet? I have a gift for you.—Lux

Three hours later, he replied. Three freaking hours. In that time frame, she added another item to her list of things her perfect man would possess. Timeliness. He’d show up to things on time. He’d respond to texts on time. He’d say I love you at the correct time. Not too quickly. Not too late.

Meet me at the comedy club on Wooster at 9:00 p.m.—Scott

For a hot second, she thought about ignoring his response, because it dawned on her, in the eyes of all of Manhattan, she was now the other woman in this scenario. He was betrothed. Then again, she’d be doing that woman a favor if the love knots broke the curse.

A woman Lux had no doubt was already in love with him. How could she not be? The Rake of Manhattan was too charismatic not to give him the key to at least a piece of your heart.

CHAPTER 20

Scott, sitting across from Rose in the dim ambiance of Matt’s Speakeasy Supper Club—where one had to belong to get a table—swirled his whiskey absentmindedly, his mind a tumult of thoughts.

Upon orders of the King of Shiretopia, Scott had been forced to flee his warm bed this morning, where Doc had laid languid and gorgeous and fuckable, to meet the royal jet. He’d done so only because Scott had been led to believe Father would be arriving.

That had been twelve hours ago.

Luckily, the cameras had been on Rose and not him, when he had realized he’d been duped. Father had sent Scott’s intended bride to bring him home. A beautiful woman whose warm and generous heart belonged to another—Scott’s best friend.

Once Rose had run into his arms and whispered in his ear to please play along, he’d done just that. No questions asked. He trusted her that much. Unfortunately, the paparazzi had followed them all day as they’d done the sightseeing thing for Rose—who’d never been out of Shiretopia—giving them no choice but to stay in character. Just like Frankie had spies everywhere, so would the King of Shiretopia.

Moles or not, Scott couldn’t risk a plan that had been painstakingly laid out over the course of several years, just to pump Rose for quick answers. So, they’d played the long game. Twelve hours of pretending to be in love and thrilled to see one another.

But now, sitting in a private club, he and Rose were alone.

“We should be safe here,” Scott said, glancing around the familiar room one more time. “Tell me what’s happened.”

Rose took his hands in hers. A move a lover would make. As the future queen of Shiretopia, she’d obviously learned over the years how to mask the true content of a conversation. “The Queen knows about me and Mark,” she whispered. “And she’s furious.”

Scott’s insides fisted. This was the worst news possible. The three of them could handle Father, but not his stepmother. Mildred was a force of ruthless calculation. “What has she done?”

“She’s had Mark arrested. He’ll be released once you return and marry me.”

The news hit Scott like a gut punch. His threats of abdicating from the crown if Father did not release Scott from his duty to marry Rose had failed.

Anger rolled around in him, a storm on the verge of exploding.

“You’re frowning.” She laughed. “If we’re being watched, that is telling.”

Scott forced a smile as he moved to the other side of the booth so they could sit next to one another. He turned to face her, blocking anyone’s view of his expression. “I can’t believe Father would allow Mildred to go to such lengths. If word gets out, the optics will be bad.”

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