Page 57 of The Royal Engagement

“Is Damek coming over?” Eden takes a sip of blood, but she hasn’t even attempted to eat any of her food.

“Yeah. He texted me and said he’s on his way.” I take a bite of food. My stomach is in knots, so it’s hard to eat anything. I force myself to swallow and take another bite.

Julien, on the other hand, has no problems eating. He shoves a huge bite into his mouth and washes it down with a large gulp of blood.

“I sometimes have a hard time believing that I’m related to you,” I tease him.

He smirks. “Well, I’m sure Lucien will be thrilled to have somebody on his side.”

At the sound of Lucien’s name, my stomach twists again.

I’m about to meet my brother for the first time. I went through this already with Julien, but it was perfect. There is no way that this can go perfectly twice, right? I’m the one who almost broke up his parent’s marriage. My existence has probably caused a lot of hardship for Lucien. There is no way he will like me.

The doorbell rings. Eden jerks her head toward Dad.

Dad shakes his head. “You know Kaine won’t ring the doorbell when he’s bringing Lucien. It’s probably just Damek.”

Eden’s shoulders slump forward.

Dad reaches over and grabs her hand. “Kaine will text once the plane lands—”

He says something more, but I get up from the table to answer the door. I’m so glad Damek will be here today. Somehow, having him there feels like comfort. I need his support. When I open the door, he is standing on the other side with his hands stuffed into the front pocket of his jeans. When he sees me, he smiles widely.

“Maddie, you look beautiful.” He steps through the threshold. “Are you nervous?”

I shut the door and wipe my palms on the skirt of my dress. “So nervous.”

Damek slips his arm around me and pulls me into his embrace. He kisses the top of my head. “I’d tell you not to be nervous, but I’m a little anxious myself.”

Still in his arms, I lift my head to look up at him. “What do you have to be nervous about? Don’t you know Lucien?”

He nods. “I do. We’ve always been cordial, even friendly, but that was before I was in love with his sister.”

My heart jumps at his confession of being ‘in love’ with me. I already knew it, but I will never tire of hearing it.

Somebody clears their throat, so I step back from Damek’s embrace. I turn around and see Julien smirking at us. When he sees that he has our attention, he steps forward.

“Kaine called—the plane landed, so they should be here in about half an hour,” Julien informs us.

This is really happening.

I take a deep breath. “Is there anything I should know before I meet him?”

Julien cocks his head to the side and pauses before replying. “The only thing you need to know is that I am the charming brother.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not sure I would use the word charming to describe you.”

“Really?” Julien puts a hand on his chest. “Because your cousins all seemed to think I wasverycharming. I told you that I exchanged numbers with them, right? They text me nearly every day to ask how I’m doing.”

“You’re a prince,” I remind him. “You have to marry a royal vampire.”

“I’m third born. I can marry a princess of another species if I want,” he says.

Damek slips his hand into mine. His hand is much cooler than mine and it feels good. “Julien, do you really think you can handle being married to a girl who is better looking than you?”

I laugh so hard I have to grab my stomach.

Julien glares at Damek. “You know, I like you. Trust me when I say, you don’t want to get on my bad side. I’ve got all the control in this family.”

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