Page 56 of Cold Heir

Aching in ways I couldn’t speak of, I was aware of how Ishouldhave been able to join her in that bath, but duty called.

“She’ll appreciate that, but mention nothing of Mother just yet. Perhaps it won’t be necessary that their paths cross today,” I confirmed, dismissing Elle to tend to my mate.

I could only hope that, after having already been through so much lately, Corina wouldn’t be forced to withstand the tidal wave known as Laura Westower.

***

“Something troubling you?” Silas didn’t miss a thing. As I sat across the dining table from him, he read my mood much easier than I would have liked.

Resting against my fist, I bottled my thoughts. “Everything’s fine,” I lied.

His gaze lingered a moment longer, but then he dropped it.

Levi reared back in his seat, wearing a cheeky grin I knew all too well. “So, tell us how things went last night.” He popped a grape into his mouth, waiting for me to share all the nitty-gritty details. Even if ithadn’tbeen for the quick glance he passed Silas, I still wouldn’t have missed that the statement was loaded.

“We had a nice evening,” was all I freely shared.

“Nice?” he pressed.

“We had dinner overlooking the city, had an intriguing conversation during and after, and then we returned home around midnight.”

His brow quirked. “And?”

“And … we shared a bottle of champagne in her suite.” A brief flashback of the moreintimateside of my evening with Corina had me reaching for the glass of water I’d been served.

Observing me, the grin Levi wore widened. “Interesting.”

He was digging. “It wasn’t anything particularly extravagant,” I countered with another lie, heading him off the subject.

In truth, the night had cost a pretty penny. Securing the rooftop of a new high-rise, and pulling one of the city’s most sought after chefs from his restaurant, on his busiest night, wasn’t a small feat even for a prince.

We all knew what Levi alluded to, but had yet to ask.

“Oh, cut the crap,” he finally caved, realizing he’d get nowhere being subtle. Well … subtle-ish. “Just admit that you sealed the deal for Pete’s sake. Heck, it’s not like we didn’t all hear you two going at it anyway.”

Silas’ brow quirked, confirming Levi’s claim. I should have guessed as much, though, with Corina being a bit of a screamer. Apparently, we hadn’t been as careful about keeping the noise down as we thought.

“I counted twice,” Levi added with a smirk.

Rubbing my chin, a smile I meant to keep to myself broke free. “Three, if you count the rooftop.”

Levi was all ears now as he sat forward. “Don’t leave anything out.”

“All right. That’s enough,” Silas cut in then. “I’m positive she wouldn’t appreciate being discussed like this.”

Breathing a deep sigh of defeat, Levi settled back into his seat again. “Give it a rest, Si. We’re all bound—or soon to be bound—to the same woman. One we all have very strong, veryrealfeelings for, which makes‘sharing’her, in every sense of the word, our new normal. Are we really expected to never discuss it?” He laughed a bit. “And maybe even compare notes on occasion?”

When Silas nor I gave any response at all, Levi shook his head at us in disappointment.

“Prudes. The both of you,” he declared. “I mean come on, Julian! In the veryleastwe can agree the woman is maddening—both inandout of the sack—am I right?”

The goal was to stay neutral as I sipped from my glass, but I was certain my expression only backed up his claim.

“Precisely my point,” he answered, confirming I’d done just that. “Just know this, should either of you ever hearmein her suite, giving the old bedposts a shake, I’ll make no apologies for it in the morning.”

“Glad to hear you boys are taking this all so seriously.”

My drink sprayed from my mouth at the sound of my mother’s voice, prompting my brothers to instantly sit straighter in their seats as she sauntered into the dining room.

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