Page 30 of Reckless Royalty

I run a hand through my hair, pacing the room as I try to make sense of it. She’s been through hell, and seeing her smile should be a good thing. I should be glad she’s finding some comfort here, some bit of normalcy.

But the fact that it wasn’t me who made her smile like that? It digs at me, leaves a sour taste in my mouth that I can’t ignore.

Jealousy. That’s what it is. Fucking jealousy.

I slam my fist against the wall, the impact dulling the frustration only slightly. I shouldn’t feel this way. I shouldn’t give a shit if Connor makes Maddy smile. But I do. And it’s messing with my head in a way I didn’t see coming.

I grab my phone off the counter, my thumb hovering over Connor’s name for a second before I pull back. What the hell am I even going to say?“Stop making her laugh?”Yeah, that’ll go over real well.

Instead, I toss the phone on the bed and sit down, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. This is insane. It’s not like Maddy’s mine. Hell, I barely know her. All I’m supposed to do is keep her safe, not get involved.

But the way Connor was with her—the way he made her relax, the way he got her to open up—makes me feel like I’ve been standing on the sidelines while he’s doing the job I should be doing.

I lean back, running my hand over my face. “Fuck.”

This is going to get messy. I know it. And as much as I want to shake this off, as much as I want to pretend like I don’t care, I can’t.

Because the truth is, I do.

MIHAI

I’m still lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to wrestle with my own thoughts when I hear a knock at the door. For a second, I consider ignoring it. I’m not in the mood for anyone right now, not even the guys.

But the knock comes again, more insistent this time, and I know who it is before I even open the door.

Connor.

I swing the door open, and there he is, standing in the hallway with that easy grin plastered on his face, though I can see a flicker of curiosity in his green eyes. He’s holding a can of soda in one hand and has that typical ‘what’s up’ expression that he always brings with him.

“Thought I’d drop by,” Connor says, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. “Figured you might want to hear about the walk I had with Maddy today.”

My jaw tightens the second he says her name, and I try not to let it show, but apparently, I’m not doing a great job of that because Connor’s eyes immediately narrow, picking up on my mood like a shark smelling blood in the water.

“Whoa, whoa. What’s that face, mate?” he asks, stopping halfway into the room. “You good?”

I force a shrug, stepping back and crossing my arms over my chest. “Yeah, fine. Just… tired.”

Connor gives me a long scrutinizing look, then leans against the wall, cracking open the can of soda.

“Sure. Tired. Right.” He takes a sip, never breaking eye contact, and I can feel the weight of his gaze, like he’s trying to dissect whatever the hell’s going on with me.

He’s always been perceptive, especially when it comes to reading me. And that’s a problem right now.

“So,” Connor says, dragging out the word as he smirks. “Maddy. She actually opened up a bit today. The whole notepad thing worked pretty well and we talked about a lot of random shit. She told me she used to be a singer. Can you believe that? A fucking singer.”

I nod, trying to keep my voice even. “Yeah. I saw some videos online.”

He raises an eyebrow, clearly surprised. “You’ve been looking her up?”

“Yeah,” I say, a little defensively. “I wanted to know more about her.”

Connor grins mischievously. “Right. That’s all it was. You just wanted to know more about her.”

I shoot him a look, but he just shrugs, taking another sip of his soda. “No harm in that. I should have done it as soon as my father gave me this mission.”

There’s a beat of silence, and I can feel my frustration bubbling up, mixing with the jealousy that’s been gnawing at me since I saw them in the garden. I shouldn’t be feeling this way, not about Maddy, not about Connor of all people. He’s my closest friend. But every time I picture the two of them together, I can’t help it. It twists me up inside.

“You know,” Connor says, tilting his head as he studies me. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve got a little something going on there, Mihai.”

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