Page 122 of Royally Benevolent

“I’m not going to drop you. Promise. But if you hop like that down the hall, it will take a fucking century, Odette,” Wyatt said.

“We love an efficient king,” Astrid declared, passing a footman who stared, gap-mouthed. The place was a fucking circus.

Wyatt tried to keep up with Astrid and failed. “Why do all you women walk so fast? And how… you’re pregnant? When did you get pregnant, Astrid?”

“Oh, just before Christmas. Honestly, I was probably in that room?—”

TMI, Astrid!

She pointed to her bedroom before rushing to open mine. Grieg shuffled after us.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Astrid said, closing the door.

Wyatt slowly lowered me onto the bed and tucked me in. Sitting at my feet, he gave me a sympathetic look.

“I’m sorry for all of this, Odie. I regret yelling and?—”

“I shouldn’t have pulled back, but I didn’t know how else to protect Theo. I suspected you hated me and… that this would never work.”

“I still don’t know if it can,” Wyatt said. “But I want it to. I want to try. You made me the happiest I had been since we lost Isla and… I cannot imagine spending time with anyone else, my love.”

My love. It was like we never stopped. The booze took over. I let out a sigh and curled up.

“Can you spoon me?” I murmured.

Wyatt kicked his shoes off and climbed into bed next to me. “When you ask me in that sweet voice, I cannot deny you.”

71

VALUE ADDED

WYATT

Odette was out like a light in my arms when I finally pulled away and sat up to reckon with it. She didn’t owe me this. She also hadn’t said she accepted my apology explicitly, yet we found ourselves entangled in her bed in the most wholesome way. She wasn’t herself, though. Something was off. We needed to talk about it.

I turned on the television to distract myself and let her sleep off her day drinking. Odette wasn’t much for getting sloshed. She was careful because of her medications and just her general persona. Odette wasn’t a party girl. She was a homebody, much like I was. I popped into the bathroom to find the stock of crystal glasses kept on the vanity top. She shared the bathroom with Ingrid. I assumed Ingrid had yet to return to Neandia but would arrive soon. Grabbing a glass, I filled it and sat it on the nightstand for Odette.

After about an hour, there was a knock. I cracked it. Rick appeared with Manon on his hip. She was no longer a tiny little bean. Instead, she was a chubby, slightly fussy child who gave me a glare that mirrored her father’s.

“Is everything alright?” Rick asked.

“She’s out like a light,” I said. “We should check her ankle when she wakes. She was… drunk. I suspect a hangover is just on the horizon.”

“I wish Lex would have slowed down. C’mon. Let her have her rest. Do you want some food? I’ve got to watch Manon, but Lex, Astrid, and the other kids are watching a movie in the family room.”

“Sure,” I agreed.

I closed the door and followed Rick to the family dining room, where we sat. Manon gnawed on toast with some spread while Rick talked to the staff.

“What interests you? Given the circumstances, we have no plans for dinner,” Rick said.

“Well, I don’t want to eat before Odette wakes. She should eat.”

“She will get food,” Rick chuckled. “Promise.”

“She just panics when she isn’t sure there will be another meal.”

“I know,” Rick said. “It’s why we always have things that any of them would eat on hand. I’m well aware, Wyatt. But if you are famished, as I am, then we should eat. Sea bass? How does that sound?”

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