Page 66 of Broken King

Not that my stomach is in the mood for food anymore. Not with how it’s twisting into a knot Alexander the Great couldn’t get through.

“Shaving a man is very sexy. Remember that guy I dated in junior year? The one who turned twenty-one ahead of all of us and would buy us beer and hang out all the time? Well, I shaved him once. We had a very hot night.”

I stare down at my salad as my appetite all but disappears. “You’re not helping.”

“Well, in my defense, I did say you didn’t want to know what I thought about shaving a man.”

“So it’s hopeless. I might as well just jump on the next guy who shows his face in this restaurant,” I say, my emotions quickly careening toward depression.

Setting her fork down, Jessie stops eating. “No, nothing is ever hopeless. We’re smart women. We can figure this out. So maybe he does like Miss Young Thing paying attention to him. So what? From what you’ve told me, the guy deserves a little happiness after all he’s had to deal with. Let him ogle the girl. I’m thinking he still cares about you.”

Nowhere close to believing that now, I stab my fork into my salad and spear a tomato covered in Russian dressing. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because he set up that whole lunch for you. He made sure that woman who works for him made your favorite foods. The man remembered that from five years ago, Kate. You told me he hates chocolate, yet he had her bake a chocolate cake just for you? He’s into you.”

He did do all those things. That’s true.

“Her name is Eleanor, and she doesn’t work for him. She’s the woman who’s been with his family since before he was born.”

Jessie waves away my defense of Eleanor. “Whatever. Fine. What matters is he went to that effort for you. That means something.”

Sighing, I stuff the tomato wedge into my mouth and chew it before saying, “He’s always been very thoughtful. It’s just who he is.”

“So she shaved him? You should thank her. You said he looked like some wilderness guy who’d lived in a cabin for years without a shower or a razor.”

The way Jessie says that makes me smile, but a second later, I see someone walk into the restaurant, and my mood instantly sours. She sees my expression fall and turns around to look for the reason.

“Sweet baby Jesus, who is the god in the gray t-shirt and jeans, and why do you look so miserable?” she says as she stares at him.

Of course, he sees the two of us looking at him and begins to walk over to talk to us. Super.

I can’t answer her questions before Marius King stops next to our table, smiling like he’s thrilled to see me. Since I’m convinced he’s hated me for years, I have to assume that grin of his is mocking me.

“Katie Abbott, I keep seeing you in the most unexpected places. What are you doing here at The Library?” he asks like this is his spot and someone like me doesn’t belong here.

Jessie mouths the word Katie, as if she’s shocked anyone had the nerve to call me that, and looks up at him with nothing short of pure lust in her eyes. For his part, he seems interested in her too and turns his attention toward her, thankfully.

“I’m eating,” I say, answering his question with as little effort as possible since he’s clearly moved on by the time I get the words out.

“And who’s this?” he asks Jessie.

She offers her hand to shake his, and with the first touch of his skin on hers, I’m convinced my best friend has finally fallen in love. I should warn her about him, but since I know her thoughts on men, I doubt he’ll be more than a distraction for a short time.

“Jessie. And who are you?”

“Marius King,” he answers in a voice that instantly says he thinks that means something.

My friend recognizes the last name and turns her head to face me. “King? As in Ronan King?” Looking back up at him, she asks Marius, “Any relation?”

“He’s my baby brother. I’m surprised your friend here has never mentioned me. I’ve known her for years.”

Even though neither he nor Jessie are likely interested in my response, I mumble, “I can’t imagine why I’d mention you at all since you’ve never been anything but a bust ass every time I’m around.”

I’m surprised when he turns his attention to me and says, “You always were very sensitive when it came to me, Katie. I just like to tease.”

I look across the table and can almost read my friend’s mind when he says that. To her, that sounds as sexy as hell. To me, it sounds like an excuse for being a jerk ever since we met.

Whatever he means, I don’t say anything in the hopes that he’ll go away, but then Jessie offers to have him join us, clearly not reading my mind, and he accepts, sliding into the booth next to her. How nice. She’s getting to enjoy herself with this King while I sit here worrying about his brother and what he feels for the nanny.

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