Page 44 of Truth or Spare

“In this case, I was the spare’s spare and no one really wanted the crown. We despised the von Hessens growing up because our father had been disowned and disinherited for the terrible crime of marrying for love.” Theo rolled his eyes and flailed dismissively. “Leo and I saw a chance to restore our father’s and our family’s legacyanduse the von Hessen title for good. My brother’s temperament is…not what the Foundation would have wished, but he has the heart of a margrave.”

“The Foundation?” Dewey asked, causing Theo’s lip to curl. For a man as easygoing and forgiving as Theo, that was very telling.

“The Foundation of the House of Hessen is the corporation that governs nearlyeveryaspect of Leo’s life. Me and my brothers are the last of the von Hessens now. Max and his daughters want nothing to do with the Foundation. Understandably,” he added with a pointed look. “We never wanted back in after the way our parents were treated, but my brothers and I have made the best of it.”

Dewey hummed thoughtfully as he considered. He had never doubted that Theo was a devoted and loving brother. He talked about his brothersall the time.But Dewey never sensed that Theo was burdened by the wealth and privilege he had gained.

“Still doesn’t hurt to be a prince,” he argued, causing Theo to laugh.

“It often does!” he said as he tapped on the center of his chest. “The pain of injury, loss, hunger, defeat… There are different degrees of suffering and my brothers and I have enjoyed sheltered, insulated upbringings and have immense privilege.Now.That can only shelter you from so much and I would trade it all to have my parents back. And contrary to what you might believe, it feelsterriblewhen someone readsyour Wikipedia page back to you and looks up how much you’re ‘worth.’ I hope that I’m more than my brother’s spare, but you’d never know that if you judge me by what you read on the internet.”

“You are,” Dewey said, nodding firmly. “I haven’t been able to make much sense of you or why you’re here. Never doubted that you were a good and decent man who’d move mountains for his family, though. It’s one of the few things about you that actually makes sense.”

Theo pushed out a heavy sigh. “It’s all I was, unfortunately.” He shook his head, his eyes shimmering as they held Dewey’s. “Before we lost our parents, my mother and her sisters babied us. As Italian mammas and ziettas do. After we lost them and the Foundation took over Leo’s life, I did my best to fill the void for Teo and Eli. But they’re men now and they don’t need me the way they used to.”

“So, you’ve been wandering the world and New York because you’re looking for a purpose?” Dewey summarized, making Theo chuckle.

“It’s hard to explain, but when you have a brother like Leo, who’s destined for something that big, it consumes your entire family. We lived under that magnifying glass with him and we had to play our part or the Foundation would collapse. There was talk of restoring another line if Leo didn’t work out. But they were too distantly related for Austrians to swallow, so the plan was ditched. Our saving grace was that there werefour of us, if Leo proved too difficult to control.”

Dewey’s brows jumped. “I didn’t know royals had backbones. I think I might like your brother.”

“You’re very alike,” Theo noted with a teasing grin. “You’re both surly and determined to carry the weight of the world, no matter what it costs you.” He dared Dewey to deny it.

“Someone’s gotta do it?” he attempted sheepishly, earning a knowing hum from Theo.

“That’s just the sort of thing Leo would say. He did it all for us and to save as much of the planet as he could. He’s a little too pragmatic and prone to biting the hand, so I had to be the perfect,charmingone. To buy Leo time and to give the Foundation their insurance policy. I didn’t want our younger brothers under their thumb. They tried to tell Teo to be quiet and less of a communist and Eli to behave and it never went well,” he said with a delighted chuckle, but it faded as Theo stared past Dewey’s shoulder. “The only aspirations I ever had were for my brothers and I was lost until I came here.”

“You’d find your way no matter where you landed, but I get why you’d feel lost. I’d have a hard time too if I wasn’t needed around here anymore,” Dewey said with a sad nod, finally seeing Theo and understanding. He would struggle too if Bryce, Cassie, and Oslo had no use for him and the bowling alley had competent management. Being everyone’s big brother was Dewey’s entire identity and “hard worker” was all he had for a personality. “It doesn’t excuse all the lies,” Dewey said and Theo squinted at him.

“It doesn’t, but you hid things as well,” he reminded Dewey.

“It was a medical condition, because I didn’t want pity and for people to stop looking up to me,” Dewey argued. “You lied about damn near everything—your real name, your family, where you came from, why you were here… I feel like an idiot because I thought you were on the run and hiding from the feds for white collar shit, like tax evasion or insider trading. I thought I was aiding a penniless con man but you’ve been a rich prince this entire time,” he said, causing Theo to gasp and clutch his chest.

“You’d do that for me?”

Dewey threw up his hands. “That’s what I thought I was doing, and that you were worth all the trouble. I wish I had known this was just a game for you.”

“It was never a game.Youwere never a game,” Theo returned quickly, shaking his head. “I respected and admired you from the very beginning. That’s why I decided to stay and help as much as I could. It’s why Ididn’tkiss you all the times I wanted to, because I knew you deserved more than a quick fling.”

“Right…” Dewey was flattered, except that they had kissed. And more. “What are we then? A…slow fling?”

“I hope not.” Theo held out a hand, smiling softly. “I was certain you’d run me out of town once you found out. I didn’t have a plan for after, if you didn’t fire me and evict us from the Winnie.”

A startled laugh burst from Dewey. “Evict you?” he asked, catching Theo’s hand and giving it a tug. He came easily, sliding into Dewey’s arms. He cupped Theo’s jaw and traced his lips. “Oh, you’re definitely getting fired as soon asIfind a decent manager, but I’m not in a hurry to be rid of you and Walter.”

“That’s very funny,” Theo said as he wound an arm around Dewey’s shoulders. “I haven’t been the best because I was keeping secrets and I didn’t understand how seriously you needed help. But I understand now and I will be taking this—us—far more seriously.”

Dewey raised a wary brow. “Oh?”

“Trust me, I might have been terrible at bowling alley management, but I am very good at taking care of people and solving problems. You’ll see.”

“Ah.” Dewey snorted. “You’ve accepted that you aren’t cut out for the bowling alley so you’re going to take care of me? Is that it?”

Theo nodded quickly. “Ja! That’s exactly it. I might not be a perfect fit for Brooks Family Bowling, but I’m exactly whatyouneed, Brooks.”

“Just you, though. I don’t need a prince or for you to throw more money around.” Dewey leaned back and pinned Theo with a loaded look. “You’ve already done enough with the plumbing and the animal shelter.”

“Ja! Of course!” Theo offered Dewey one of his big, blinding smiles.

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