Page 57 of Fake Dating the Prince

One by one the other bathers filed out, leaving the room silent except for the occasional hiss of steam. Caught up in self-pity, Brayden didn’t move.

Maybe he could return to his grandmother’s studio. She might consider selling the place to him when she retired, not that Brayden had much saved to give her for it.

Of course, every time he taught the waltz, he’d think of Flip’s sure grip and warm eyes, the steady pressure of his hand on Brayden’s waist, the way their bodies moved together. It had taken Brayden ten years to get over teenage heartbreak. How long before he could imagine a future for himself—one hewanted—that didn’t have Flip in it?

He’d been foolish to ever believe he could pretend to be involved with Flip and walk away with his heart intact. He should have known better from the first time Flip rushed off to be his cousin’s knight in armor. From the first time he shared that sometimes he ate ice cream for lunch. From the first time Brayden made him laugh.

He should have known, just as he should have known Flip couldn’t be for him. He didn’t blame Flip for wanting to break it off. Even if all he wanted in the world was to go back to Lyngria right now and beg him to reconsider.

“Brayden.”

The hair on the back of his neck rose. He opened his eyes.

Flip stood in the doorway to the sauna, cheeks flushed, his normally coiffed hair in disarray. That, paired with his expensive mismatched clothing, lent him a sort of hopeless air. He looked like a wealthy man who’d just come off a bender—or a prince who’d suddenly discovered his lover absent from his life.

Brayden’s mouth worked without his permission, and he wondered if he was seeing things. “What are you doing here?”

“Coming after you. Obviously.”

That didn’t make any sense. “Why?” Not that he was complaining.

Flip went on, just as calmly, as though he didn’t already have sweat beading at his temples, “Tell me you don’t love me and I’ll let you go.”

Brayden swallowed hard. “What does that have to do with anything? You’re the one who wanted to end things.”

“I wasn’t breaking up with you.”

Brayden waited a few seconds for that to sink in. It didn’t. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I wasn’t breaking up with you,” Flip repeated, flushing either with the heat or embarrassment or both. “I wanted to talk about our relationship, but it wasn’t anything bad. I was nervous and flustered, and that made me sound… formal and distant when I meant to be affectionate. I started badly and it got worse from there, and then I got interrupted….”

“Started badly.” Brayden rubbed his eyes and looked up again, but Flip was still there. Unless Brayden had been sitting there long enough to start hallucinating. “And got worse from there. And then I thought… and I left.” He winced, but his heart was lifting, and he managed half a laugh. “Jesus, we’re a pair.”

“Maybe we can make a New Year’s resolution to communicate better,” Flip offered with a soft smile. “I’ll start now, though. You are far too kind, charming, and good-natured to cause an international incident.”

Brayden’s hands were trembling. “The press… they’re so awful to you. And I remember your face when you talked about what happened with Miles. I don’t ever want to be the reason you get hurt like that. My Instagram account could have been so embarrassing for you.”

“Brayden. I was born brown and gay. To the worst of the press, I’m already the scourge of the country. Do you really think I take anything they say to heart? Especially when it’s about the man I love?”

The man I love.Brayden’s throat worked. Flip loved him—now, still, after everything he’d put him through. How had he misunderstood something so fundamental to Flip’s life? “But after the ball… you were upset. I thought….”

“Yes—for you,” Flip said. “You didn’t sign up for that level of scrutiny, and I was angry with myself for subjecting you to it without preparing you. And embarrassed—notofyou, but because I….”

Brayden waited. He was still reeling from Flip’s confession and had no idea what he might say.

“Because I knew I wanted to pursue a real relationship with you, and I’d just made it very complicated for myself.”

“Oh,” he said in a small voice. A smile began to tug at the corners of his mouth, but it seemed too early to give in to it. Surely things could still go sour? Brayden had an excellent track record of fucking things up.

Flip kissed the back of his hand. “My dad told me what happened on your shopping trip and that he might have scared you off. He was extremely contrite.” Then he shook his head. “But that’s partly my fault too. Apparently he was trying to give us a nudge in the right direction. If I’d told him the truth earlier….”

“I mean, let’s not discount the fact that I jumped to conclusions and left the country instead of actually talking to you.” Brayden swallowed hard thinking of what he’d done. “There’s plenty of blame to go around.”

Flip sat next to him on the bench. He had to be sweltering in the heat of the sauna, but he didn’t betray the slightest bit of discomfort. “I’d like to start our conversation over, if that’s okay with you?”

“After making you chase me to Finland, I think hearing you out is the least I can do.” He felt really stupid. “I’m so sorry. I was so preoccupied thinking I’d fuck things up for you. Or that someone would find out the whole thing was fake….”

Flip huffed softly and leaned his forehead against Brayden’s. “You idiot. Not a single moment has been fake.”

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