Page 108 of How to Date a Prince

“Out with it,” Katie demands, reaching out a hand for my phone. “What’s going on? You’re acting stranger than usual. And you, my lovely, are strange enough for several.”

Startled, I laugh. “Sorry. I should be more present.” I flip my phone face down, resting my chin in hand, elbow against the table. A variety of nail varnishes and makeup is spread between us. I give her my sweetest smile and flutter my eyelashes.

“You’re a ridiculous creature,” Katie informs me. “If only the world knew. Now, tell me. What are you doing? Watching choice porn? What?”

“No! Fuck.” My eyes widen. “What do you take me for? It’s only Instagram.”

“You? Instagram?” Katie frowns at me with concern. “Maybe we should tell the concussion team about this.”

I hold up my hands. “It’s purely innocent. And, by the way, they’re not called a concussion team.”

“Semantics.” She narrows her eyes at me. “You corrupt boy.”

I redden. “Okay, it’s maybe not entirely innocent.”

“Called that too. I know my target audience.”

Picking up my phone, I unlock the screen to discover a gorgeous headshot of Thomas, which makes it difficult to breathe. Trying to shake off the inevitable fluster, I show her his photo. She’s more immune to his charms.

“Ob-sessed.” She takes my phone, scrolling through Thomas’ feed. There are all kinds of photos, him alone, him with friends, him with Adam. Except there’s nothing today, and it’s making me wild. “Not that I can blame you. But why the frantic scrolling tonight when I’m not looking? Are you that desperate for a wank? Can’t you do this on your own time?”

I laugh. “No! It’s, err. Well. Alright. I’ll come clean. Let’s back up. I saw Thomas the other day.”

“You did what?” Katie squeaks. Her eyebrows lift. “You didn’t tell me that. Auggie! That’s important.”

“Well, it came together last minute. We went out hillwalking. In the fog.” I do my best to sound like I have any semblance of calm when it comes to Thomas. Even when fog is involved.

“Sounds romantic. Or daft.” Katie scrutinizes me like I’m up for a lobotomy. She slides the box of nail varnish over. “Except I thought it was over between you two. And choose something already.”

I peer in, select something called “leather daddy,” and roll the bottle between my hands. “It wasn’t romantic, exactly. Maybe. It was… a lot of things. It didn’t end well, before I could really explain how I truly feel about him. And he’s been seeing this guy?—”

“Adam Theroux.”

“How did you know that?” I ask. Perhaps she’s a hacker the tabloids would envy.

“Darling, by now, you should know I know everything.” Katie looks at me knowingly, rolling her eyes. She takes the polish from me and then picks a bottom coat. I put my hands on the table, holding my ground despite her amazing omniscient powers. She starts with the clear coat. “Fact. Also: Instagram, silly.”

“Fine. Oracle. What happened, then? Since you’re all-knowing and all-seeing?”

“You’re trying to see what they’re up to?” She lifts her head, one hand done. She shakes her head before she moves on to the next one. “Desperation doesn’t look good on you.”

“I’m not desperate!” I frown at her. “I’m… invested.”

“You’re creeping on Instagram, and you don’t even have a profile. Wait. Can you see Instagram if you don’t have a profile?” Katie wonders aloud, then gives me a piercing look. “Did you set up an Instagram to creep on Thomas?”

My blush can be seen from space. I try to protest, but Katie waves me off. “Have you posted anything?”

“No.” I look scandalized.

“You can’t go creeping around Insta without offering up your own thirst trap in return.” Katie peers at me, aghast. “Selfie time, I’m afraid.”

“What? Wait. Oh no. I don’t do selfies. I’m a prince.” I try to look dignified. “One thing I’m confident of is that I’m not a thirst trap. And we’re not supposed to have our own accounts.”

“Nonsense. It’s a modern era. Try a selfie. We don’t have to post it if you look too silly, but let me tell you a secret—you’re hot as fuck, Auggie. Go for it.”

“Like this?” I peer into the phone.

“You look like an eaglet peering at a webcam perched on the edge of your nest.” She giggles. “Not like that. This isn’t a nature documentary.”

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