Page 77 of Royal Fling
I nodded.
I didn’t want him to go. I wanted him to stay. Stay here until this all blew over and everyone forgot we existed. But of course, no one would forget August existed. Hell, they’d probably write that I murdered him if he disappeared for a few days. There was no winning for me.
“We’ll deal with this. Together,” he said, squeezing my hand again.
He gave me another kiss, and then I watched him wrap the scarf around his neck, put the shades back on and leave.
“Let me know what happens,” I said.
He smirked and blew me a kiss.
“Good luck.”
The door closed behind him. And now I had to play the waiting game.
Great!
Twenty
August
This was a disaster. This whole affair was an absolute disaster. And Luke was suffering because of it.
I had to do something. I had to do right by him, but I didn’t know what. This had never happened to our family before.
We’d managed to remain a relatively scandal-less family for a long time, so dealing with this crisis was not my forte.
Which was why I hoped to God Teagan had a solution to this whole ordeal. At least to find a way to protect Luke from the slander.
I was so busy being worried about Luke’s safety that I didn’t have the time to worry about my mother visiting. If I did, I’d probably end up debilitated by fear and frustration.
There was a knock on my door, and Mother came in. She was wearing a simple cream suit. Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun that made her brows appear raised and her temples prominent.
Either she’d had Botox, or she was really pissed. Somehow, I doubted it was the former.
She was followed by… Ginny, my youngest sister. She may only be seventeen, but she was intelligent beyond her years and much beloved by everyone in the palace and the people of our country alike.
I assumed her choice to go to a public school for her last few years of education had played a big part in that even if it had caused a big headache to the palace, and the security precautions still caused a lot of pain with our father.
But since everyone loved her, it was hard to say no to her. Sometimes I wish I was more like her. Maybe if I was, I’d be able to live my life on my own terms.
I stood up and bowed to both women in my office. Teagan was the last to enter, and she curtsied at me.
“Mother,” I said. “Ginny. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
My sister offered me a compassionate smile and took a seat. “Mother asked me to be here. And I wanted to be here for you.”
Well, at least I knew I had one person on my team.
My mother sat down, as well, which prompted both Teagan and I to fall back to our seats.
I felt like I was about to be interrogated. I may have been sitting at my desk, at my house, but it sure looked like I was about to answer for my mistakes.
I hated this. How powerless I felt in meetings such as these when my mother, my sister, hell even myaide,were far more powerful than me.
You’d think a future king would always be at an advantageous position, but that was not the case. Definitely not with me.
“How did this happen, August?” Mama asked, cutting the air with the sharpness in her tone.
