Page 34 of A Queen and HER Bad Boy
Achilles might have his failings, but backing down from a challenge wasn’t one of them. He grinned in response, the expression transforming his face from marble statue to devastating charmer. “You mistake me for someone who has that kind of influence over her.”
The countess laughed again, clearly delighted. “If you believe that, then you don’t know women.”
Past her shoulder, a beautiful socialite entered the ballroom in a sparkling red dress that caught the light like liquid fire. Immediately Bris realized her tactical error in dressing in an unobtrusive white, especially when she saw her husband’s head turn sharply toward the entrance.
Her stomach clenched in surprise. Charisse Oshear had entered the party.
What was she doing here? Bris had seen the guest list and hadn’t noticed an invitation going to the American heiress. Her heart could only take so much, but she sneaked a glanceat Achilles. His face mirrored her shock, his expression going carefully blank in the way it did when he was hiding something important.
Was there any trace of love in that expression?
No, but her prince wasn’t someone who showed his cards to the world, and he certainly wouldn’t now. Charisse’s color was high, which made her look far more radiant than the distantly amused socialite she’d been at Venice’s wedding. Her red dress clung to her curves like it had been painted on. Every man in the vicinity was staring.
Too late, the countess turned to see what had stolen their attention, and she let out a scoff that only the very rich and elite could risk without inviting censure. “Is this a friend of yours?” she asked them, her tone suggesting she already knew the answer and disapproved.
“Y-yes,” Bris answered quickly, her voice catching slightly. “A very good friend.” She refused to look at Achilles again, though she could hear his breathing change, becoming shallower and more controlled.
“Hmm.” The countess wasn’t pleased, her disapproval evident in the tight line of her mouth. “Watch out for her.” She left on her heel with a swish of expensive fabric.
Bris wasn’t entirely sure of her meaning, but she definitely took it to heart as she watched the socialite approach like a red-dressed missile. Near Charisse’s delicate arm, an older man she recognized as the CEO of Oshear Industries escorted his daughter through the guests with the confidence of old money and established power.
Spotting them and cutting through the line of guests who crushed against them for their turn to meet the future sovereigns of Tirreoy, Chris Oshear grasped Achilles’s hand in a firm handshake. “I’ve heard so much about you. My daughter won’tstop singing your praises. I’m not surprised, to be frank. I knew your father well.”
Achilles broke from his stiff posture to step forward eagerly. “You… knew him?”
“He was a good man. A hero.”
Bris shifted uncomfortably at the touchy subject, careful not to show too much emotion. Achilles fully blamed her father for his death—the idea that Chises Mnon would do away with the hero of this country was unbelievable! General Peleus had sacrificed his life to usher her family and his own to safety. If anyone had killed him, it wasn’t his best friend. Atreus Mnon seemed the more likely culprit. How could Achilles believe that wretched man after everything that had happened?
No matter how she argued, Achilles wouldn’t listen.
“We worked together in the past on several military initiatives,” Chris Oshear continued, clearly enjoying having Achilles’s rapt attention. As he namedropped and prattled on about Achilles’s father to his hungry ears, she practiced her impersonation of an elegant houseplant.
Charisse, on the other hand, had never been so animated. A myriad of tragic emotions played over her flawless features—longing, hurt, determination. “Achilles,” she finally broke in, her voice breathless. She wrapped her fingers through his in something closer to a caress than a handshake. “I—I wanted to be the first to congratulate you on—on your… marriage.”
Achilles struggled to cover whatever he was feeling, the muscle in his jaw ticking with tension. “As you know, it was very last minute.”
Bris hadn’t detected this bitterness earlier, but only a fool wouldn’t know it was absolutely justified. She’d just hoped that she’d be the silver lining in all this and… well, she wasn’t. The consequences of their hasty marriage were pouring down on them like acid rain, corroding everything they touched.
“May I talk to you alone, Achilles?” Charisse tugged on his hand with possessive familiarity. Bris might as well have been wallpaper for how much Charisse acknowledged her. “I need a few words with you.”
Achilles glanced over at Bris, something unreadable flickering in his dark eyes. “Will you excuse us for a moment? I should probably… explain.”
How much? Wouldn’t those details be their country’s deepest darkest secret? Or was this more about letting Charisse cry all over him while he, in turn, vowed to never forget her… or worse? Was this the beginning of a liaison?
Panic choked her, like it never had when Achilles had been his own man. He’d always run from woman to woman, but what would he consider acceptable as a man forced into matrimony? And what was Bris supposed to do, tell him, “No way—you’re not talking to another woman again?”
Her fingers clenched into fists before she nodded with regal composure. “By all means, don’t let me keep you. I’m sure you have so much catching up to do.” She turned to Charisse with a smile sharp enough to cut glass. “Charisse, I have to say what an unexpected pleasure it is to see you again.”
Was that queenly enough a response? Bris briefly thought of yanking her back and dragging her through the dessert table by her meticulously styled hair.
“Be sure to try the cream puffs,” she added sweetly. “They always work wonders if you’re feeling hangry.”
Charisse’s eyes narrowed on her with barely concealed venom before she turned her straight back against Bris and led her husband away. And that looked really, really bad… another miscalculation on her part. Bris hadn’t been prepped for this beforehand.
Another well-wisher greeted her with effusive compliments about her dress. She’d never felt more alone. Where was Phoenixin all this? Likely he’d seethe at this latest faux pas. Were these missteps going to be a part of her new life now that she’d failed to secure her husband’s affection?
“Are you serious right now?”
