Page 30 of Royally Wed
He glanced at Amelia. She’d gone quiet since she’d turned on the light. And if he wasn’t mistake, a bit pale.
“What is all of this?” he asked.
“Wedding gifts,” she said flatly.
“Holy shit,” he said before he could stop himself, then clamped his mouth shut and shot her a sideways glance, certain he’d just broken some sort ofroyal protocol yet again.
But when she met his gaze, laughter danced in her eyes. “Thank you.”
He lifted a brow and tried very hard to ignore the fact that he was enjoying himself. Quite a bit, actually. “For what? Not one of these gifts is from me.”
“Are you sure? Not even the totem pole?” Her lower lip slid forward into a pout.
God, she was gorgeous.
If she’d been anyone else, he’d havebeen tempted to kiss her again. Right then and there. Not that he’d kissed many women since Serena. None, in fact. Just the princess.
He cleared his throat. “Not even the totem pole. Although as far as wedding gifts go, it’s a solid choice.”
She shook her head, and the humor in her eyes dimmed. Asher could see her sadness coming back with each passing second. Even Willow seemed to notice it.She let out an uncharacteristically subdued whine and plopped on top of Asher’s right foot.
“Why are you really thanking me, Amelia?” he murmured. The walls in his bedroom might not have ears, but surely the ones here did.
She sighed. “Because you’re the only one who seems toappreciate the absurdity of this situation. I mean, look at all this stuff.”
“It’s definitely absurd.” He chuckled,but something in her eyes made him suddenly unsure exactly what they were talking about.
The gifts? The leopard?
The wedding itself?
“Your groom was at rehearsal yesterday.” He hadn’t meant to bring up her fiancé. In fact, he’d been planning on avoiding the topic at all costs.
But it just slipped out. At least that’s what he told himself, because he sure as hell didn’t want to believe he wasmeddling in her relationship. The kiss notwithstanding, obviously.
Meddling is exactly what you’re doing, and you know it.
“Oh.” Either Asher was imagining things, or her face fell for the briefest of seconds before she nodded and smiled. “Duke Holden. Right. He’s lovely.”
“So you’ve said.”Shut the hell up.Her smile was fading fast. If he kept talking, he was sure to push her away again.
He didn’t want that. He was enjoying her company, probably more than he should be.
Yet on some level, he was tempted to mention what he’d seen the day before—the way the duke had held onto the other woman’s hand and the implied intimacy of the gesture.
He wouldn’t, obviously. What could he possibly say, anyway?
He hadn’t actually witnessed anything inappropriate. He just had a sick feeling inhis gut at the way the two of themhad looked at one another. It was the same way he’d noticed Serena and Jeremy looking at each other before he knew the truth.
Amelia narrowed her gaze. “What are you trying to say, Asher?”
That I think your duke is in love with another woman.
He swallowed the words down, intent on saying something else. But before he could utter a word, a familiar voice rangout behind him.
“Amelia?Mr. Reed?Whatever are the two of you doing in here?”
Willow flew to her feet, and trotted past him. Asher knew who’d walked into the room without even turning around.
The queen.
