Page 36 of The Prom King & The Ice Queen

God, she seriously thinks that little of me.

“Look, I’m not going to tell anyone about where you live or…or what I saw.”

Her mouth works but she stays silent. But there it is again. A flicker of suspicion, yes. But also a glimpse of vulnerability. A little tiny crack in her armor, and it hits me just as hard as that crack in her voice when she sang.

It makes my chest feel too tight and I will do just about anything to see more. To get past that wall of ice.

“My dad isn’t my real dad.” I blurt it out awkwardly, and it comes out of nowhere.

She blinks at me in surprise. “What?”

I shrug like it’s no big deal. Like I’m not spilling a secret I’ve never shared with another soul outside of my immediate family. But even though my heart is thudding wildly in my chest, I don’t regret saying it.

It feels right. Like, this is the only thing that can take that fear out of her eyes. Like some sort of childish game we brought with us into adulthood. Show me your secrets and I’ll show you mine.

“Trust me,” I say, forcing a smile that I know will annoy her with its smugness. “I’m well aware that the Barons aren’t as perfect as they seem, and I always have been.”

She’s still wide eyed and speechless.

I take a deep breath and break it down simply. “My mom got pregnant with me senior year of high school. My grandparents freaked. My mom thought the guy loved her and would be there for her…” I shift in my seat because her eyes are focused like lasers.

Jeez, this girl is intense.

“He wasn’t?” she guesses. The bitterness in her voice makes me wince. I’m not exactly not jaded, especially not about this topic, but her uber-cynicism makes me feel like a naive little kid.

“He wasn’t,” I agree. “He ran off, too afraid of what the Barons would do to him, I guess, to stick around this town.”

“Smart,” she says. When I arch my brows, she adds, “And cowardly.”

We share a weird little smirk at that. It might be the first time we’ve ever agreed on anything. “Yeah, well. They wanted her to get rid of me but she wouldn’t. But she did agree to their…arrangement.”

She flinches like I hit her. “It was an arranged marriage?”

I nod. “Apparently not so unheard of in my grandparents’ circle, though I still say it’s archaic and insane.”

“Did it work?” She shakes her head and shuts her eyes. “Sorry. That’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s fine.” I shift again as I try to figure out the answer. “They get along okay, I guess, for the most part. My dad is kind of an ass—”

She bursts out in a short, shocked laugh and I shrug. “It’s the truth.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

I look up at the ceiling of my car as I try to put it into words. “He’s basically every bad stereotype you’ve assigned to me.”

She doesn’t flinch this time. She smiles. “Yeah, I can see that.”

I nod, torn between a smile and a glower because she’s just confirmed everything I always knew. She thinks I’m the same sort of entitled, useless, weak snob my adopted father is.

“He’s not the worst,” I admit. “I mean, he’s not abusive or anything. And at least he did as he promised.” I wince. “Of course, he got a lot in exchange.”

“You?” she guesses, a hint of mockery in her voice.

“Into the Barons family,” I correct. And then I surprise myself with a laugh. For the first time in my life I’m laughing about it. “He’s still pissed he couldn’t take my mom’s name.”

“He wanted to?”

“He was dying to. He grew up around here. My family was like all he and his family ever strove to be, you know?”

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