Page 80 of Wicked Prince

"Wow," I murmur. "That's pretty cold."

"That's Alfonso Romero," he says. "Frozen solid, right down to the bone."

"That must be why he gets along so well with my Dad."

"Birds of a feather and all that," he agrees. "Forgive me for saying this, but I envy you in a way."

"Oh?" I ask.

"Not growing up in this world, I mean," he clarifies. "It's not really something I'd wish on anyone. Especially not a child."

"No," I say, my throat growing tight.

The main reason I know I can't stay is because he's right. I can't deny my baby the chance at a relatively normal childhood like the one I had. If it's a girl, I don't want her to end up being some bargaining chip used to further the ends of the men in her life. If it's a boy, I don't want him becoming like my father. Or his own, for that matter.

For that reason alone, even if I knew Lorenzo would react positively to the news, I wouldn’t want to tell him.

"I'm sorry if I upset you—"

"No, not at all," I say quickly. "I was just thinking about what you said, and you're right. It's not a life I'd wish on anyone. But you seem to have turned out pretty well."

"I'd say that's up for debate," he says dryly.

I can’t help but smile. The more I spend time around Stefan, the more I'm convinced Lorenzo is just a liar. And I mean, I already know that for a fact. He just wants to have his cake and eat it, too.

I like telling myself that, at least.

We're already at the classroom building, and we’re about ten minutes early, so I decide to show him around. Most of the finance-related classes are also in the liberal arts building, so I figure he should know where he's going to be spending most of his time.

I can't help but think it might be nice if he does end up coming to Bainbridge. Not that I'm planning on sticking around, but it would be cool to have more than one person to hang out with who doesn't hate my guts. Like Anthony, something tells me Stefan isn't the type who puts a lot of stock into other people's opinions.

I'm planning on introducing them at lunch, even though that comes with the risk of not knowing what the hell Anthony is going to say. I'm pretty sure they'll get along, though. The fact that Stefan and Lorenzo clearly hate each other is a decent indicator of that.

I have to admit, there's a part of me that's curious to find out what Anthony thinks of him. He's a pretty good judge of character, so if he's sketched out by something I'm missing, I would take that more seriously than Lorenzo's opinion. He's far more objective, at any rate.

Once it's time for class, I'm relieved to find Lorenzo isn't there yet. Part of me is hoping he doesn't show up, even though there will always be another part of me that longs to see him, even if it's only for a minute.

Then again, I wouldn't put it past Lorenzo to start a fight in the classroom in front of everyone, so it's probably better to avoid the encounter if at all possible.

We've barely made it to the two empty seats in back before the whispering starts. Most of the girls are staring at Stefan lustfully, but there's still the odd note of scandal laced in their admiration. The guys are all giving him wary, jealous looks, making it clear they view him as competition.

And I can't say I blame them. Unlike most of the hot guys at Bainbridge, he doesn't walk around acting like a complete douchebag.

Then again, most of the girls at Bainbridge seem to find that appealing for some reason.

Although I fell for Lorenzo, so I can't really talk myself.

"Sorry everyone is being so weird," I say, leaning in toward him. I don't try particularly hard to keep my voice down, either. They're the ones making fools out of themselves.

"It's fine," he says with his usual good-natured ease. "I'm used to it."

That makes me sad, but I decide not to admit that.

When the professor comes in, even he seems a bit nervous when he looks over at Stefan. "Good morning, everyone. And a warm welcome to our guest. I expect you'll all show him the usual Bainbridge hospitality."

It's all I can do not to laugh at that. Hospitality and Bainbridge are not really two words I would put in the same sentence, unless "doesn't exist at" is sandwiched between them.

Class starts, and it’s pretty much the same way as always, but Stefan is polite enough to pretend like he isn't bored to death. I guess it's possible he just finds the subject matter of logistics interesting, unfathomable as that is to me personally.

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