Page 17 of Broken Crown

“You did?”His eyes practically bulge out of their sockets.

“What advice is that?”Harriet gives us a quizzical look.

“To tell Creed the truth about the night Adam died,” Marius explains.“How he was taking Ezzy to see Creed to make things right.”

“And you told him?”Harriet raises a hopeful brow.

“I did,” I say with an infectious grin.“Well, not right away.I told him I loved him, but—”

“Well, it’s about damn time!”Marius slams his hand on the table, drawing the attention of several other patrons, including Archie.

I give my chief protection officer a reassuring smile before returning my attention to Marius.

“But it still didn’t matter,” I continue in a soft voice, not wanting anyone eavesdropping in on our conversation.Granted, we’re at a fairly secluded table, but I can’t take any chances.It’s one thing to tell Harriet and Marius.They’re the most trustworthy people I know.

But no one else can know the truth.

“He made his decision, and it wasn’t me.”I smile sadly, the memory of him pushing me away causing my throat to close up.“He still deserved the truth, though.So I told him Adam wasn’t taking me to my mother’s grave the night he died.You should have seen the anguish on his expression.It was so heart-wrenching that I couldn’t get out the rest of what I needed to say.So I walked away.Thought that was the end of it.Until he showed up at my apartment—”

“He went to your apartment?”Marius presses.

“When?”Harriet asks.

“Friday night.Well, I guess it was technically Saturday morning because it was after midnight.”

“What did he want?”

“The truth about where Adam was taking me.And that’s when I realized something.”

“What’s that?”Marius asks.

“I spent the past ten years keeping the truth from Creed because I didn’t want to burden him with any more guilt.But by keeping the truth from him, I burdened him with guilt, anyway.If he’d known Adam’s last act on earth was one of love for his brother, maybe Creed wouldn’t feel this intense need to make things right between them.Wouldn’t continue sacrificing his happiness.So I told him the truth.That his brother gave me a choice of where to go and that I chose Creed.That I’ll always choose him.”

“Good for you.”Harriet reaches across the table and squeezes my hand, her support unwavering, as always.“Then what happened?”

Pulling my hand away, I draw in a deep breath, lifting my tea cup to my lips again.“And then…”

“Yes?”Harriet leans closer, her rapt attention glued to my every move.

I smile over my tea cup.“We made love.”

“It’s about damn time,” she exhales, sinking back into her chair.“The sexual tension between the two of you at Anders’ party the other night was bloody intense.I’m glad you finally worked some of that off.”

“Did we ever.”

My friends burst out laughing, and I join them, feeling surprisingly at ease, despite the unsettling dream I had last night.

But just like this morning at the gym, just like the night I begged Creed to stay with me after nearly getting shot, he seems to chase my nightmares away.

I hope he always will.

“So…,” Marius begins, and I can already sense where this conversation is headed, “how is this going to work?Last I checked, he’s still in the royal guard.”

“He is.”My expression falls.“Which is why we’ve agreed to keep our distance.”

“Wait.You’renottogether?”Harriet furrows her brow.

“Truth be told, I’m not sure what we are.But he’s up for retirement in August.”

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