10. The Dressing Room

CHAPTER 10

The Dressing Room

Cedric

Leaving the bed in the morning was far harder than leaving the room and the hotel behind. It was warm in the bed. Sleeping next to Tristan, our limbs tangled and torsos pressed together, was a new luxury that I had never had before. There wasn't a score of handlers queueing to convince Tristan never to speak of this in public. There was no agenda that would drag me away from him. It was just us, naked and drunk on the passion of the previous night.

Morning light slanted through the window and lit Tristan's face and chest. His muscles were irresistible, so I let my fingers trail the hills and valleys of his body all the way to where a thin sheet covered his crotch. A patch of dark, trimmed hair emerged as my hand moved low, and Tristan let out an amused sigh.

"Good morning," I said. What a wonder! I got to greet a boy in the morning and take it easy for the rest of the day. Alexander couldn't do anything to stop me. The rules that applied only to the royal family didn't apply to me today.

"Mm," Tristan said, closing his hand over mine and keeping them both on the lower part of his abdomen. "Did we fall asleep naked?"

"House rules," I said.

He chuckled and blinked himself awake. When he glanced at me, his hazel eyes were like melting chocolate and a low-burning campfire deep in the wilderness. "What am I gonna do with you?"

My eyebrows wiggled. "You'll wait for me until I move out of here," I said lightly, rolling onto my stomach. The sheet covered the lower part of my body, but it was so thin that there was no pretending I hadn't woken up hard. No wonder since I'd slept next to the sexiest guy on the planet.

"Your Highness is very sure about that," he teased.

"I am," I replied simply. "Because after, we're going on a date."

"Is that so?" Tristan asked, his voice bubbly with humor.

I nodded. "I want to do normal dates. All the normal dates we can think of."

He chuckled softly and nodded, his eyes turning a little sad. "We can do that, Cedric."

My chest rose with a lungful of air. It carried the soft, breezy scent of Tristan's body and an underlying note of sex that I couldn't describe beyond that. It was like having to describe the scent of a strawberry to an alien. Sweet, delicious, rich and ripe and irresistible.

"I can show you what it's like to be a regular old person," Tristan said .

"I hardly believe that," I laughed. "You're very special, Tristan."

He snorted, then turned to me and pressed his lips against my cheek. "Time's running out," he said after.

I wanted to beg for five more minutes. I wanted to be lazy with him in bed for a whole day. I wanted us to eat snacks and fuck and drink orange juice and shower together. But it wasn't meant to be. Not today, at least.

Still, watching Tristan get out of the bed, his upper back broad, his waist narrow, his ass perfectly sculpted to make my heart stumble at every sight of it, and his legs muscled and strong, made the whole thing worth it.

He was still naked when he returned from the bathroom, his face wet, his breath minty, and his hair fixed in that effortless way he sported. I followed his example and dragged myself out of the bed, getting a mischievous slap on my ass as I passed him.

I wasn't ready to start the day. I wasn't ready to give up the world in which only Tristan and I existed. But then, I never would be.

Lady Vivien Woodcock's private apartment above Neon Nights was a spacious place with plenty of rooms in different styles. If I needed any more proof that the queen had an expert taste and a sharp eye for design, this would have sufficed.

Wigless, Mama Viv had already painted her face in bright colors to match a vibrant New York City morning. She wore a red silk robe, and her natural, dark brown hair was short and trapped flat under a tight hairnet. "Darling Cedric," she greeted me when she opened the front door and revealed a brightly lit hallway with hardwood floors and art deco furniture. "Come in, come in."

"Thanks for seeing me so early, Mama Viv," I said. "I hope I'm not disturbing your morning."

"Anything for my boys," she said, shutting the front door behind me. "In here, darling." She led the way down the hallway and into the second room on the left. It was her dressing room with a large dressing table and several mirrors, from a square one above the table to a standing mirror in the corner and one oval mirror mounted onto the wall. A fancy accordion screen separated the changing section from the sitting area. Mama Viv sat down in her big chair before the square mirror and the makeup table. She offered me coffee, which I didn't want, then asked me what she could do for me.

Is everyone here so willing to simply do things for others? But I didn't ask that. Instead, I committed that piece of information to my memory. I could be like them.

"That's just it," I said. "I was wondering if there's anything I could do for you."

Mama Viv methodically dabbed something on her face, although I saw no difference. It was probably what separated an amateur from a professional. I would have skipped the steps that had seemingly no results. "Ah, so you are no longer simply passing by?" she asked.

I lowered myself into a dark green chair with elaborate wooden legs and a tall, straight backrest, knees spread wide and arms hanging between them. "I hope to stick around."

Mama Viv nodded once, firmly. "I'm glad to hear it, Cedric, darling." She let the silence hang between us for a little while. "Things are going well, I take it."

Aside from running out of cash, they definitely were. I didn't get to say a word, though, because a smile stretched my lips, and Mama Viv looked at me just then, finding her answer painted clearly on my face.

She smiled in return, although not as broadly. I sensed some reservation, but the words that followed dispelled that. "I can offer you a job, darling. A proper one. You're a hard worker and a quick learner. That's what matters in our line of work. But I don't see you staying in that place for long."

I wanted to cut in and promise that I could do it for however long it was necessary.

"No, no, darling. Don't take it the wrong way. It's clear that we're not cut from the same fabric, but that's not a bad thing. You're bright, you're well-mannered, you have a promising future, whatever you choose," Mama Viv assured me. "You're hardly the first runaway I've taken in, and I never ask what it is that's chasing you, my dear."

Something tugged my heart down into my stomach.

"Let's not pretend," Mama Viv said gently. "You're not who you say you are, but I am well experienced in wearing masks, darling. I won't ask what's underneath yours, so long as it doesn't affect Tristan."

My eyebrows shot up. "It won't," I hurried to say.

"Ah." Mama Viv had gotten the confirmation she needed, and I had to admire how efficiently she had done this. With a matter-of-fact posture, Mama Viv wiped her fingers delicately on a handkerchief on the makeup table, put them in her lap, and turned to face me a little straighter. " Darling, if it's steady work you need, you have it. If you're ready to leave the lavish lifestyle that's above your current means, I have a spare room for you. And if it's Tristan's heart you mean to toy with, you have an army to hunt you down and rip you apart should that boy get hurt. Do we understand each other?" The politest of smiles fit for the Great Dining Hall of the Royal Palace of Verdumont touched Lady Vivien Woodcock's lips.

I couldn't hold back the rising laugh and the face-splitting grin if I tried. "I will never hurt him, Mama Viv."

The queen nodded slowly, a touch of sadness shining in her clear, bright eyes. "Very well," she said softly. "You won't hurt him intentionally, but Tristan is… fragile is not the word I'm looking for. He's stronger than most people, given the circumstances, but even the strongest people can break and shatter."

"Um…circumstances?" I asked.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like some coffee? I've got a near full pot of it," Mama Viv said joyfully, but I could see it was fake.

"I'm good," I said carefully.

She sighed. "Cedric, this is something Tristan won't tell you, and I may be overstepping more than I'll be forgiven for." She hesitated. "Do you know that Tristan has a standing job offer downstairs?"

I shook my head. "I don't need to know everything about him to feel what I feel," I explained.

"This, you do," Mama Viv said. "Because not knowing it risks Tristan's well-being, which in turn puts your tush on the line should you make an error."

I gulped .

Mama Viv wasn't kidding. Her gentle voice deepened with sincerity. "Tristan won't take the job because he doesn't think he deserves it. Frankly, Tristan won't take anything freely given to him because he doesn't think he's worth your trouble. If you managed to convince him, even for an hour on the dance floor, that he deserved the attention, it's the first time I've seen it." She paused, looking at her hands in her lap.

"Mama Viv, I care about him a great deal," I said carefully.

"As you should," the queen agreed. "He is precious." It tugged the corners of my lips into a smile. He was. "But he has also been hurt, darling. By fate and by himself more than anything else. You see, Tristan is a child of a fairly wealthy couple from upstate New York, but that isn't something he would have told you. And God forgive me for betraying that sweet man to you, but I would rather lose a friend than see him break and hurt." She didn't let me cut in this time, hurrying to tell me everything. "It happened when Tristan was twelve years old. December, I believe, and nearing Christmas. Tristan's father was driving all four of them. He, Tristan's mother, Tris, and Jen, his ten-year-old sister, were returning from a visit to Tristan's grandparents when a truck driver fell asleep at the wheel for just long enough to lean into their lane. Tristan's father tried to avoid the truck, but the road was slippery, and he lost control of the wheel. They drove off the road." Mama Viv's voice trembled a little. "They plunged into the lake, and the car filled with freezing water quickly. Tristan's parents tried to get the children out, but only Tristan made it. You see, Jen died that night. And Tristan…" She shook her head slowly. "Pa rt of him died with her, my dear. And the part that lived on never really left the shadow." Mama Viv leaned in a little closer.

A rift went right through my heart, splitting it in half. My poor baby Tristan.

"Darling, you need to be gentle with Tristan," she said. "He won't believe your kindness or your feelings. He doesn't believe anyone's. It's hard to make him see he's worth your time and attention on the best of days and impossible on not-so-good days."

It all made sense now. The selflessness, the generosity, the readiness to sacrifice himself for anyone's benefit. He was grief-torn and scarred. A poor little boy who survived and couldn't fathom that he might have been worth saving. "What can I do?" I asked.

"Nothing," Mama Viv said softly. "Don't do anything. Just be careful with Tristan because it takes him time to accept that he's worth your effort." Mama Viv gave the smallest gasp. "And, darling, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell Tristan about this unless you truly have to. It's hard to earn his trust, especially if he gets it into his head that you're doing it out of pity. That boy can be as stubborn as a mule." She said the last past so lovingly that it sent a shudder through my chest. "And I care for him very much. I wouldn't want him to hate me for this."

I swallowed and nodded. "Thank you for telling me, Mama Viv," I said. After a moment of processing my thoughts, I smiled a little. "I'd never want to hurt him, you know. He's…very dear to me."

"So I have suspected," Mama Viv said. "I'll have the room waiting for you when you're ready to move in. You'll have to ask Bradley about the bar shift or, if you'd prefer it, Millie for the kitchen."

I nodded, thanked Mama Viv, and hesitated before leaving. Mama Viv was already turning back to the mirror when I dared myself to say what was in my heart. "I think he's lucky to have you," I said. "They—we—all are."

Mama Viv waved her hand nonchalantly. "Darling, I believe Tristan may be lucky to have you . And, if I'm not wrong—which I so rarely am in any area of life that it would come nearly as a pleasant surprise—you may be just as lucky to have him show you the way."

I nodded. It was something to think about, but I wouldn't discuss it further with Mama Viv. My head was spinning with information, and my heart was splitting into tiny shards, each sharp and cutting through my soul.

I left Mama Viv to get ready for the day, then went downstairs, through a hallway, and into the bar. Roman was helping open the bar while Bradley refilled the fridge.

"'Sup," Roman said.

I greeted him and slowed down as he flipped a chair over and set it by the table. "Need help?"

"We can handle this," Roman said, but he was no longer doing it. Instead, he looked at me, nearly bristled, and thrust his chin out. "Tristan was with you last night, huh?"

For the briefest of moments, I worried about what I had gotten into. Roman, nicely built, although shorter than me by almost an entire head, with his hair cropped short and giving signs of curling, and with his eyes so full of fire, was undoubtedly attractive. My heart firmly belonged to Tristan, but I wasn't stupid. And I could see Roman and Tristan sharing intimate moments at some point in their lives if that was what had happened.

For this one moment, I expected Roman to scare me away jealously or threaten me to leave Tristan behind.

But that moment passed when Roman's eyes softened. "I like you, Cedric," he said.

I cocked a corner of my lips.

Roman spoke like it pained him to say these things, but he plowed through. "I like you, but if you wrong him, I'm gonna…"

I lifted my hand. "I got the warning already, Rome," I said, choosing to call him the same that everyone else around here did. He seemed relieved that I had stopped him. "I wouldn't dream of it. I know he has people watching out for him. And now I'm just one more to watch his back."

My significant look locked on Rome's eyes. We gazed at one another for a few moments before he relaxed. There was almost an air of appreciation that he didn't need to pile up threats. He knew me as a hardworking helper. There was a sort of respect between us. "Good man," Roman said with a small smile.

I winked and put a hand on his shoulder. Moving from the bar, I could almost plot out my life. I could see myself here early in the morning—or not so early, like today, when the bar opened late—doing these things with the people I respected and who measured me on what I did and not who my ancestors were. I could see myself walking across the street to take Tristan's hand so we could spend a day together.

Such a simple life , Alexander's voice sneered at me. But he was wrong. There was beauty in this simplicity, but it was more than that. Underneath all this was a world of opportunities, an endless well of hope, and never-ending optimism. I could drink it until my dying breath. I could bathe in it with the one person who was capable of making my heart lift and my mind spin.

I stepped outside and watched the building across the street. He would be ready by now. And I would tell him that it was all sorted out. I was staying in Hudson Burrow until we figured out how to make it permanent. Until I figure out how to inform my family . It would be a scandal.

My heart sank a little. I'd lifted such battlements between myself and the reality, but they were strong. I wouldn't take them down just yet. I wanted to give this thing a try more than I wanted anything in the world. Just for once, I didn't want to be a prince with duties. I wanted to be selfishly in love and to have something that was mine and nobody else's.

The weight of a gaze made me turn my head to my right. At the end of the street, moving away from me, was a slender woman with a tight, angry ponytail, disappearing around the corner.

No, I told myself. I was just paranoid. It was all this guilt that I was keeping down and hiding from myself. The nasty feeling of letting down my parents, my siblings, my people. It made me think there were agents out to get me. But the likely truth of the matter was that Alexander expected me to return when I was ready.

Never , I said silently. I'm not returning to that life. They will all see me only when I am ready to resign my duties.

Inhaling deeply, I crossed the street and forgot all about guilt and agents and distant kingdoms. Tristan was downstairs, in front of his building, leaning against the brick wall with his hands tucked into his tight denim pants and a sleeveless shirt tucked into the pants, revealing his sculpted arms and the low, sexy neckline.

My heart jittered as I neared him, my arms stretching out to him, taking his hands as soon as he offered them. I pulled him in, made our bodies touch, and kissed him deeply out in the open.

"Missed me?" he asked.

"Desperately," I said without telling a lie, though it had been barely an hour. "Now, you have a promise to keep."

"I won't let you down," Tristan said.

Today was going to be a good day.