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“Are we playing twenty questions right now, or do you just enjoy interrogating people who come bearing gifts?” He gestures to the food and drinks laid out beside me.
“To be fair, I ordered and paid for these gifts myself.” My smile widens, and some of the tension in my shoulders eases. I put my glass down and lean my cheek on my hand. “But, fine, okay. Your turn to ask a question.”
“How do you know Liam Birchal?”
My heart drops, and I immediately reach for my wine again.
“That bad, huh?” The Prince lets out a huff, pursing his lips. “I thought I sensed some tension between you two. You guys dated or something?” His tone is casual, but his eyes bore into mine.
I chuckle dryly, shaking my head. “I’d hardly call it that. We were teenagers.”
Silas seems to relax into his chair at my words, dipping his chin once. “Oh.”
“My family worked for his,” I say. “Dad was the groundskeeper.”
“And something…happened?”
“It’s not important,” I lie, even though those memories have been attacking my brain ever since Liam interrupted us.
“Okay,” Silas answers. His voice is soft, eyes kind. There’s no pressure coming from him. No need to answer anything I don’t want to. It’s…nice. Silas glances over at the trolley laden with food and reaches for a mozzarella stick.
“Helping yourself, huh?” I grin, grabbing a piece of bruschetta. “I doubt that was allowed in your etiquette classes.”
“I’m making an educated guess that you won’t be able to finish all this food by yourself.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Maybe you subconsciously knew I’d be coming here, and you ordered enough for two.”
“Maybe I was hungry.”
He munches down on the mozzarella stick, arching his brows as his eyes gleam.
I roll my eyes and pull the hamburger closer to me, then grab a steak knife and cut it in half.
“You’re one of those, are you?” Prince Silas motions to the burger.
“One of what?”
“One of those people who cut their burgers before eating them.” He shakes his head, pursing his lips. “Wouldn’t expect that from you.”
“It’s too messy otherwise! Of all people who would want to see people with proper manners, I’d think it would be you.”
“Then you don’t know a damn thing about me, Jazz.” He stretches out, taking his glass of wine between two fingers and emptying it in one gulp. “I thought you’d know better by now.”
“All I know is you’re royalty, and I’m not.” I bite down on my burger, letting out a soft moan. It’s room service, so it’s not the best burger I’ve ever had, but I’m starving.
Silas shifts in his seat, clearing his throat. “Are you going to make noises like that every time you take a bite?”
I swallow, tilting my head. “Noises like what?”
“Like you’re really, really enjoying that burger.”
I laugh. “You jealous of my food?”
“I’m jealous of anything that gets to be that close to your mouth.” The Prince holds my gaze, and suddenly it’s hard to swallow. Everything heats up inside me, and my hunger turns to something else.
I gulp down my bite, then wipe my hands on a napkin. “Why are you here, Silas?”
