Page 83 of Fit for a King

Of course it would. The word “scandal” flashed through my mind, and I could only imagine what people were saying—that it was inappropriate, that I’d demanded it, or that Noah was being ambitious by sleeping with the king. They wouldn’t see what it truly was: love.

My mouth went dry, and I tried to swallow. “I don’t want him hurt.”

“I know, sir.” Violet’s expression was still cautious, but a little softer now. “I see the way you look at him too, Your Majesty.”

God, there was no defense against that. None.

The room blurred slightly at the edges, not quite from tears, but from just holding so much inside. I’d spent my life being taught that emotion was something to master, something you kept private and never showed. But Noah had arrived and chipped away at all that discipline. He’d made me quicker to smile, to laugh, to correct myself. I looked for him in every room and let my gaze linger a second too long. And since that moment on the cliffs, it felt like I would burst with the sheer amount of love I felt, like it was trapped under my skin, lighting me up.

No wonder they had noticed.

“I’ll return this to him at once,” Violet said, tucking Noah’s glove into her dress. “Quietly.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Your Majesty.” She curtsied and left, the door’s clicking shut behind her sounding a lot like a loaded gun.

I sat alone, staring at the hidden panel in the wall that Noah had disappeared through not long ago and understood with perfect, devastating clarity what I had allowed to happen here.

I had falsely believed Noah and I could keep this secret for ourselves. That by the time I needed to make a decision, I’d know what to do.

But I was no closer to figuring out how to navigate this than I was before. How could I be a king and unable to make this decision? I knew what I needed to do, at least according to royal protocol, and yet I couldn’t imagine telling Noah we could no longer be together.

I loved him. He loved me. It should’ve been that simple. If we were anyone else, it would’ve been.

The life I’d been born into, however, was anything but simple.

I was the king. Noah was my footman.

Our two worlds should never have collided.

There was only one way this could go now—and I knew what I needed to do.

26

NOAH

BY THE TIME I noticed my glove was missing, the house was fully awake and I couldn’t easily slip back upstairs to get it. I grabbed a spare from my room, headed to Baxter’s office to retrieve any correspondence that needed to go out, and was making my way to the kitchen to grab a quick bite when I heard my name hissed out behind me.

I turned to see Violet speed-walking in my direction, inclining her head toward the linen room, and I followed her.

There was another maid inside folding a sheet, but Violet didn’t miss a beat.

“I’ll finish up in here if you’ll take fresh towels up to the guestrooms. Prince Gabriel is expecting company this afternoon.”

The other young woman nodded and took a stack from the shelving unit, and Violet shut the door after her.

I’d opened my mouth to tease her about being bossy when she reached into her pocket and pulled out my glove.

My entire body went cold. “Where did you find that?”

“Not where it should’ve been.”

Shit. But that didn’t mean anything. Right? There was a simple explanation for misplacing a glove I rarely took off.

“I must’ve dropped it,” I said, taking it off her and slipping it into my pocket.

“In His Majesty’s bed?” She tilted her head, eyes far too knowing, and my stomach dropped. “Oh, Noah. It’s not the secret you think it is.”