Page 46 of Palace of Betrayal

Her brow arched as she held it out to him. “And what’s this?”

Leo felt his face heat with unusual nerves. “I won’t have my woman wearing another man’s clothes. You want to wear a tee to bed, you wear mine.”

Bebe pursed her lips and he waited for the explosion of her temper, but it never came.

“I can live with that.”

He kissed her slow, taking her mouth as she surrendered to him. He released her mouth as he rolled her to her side and settled in against her back, his arm under her pillow, his free hand hooked over her waist.

“Sleep now, Bebe. We have a lot to get done tomorrow and I have every intention of waking you early so I can make love to you as the sun rises.”

“Okay, Leo.”

Her simple acceptance did something to him, making his heart leap in his chest and he wondered what the hell he’d gotten into because he knew for sure no matter what, he wasn’t getting out of this without some substantial scars. He also knew it would be worth every one to spend it with her.

Sixteen

Studying the interaction between Leo and the King was fascinating to Bebe. The dynamic might be one of father and son, but it was easy to see that the King looked up to his son as much as Leo did him. A mutual respect between the two men, but still, an emotional distance was evident from León’s side of things.

“This is all a little much to take in. I just….”

Alfred seemed to flounder, his words, the enormity of what Leo had revealed to his father landing like a boulder in the man’s lap. Bebe moved to the antique table and poured Alfred a glass of his favoured brandy, handing it to him with a sympathetic smile. He raised his chin in thanks before taking a hefty swig, the pinkie ring he wore with the royal crest glinting as his hand shook ever so slightly.

“I know this is hard to accept, but Alwyn and Alain are involved up to their eyeballs. Alain admitted it to us.”

King Alfred looked from his son to her, as if seeing her for the first time. “And you were sent into my home to find the perpetrator of this attempt to steal the gem and join this auction?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Bebe stood facing the King who was sitting beside his son on the couch. She didn’t out Brody James. She and Leo had decided to keep his involvement quiet for now at least.

“So, you two aren’t in love?”

Bebe was taken aback by the question, and she glanced at Leo to get his reaction. The deer in the headlights look he wore probably mirrored her own. “We’ve only known each other a week, Your Majesty.”

Alfred took another sip of the brandy and then lowered the glass. His eyes followed the movement as he looked to the ground at his feet, his shoulders heavy with dejection before he looked up and pinned her with a look she couldn’t determine. “I only knew my wife three days before I realised, she was the love of my life.”

Bebe didn’t know what to say to that. She did have feelings for Leo but was it love? She didn’t know and now wasn’t the time to get into it, or so she thought.

Leo, on the other hand, seemed to have other ideas. He stood and paced to the window, the rigid stance uncompromising and alone. “Look how that turned out.”

Tension racketed through the room at his words, decades-long pain and anguish building up until it could no longer be contained. “I should leave you two to talk.”

Bebe went to move to the door and Leo turned, pinning her with a look. “No, stay. Please.”

Torn between her desire to run from this awkward emotional family drama and stay and support Leo, she opted to stay.

“León, I’ve tried everything in my power to make amends for not seeing the signs of your mother’s unhappiness, but I can’t keep apologising.”

“Maybe you should have tried staying faithful.”

Bebe could hear the bitterness in Leo’s voice and her heart broke for the little boy who’d lost his mother. She knew the pain of losing someone she loved so young, and it never went away. It became a part of you, a hardened, tough scar that bled when least expected.

“Son, I never, not once, cheated on your mother. She was, and will always be, the love of my life.”

Leo spun, his jaw ticking with the anger he was trying to restrain. “Lies. I overheard you talking about the affair and how sorry you were.”

The King seemed to pale at León’s words, his hand shaking as he drank the last of the brandy and set the glass aside. “I didn’t know you overheard that.”

“Well, I did.”