Page 20 of Fake Crown

“Not so extreme,” Trevor says with the hint of a smile. “She’s fully dressed.”

“I didn’t say exhibitionist.” Truthfully, she could be that too. She appears to have no barriers, but now I’m wondering if that’s a distraction to keep people from really knowing her.

Other people appear to shake Trevor’s hand and congratulate him on his wedding while passing by. The interactions feel a little like they’re trying to drink in Ellie and Wyatt’s aura. I’m familiar with that sort of stargazing, but it must be surreal to experience it everywhere. Most of the time, I’m only recognized in swimming circles.

“What happened to Val?” Trevor asks once we’re alone again.

“We broke up.”

“Again?”

“This time, it’s going to stick.”

Trevor observes Posey with me. “I hope it does stick. This girl suits you.” He tips his glass in Posey’s direction. “With Val, you were always tense. Tight. As though the two of you were one wrong word away from World War III. Watching you walk over here from the drinks tent, you were loose. Light.”

“Meeting someone new is easy. No baggage.” I shrug off his observation as though it didn’t cause warmth to spread across my chest.

“Meeting someone new is hard. All that negotiating to figure out whether your true self is compatible with their true self. How often do you sink into a connection like it’s always existed?”

Daily, for Posey. I’m convinced she’s never met a stranger. The shopkeeper, the guy at the pizza place, the attendant at the lighthouse, she charmed them all. The ease I’ve experienced around her is a testament to how good she is at networking, and it’s got nothing to do with some airy-fairy connection.

“Yeah, I can’t do another relationship,” I say. “I have two more Olympic appearances if I can stay healthy, keep improving. Six years is a long time for anyone to wait to be put first.”

Trevor sips his drink and surveys the crowd. “Same as anyone else seeking a work-life balance. Some aspects of life are glass. Commitments that cannot be broken. Other aspects of life are rubber. You can drop them, and they’ll bounce back.”

The ocean breeze catches a wisp of Posey’s hair, and it whips across her face. When she tucks it behind her ear, she catches me staring at her. Her smile widens, and she winks.

“You get too many glass balls, and you’re bound to break one,” I say.

“True,” Trevor says. “But it doesn’t mean you can only have one. Swimming isn’t going to fulfill you forever.” He waves his hand. “This is me being happy and in love and trying to talk everyone else into being happy and in love.”

“How’d you know?” I stir my swizzle with my straw.

“That Imani was the one?” Trevor frowns. “All I got is clichés, man. The reason no one can ever tell you how they know is because it’s an intangible. There’s just something right about the other person. They fit in a way no one else ever has, in a way you can’t imagine anyone else ever fitting.”

I’m certainly keen to see which parts of me fit with Posey, but that’s not some sort of rightness, that’s just sexual attraction. She’s gorgeous, and I’ve got eyes in my head.

“How’d you two meet, anyway? Didn’t seem like you realized she was royal adjacent.”

“Campus chat server,” I admit. “I was looking for a buffer in case Val shows up.”

“Val was your guest,” Trevor says. “I can’t see her crashing the wedding.”

“One of the few things I can say I genuinely admire about Val is her persistence.” I sip my swizzle. “When she wants something, she doesn’t let you or me or anyone else get in her way. She’ll trample the lot of us.”

“Trust you to admire someone who annihilates everyone else.”

Posey extracts herself from the group of women who have gravitated to her. As she picks her way through the crowd, there’s a tingle of anticipation in my stomach.

“You’ll be happy to hear I’m learning to admire a few new qualities,” I say just as Posey reaches us.

She gives Trevor her winning smile and extends her hand. “In all the catching up earlier, I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. Though I’ve met your soon-to-be wife, and she’s a riot.” Her glass is empty, and I take it from her. “I’m Posey.”

“Trevor.” He clasps her hand.

While they strike up a conversation, I go to the bar to get us more drinks. When I return, Posey loops me into the conversation they’re having about my high school years with Trev. For the rest of the evening, Posey wanders from my side and into different groups of people. She weaves herself effortlessly into my friends, Trev’s family, Imani’s family, and his work colleagues.

At last call, most of the wedding guests take their leave, citing their need for rest before tomorrow night’s party. As the dust clears from people exiting the Hamilton Princess or going to their rooms, I spot Posey by the harbor staring out.