“Put me down, Benjamin!” Rory insisted, kicking her legs until he consented at the end of the alley.
“I’m parked over there. Go!”
Rory remained firm. “No, you don’t understand. Henry was pulling his usual ‘I’m going to marry Rory’ practical joke, and Cord punched him. Then Victor got involved, and Remus is left to deal with it all. I have to go back in there!”
“You’re not in danger?”
“No, Henry’s in danger from me! I’m going to wring that boy’s neck!” She stomped back toward the entrance, but it flew open seconds before her fingers could close on the handle.
Henry and Cordray were both being held by their collars, and were shoved out into the alley by Remus and Victor, who frowned at them both. The men spilled out into the cold, shoving each other with very different expressions. Cordray looked positively murderous, but Henry was a puppy who wasn’t cunning enough to understand the difference between being bopped on the nose with a newspaper, and when someone was playing fetch with him.
Remus shoved Cordray to the end of the alley near Benjamin, and Victor pushed Henry in the opposite direction. Remus rubbed out a crease on his forehead. “Are you quite satisfied with the chaos, Henry? Honestly. Now I have to go in there and explain that away somehow.”
“Explain what away? Get the gossip mill churning. Give the people a good scandal to focus on, rather than Malaura’s curse.”
“Oh, you’re impossible.” Rory blanched, and then pulled a wad of blue gum from her mouth. “I think this belongs to you. So gross, Henry.”
Cordray was far from calmed. He lunged at Henry again, landing a shot to his kidney that brought the prince to his knees. Benjamin wrestled Cord off of the prince, and Victor helped his charge to his feet.
The two guards locked eyes, each taking an opposite end of the alley to watch while the others sorted out the mess that Henry was so proud of stirring up.
Rory hugged herself to stave off the frosty weather. She wore a gray skirt and a black camisole under a gray blouse that had ruffles along the hem, which was slightly less warm than a proper jacket. “Can you give us a minute to sort this out?”
“Please.” Remus ran his hand over his face. “And Henry? Warn me the next time you kiss me. I’ll be sure to suck on a moldy old sock in anticipation.”
“Best kiss of your life,” Henry replied, waggling his eyebrows as he rose to his feet.
Remus went back into the building, shaking his head, and leaving the trio to duke it out in the alley.
Cordray glared at Rory, jabbing his finger toward Henry, who was still grinning. “This guy? This is how your best friend behaves around you?”
“Henry’s harmless,” Rory assured him, ignoring Henry’s guffaw. “He does that sometimes – stirs up trouble because he’s bored cooped up in the palace, or to steer the public’s focus away from other, more harrowing things. Though, a warning would have been nice.” She glared at her friend.
Henry’s eyes danced with playfulness that never seemed to dull. “Where’s the fun in warning you? I was hoping you’d slap me, so the people will be all a dither, wondering if we’re in love, and if I can break the curse or not.”
She palmed Henry’s churlish grin so she didn’t have to look at it anymore. “He doesn’t mean anything by it. We’ve never been together. Honest.”
Henry postured. “I’ll have you know that I’m not harmless. I’m deviously plotting my way into my darling Rory’s heart. I’m taking the long con, spending twenty-four long years trying to woo her.”
Rory rolled her eyes and shoved him lightly backward. “Like anyone’s going to believe that. Cord, nothing’s going on. I’m with you. Only you.”
Cordray kept his finger leveled in Henry’s face. “I trust her, but I don’t want you sniffing around my girlfriend if I’m not there to keep you from humping her leg. She’s not up for grabs, so you’ll back off, now that you’ve had your fun. You sent your message to the people, and now it’s over.”
Henry grabbed his chest as if his heart was mid-rupture. “Rory, tell this brute how many times you’ve seen me naked.”
“Zero!” Rory blushed. “Oh my gosh, do you have an off switch? Victor, can you put a muzzle on your village idiot?”
Victor’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t reply. He’d been with the royal family since Rory was a child, and barely spoke to anyone.
Rory moved into Cordray’s body space, shivering as she held his face to get him to focus on only her. “Cord, it’s only you. There’s no one else. Please believe me.”
“I think I do.” His face was stern as he looked down into her pleading eyes. “But I don’t want other men kissing you.”
“Only you,” she assured him. “I’ve never had a boyfriend before, so Henry hasn’t had a chance to adjust to the new dynamic. Please, Cord.”
Cordray held onto his anger for another handful of seconds, and then the tension in his shoulders began to loosen. “Tell me again.”
“Only you,” she cooed, lifting herself up onto her toes and kissing him in plain view of Henry. She ran her fingertips up the hard planes of his chest, holding onto his collar as she kissed him again, her frozen breath tickling his nose. “It was you from the first day we met.”
Henry cleared his throat three times before they broke it up. He took in Cordray’s scowl with a hearty grin. “I take it we’re adding a fourth to the elite three, then?”
Rory turned in Cordray’s arms, nodding. “Yes, and the two of you will get along with Cord. Do you understand?”
“Now that I know exactly how Cord likes to be kissed, I’d be happy to add him into my rotation. It’s just as well. Remus was an absolute chore to kiss. One might assume he didn’t want to be doing it at all.” Henry winked at Cordray, whose nostrils flared.
Since the tension had been slightly lessened, Rory finally broke into a smile. “You’re here. I can’t believe you’re here.”
Henry’s smile turned from caddish to sincere at her wonder. “Of course I am. Did you really think I’d leave you with only one guard so near to your twenty-fifth birthday? Proposals and roses aside, I love you. What’s more, I know you. I know you’re more worried than you let on. So I thought I’d come with an extra guard for your safety, plus a whole load of distractions to keep you from driving yourself into a nervous frenzy.”
Rory’s hand pressed over her chest, touched at the thoughtfulness. “Really? You didn’t have to do all that. I’m really fine. Just a little anxious, is all.”
Henry pulled her into his arms, pressing his cheek to the top of her head. He had a charming way about him that made people consider foolish choices they might not otherwise indulge in. “That’s why I’m here. I thought I’d lend my muscle, plus Victor’s, to curb your dreaded curse. Tonight, we celebrate. It’s your last weekend being twenty-four, and you’re here working? That sounds like a wasted opportunity. Leave early and be irresponsible with me. Cord, too. I think it’s time we broke him in, if you’re serious about the man. I had no idea. When you told me you were seeing someone, I only thought you were trying to make me jealous and break my fragile heart.”
Rory sniggered at the joke. “Poor brokenhearted Prince Henry.”
“Indeed. This is the one, though? The man you fancy?”
Rory squeezed Cordray’s hand. “It is.”
“Excellent. Then he’ll come along. I’ve got it all planned out. First, we go snowmobiling, then we go out for a lavish meal, in which I’ll propose to you all over again. I’m thinking this time, you should say no, and smack me across the face. Be all haughty and superior, so I can garner the pity of any females nearby.”
Cordray frowned. “How often do you ask Rory to marry you?”
Henry shrugged. “However often it occurs to me – whenever I’m bored, or the world needs a distraction.” Then he pretended to do a doubletake and clutched his chest as if enraptured anew by Rory’s beauty. “My love, throw this brute aside, come away to my palace and marry me!” he crooned, getting down on one knee.
Rory chuckled, now that Cordray was seeing the full breadth of Henry’s personality and managed not to get riled up at the game. “Not today. I’ve got a date with my boyfriend and my bestie.”
“Two besties, actually,” Henry corrected her with a secretive smirk. “Right this way, milady.” He popped his elbow out to her, but Cordray drew her to his other side, putting himself in the middle. “Touché,” Henry said under his breath, sizing Cord up appreciatively. Henry led the way past Victor and out into the parking lot, where a town car waited for them.
He opened the backdoor for Rory, who gasped. “Adam! You came out of your castle for me?”
Adam shot her a surly look and didn’t make a move to get out and greet her. He kept to the opposite side to avoid any errant glances that might fall his way. His collar was turned up to shield him further, with a scarf covering the lower part of his face. His voice was surly and embarrassed that somehow Henry had coaxed him to participate in the levity. “Don’t make a big deal of it. I’m here. Happy birthday. You can pick your present from this catalog, and no, I’m not wrapping it. Get in and choose something sparkly. I couldn’t care less what it is.”
Rory looked up at Cordray, who shrugged. “I haven’t been snowmobiling since college.”
Rory beamed up at him, grateful he was willing to give her oddball friends a try. “Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.”