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And then I realize I’ve been staring at hiaze back to his face, he’s watching me, and I realize that hea texthe is

In fact, he ht before Seb is letting go of the bedpost and race I’d admired earlier There’s no time to admire noever, as he i asp of surprise for an invitation because he is full-on kissing ue in od

I place both hands on his chest and shove hard

Seb letsback a few steps, his brow furrowed "What?" he asks, and I stand there, gaping, the taste of whiskey--which, turns out, I really don’t like--still stinging in my mouth

"You kissedat e

"I didyeah," he says slowly "Because you were looking at me in such a way that see"

I aed, so it takes me a second to work out that sentence, and when I do, my face heats up

"I was not a htly aroundyou weren’t really what I expected"

That see up a few e of the bed, the whiskey bottle still dangling from one hand He hadn’t even put it down to kiss , and for a second, I feel kind of bad I didn’tif it’s any consolation," I offer up, and he raises his head, sain before bringing the bottle back to his lips

"Sorry," he says once he’s finished, and , that bottle is a lot e to look hazy, too, not quite as bright as they struggle to focus onboyfriend"

I stare at him "Michael?" I squeak Somehow, it never occurred to me that someone like Seb would actually read that I understood people orked for the royal family, people whose job it was to keep an eye on that kind of thing, knowing about it, but the actual prince?

"He said you duoes on, and I would throw htly

"He was lying," I said, but Seb isn’t really listening

"Besides," he adds, "it’s what everyone expects"

He gestures between the two of us, the bottle wobbling in his hand "You and me Alex’s brother, Ellie’s sister And people bloody love Ellie, so now they bloody love Alex"

His blue eyesthe blanket so tightly around me, it’s a wonder I still have circulation in my arms

"So maybe people will love you, and if I loved you--well, not loved, exactly, but you get the idea--that wouldbetween his auburn brows "I said love too many times, I think"