This is dedicated to Hannah, a true and dedicated Chad fan :)

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Chapter 14

The next morning, I went with Christine to meet Fiore for some breakfast. I was glowering at Fiore for a while before she finally let out a sigh. “I didn’t know they were going to be gallivanting for the press! I thought Ian knew better!” She said defensively. I merely cocked an eyebrow and took a bite of my eggs.

“Still Fiore, you shouldn’t have encouraged them going out like that anyway. The press wasn’t supposed to know about Juliet yet. Lana and Ian got in a lot of trouble because of that. Juliet’s under house arrest by order of my father until she gets more teaching and everything with the press is straightened out. Next time, maybe you should just keep them here.”

Fiore tapped her chin thoughtfully while watching me. “You know, there’s something different about you today, Lana.” Fiore commented and I jumped, looking at her frightfully.

“What? What are you talking about?’ I asked, the words spilling out of my mouth. I had to admit that I had felt like I was floating due to Ian’s very soft lips from the night before. However, I hadn’t thought I looked any different.

“She’s actually right, Lana. You seem particularly radiant today, like your face is glowing.” Christine agreed, watching me closely. I made a face and backed away a little.

“Will you two stop watching me like an act in a freak show?” I snipped.

“Did something happen between you and Chad?” asked Fiore.

“Or you and Ian?” I felt bombarded. Fiore and Christine were the only ones that really knew about my crush on Ian and how much had happened between the two of us. I had wondered when things like this would happen.

“Did you have sex last night? That’s it! You’ve got a lovely afterglow. It suits you, get some more often.” Fiore smiled with a wink.

“No! I did not have sex!” I shrieked and cleared my throat embarrassedly as Fiore’s father passed by our table, his eyebrow cocked. “I did not have sex.” I said more calmly and quietly. “But…” I paused, wondering what exactly to tell them.

“Oh, so something did happen. Talk! Now!” Fiore demanded and I looked down at my plate, pushing the rest of my breakfast around with my fork.

“Ian came into my room last night to apologize…” I started, awkwardly.

“Ian? Oh my…” Christine said. “Do I want to know? He is my brother after all. There is a limit to how much detail I can take…”

I laughed and shook my head. “It’s not bad. I promise. But he basically apologized and said he would’ve fought for me to stay if your mother hadn’t. And he also said he couldn’t imagine me gone. Then he kissed me and the kiss got a little more intense than he had originally intended.”

“Was the kiss on the lips?” Fiore asked.

“Where else would it have been?” I asked shocked.

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re a freaky girl.” She turned to look at Christine. “I bet Ian’s a freak and into freaky things.” Christine gaped, a horrified expression on her face.

“He’s my brother! And like your brother!” Christine gasped.

“So? I bet he’s into some really kinky stuff!”

“Fiore! Stop!” Christine yelped, covering her ears while I laughed hysterically. I hadn’t really laughed like that in a while. It was amazing being able to have girl time like this. Relaxing with some harmless gossip was just what I needed to take my mind off everything that had happened yesterday with the king. I don’t think I had ever been more terrified before. He was really scary when he was angry.

“What I’m just saying . . .” I shook my head and held a hand to stop her.

“It doesn’t even matter what exactly happened, because he’s still with Amelia and I’m with Chad. I mean, the last thing that happened was he apologized before leaving.”

“Well he better have. He knows better…but it’s obvious he feels for you too.” Christine stated, nibbling a biscuit. “He’s obviously torn between both you and Amelia and figures choosing Amelia is the right thing to do.”

“That’s because it is.” I said with a shrug. “I’ve already accepted it. I risk everything by even thinking that something could happen between Ian and myself. The safest route for me is to pretend it didn’t happen. I’m already on thin ice with the king. Could you imagine what he would do to me if he found out what has gone on between both Ian and I?”

Nobody answered, which I took as agreement that it would be bad. The ball/benefit was coming up in only about a week. There wasn’t much time to plan, but I was going shopping today with Aunt Patty, Christine, and Fiore. All of us needed dresses for the occasion and I was nervous. I had never been very good at shopping for something so fancy and the last thing I wanted to do was embarrass myself. This was one of the biggest benefits being thrown that we knew of so far, so it was important for the entire image we portrayed; especially because we were trying to direct the press away from the incident with Juliet.

We met Aunt Patty at the shop, ready to try on countless amounts of dresses. Though I had never been great at shopping, I couldn’t help but enjoy it with Christine and Fiore. Both Christine and Fiore already had their dresses as they were personally made for them by designers. They were only here to help both my aunt and I.

Aunt Patty and I were both shoved into dressing rooms having dresses thrown over at us. Most of the dresses they threw at me I found far too showy and low cut. I wasn’t sure what they were trying to do, but I didn’t like it. I came out for the tenth time in something that hugged against my body tightly and was cut down the middle of my chest revealing way too much. I gave both Fiore and Christine a flat look as they cheered.

“Now you guys are just doing it to tease me.” I pouted and went back into the dressing room. They threw another dress over at me and I looked at it horrified. It was a burnt orange color, not too horrible I guess. The bottom puffed out with a lighter orange tool, and the top was an ornately designed corset top. I rolled my eyes and tried it on anyway. Looking into the mirror, I was genuinely surprised. It was actually a very beautiful dress…and it looked good. I stepped out and the two of them gaped.

“Wow. That’s the one.” Christine said with a smile. I twirled around in it.

“Is this what a princess feels like?” I asked her and she laughed.

“I suppose…though we don’t tend to wear big poofy dresses anymore.” I smacked her playfully.

“Do you think it’s too much?” I asked and I heard Aunt Patty behind me.

“I think it’s beautiful. It’s definitely the one. Get it.” She said, squeezing my shoulder. I smiled and nodded. “Chad will faint when he sees you in it.”

I gave a nervous laugh and wanted to slap myself when my first thought was: Oh yeah, I’m dating Chad. It really wasn’t fair to him, but it wasn’t that I didn’t really like him. It wasn’t that I wasn’t attracted to him. It was that I was pretty sure I had fallen in love with someone out of my reach. I suppose it was just a fluke, and it would pass. I mean, girls fell in love with celebrities all the time that they couldn’t have, but that didn’t stop them from having real relationships, right?

Back at the house, Christine went off to her archery lesson. Fiore had fencing lessons back at her house and had left already. I walked into the kitchen to grab a snack. I knew I had to finish my paperwork, call someone for Juliet, and then I knew I wanted to go for a run.

I made myself a sandwich after assuring the cook that I could handle it on my own. It was relaxing doing something as monotonous as making a sandwich. I jumped when I felt arms snake around my waist and a kiss on my neck. I leaned back and heard Chad whisper in my ear.

“I missed you.”

I laughed. “It’s only been a day. And I’ve been really busy.” I turned around to face him and he pressed against me, pushing me against the counter.

“Well, I’ve been feeling neglected.” He teased, nibbling on my ear. I giggled and pushed against his chest, but he didn’t budge.

“I don’t like making you feel bad.” I said in all honesty. Was I playing with his feelings by giving in to all those times with Ian? Did this all make me a bad person?

Chad leaned in and kissed me gently on the lips and then moved back to my neck. “Ahem.” I heard and looked to see Ian had entered the room with an eyebrow cocked.

“What?” I asked, mirroring his expression.

“Don’t you both have rooms?” He sneered and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Yeah, you have one too. Why don’t you go to it if this one is bothering you?” I snapped. Chad was looking questioningly between the two of us.

“Lana, you’re not still mad about yesterday are you? I’m sure Ian’s sorry. You both shouldn’t be like this. You’re both usually so close.” I hid my wide-eyed expression from Chad and caught as Ian’s face flushed a little. Our eyes met and Ian cleared his throat.

“I am sorry, Lana.” From his eyes I could tell he meant last night and I nodded, not able to think of a reply. I didn’t want him to be sorry. I didn’t want him to regret it. I wanted him to wish it would happen again, like I did. Ian grabbed a pastry from the rack and left without another word.

“I don’t know what’s been up with him. Ever since he’s been dating Amelia, he barely ever speaks to me anymore.” Chad said, and I hugged him tightly. He chuckled. “It’s all right, I’m okay. I do have other friends, believe it or not.”

“What?” I asked in fake shock, teasing him.

“Where do you think I go when all of you leave me here? I have to keep myself occupied somehow. Why don’t you come out with us one night? You deserve a night off from them. I know a great place with good music, and drinks.” I smiled. It had been a while since Chad and I had actually gone out on a date together.

“I’d like that.” I admitted. “After the ball though, sound good?” He nodded.

“I suppose they have you working nonstop until then?” Chad asked, brushing a strand of hair from my eyes and I closed them leaning into him.

“Don’t get me wrong. I love my job. But sometimes, I feel like I’m too loose…like I’m being too much of their friend and less of their advisor. That’s what the king told me, and I feel like if I’m not careful, I’ll lose sight of why I’m really here.” Chad rubbed my back soothingly and kissed the top of my head.

“I think that’s what makes you so good at your job, love.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that, you’re so close to them that you’re like family already. No matter how bad you mess up, I truly believe that they love you too much to even consider getting rid of you. Sure the king got angry, but it wasn’t at you. That is what we call misdirected rage.” He kissed my lips again and I melted into him. How was it he always knew what to say, what to do? And why wasn’t I madly in love with him?

Chad followed me into my office and gave me a very relaxing shoulder massage. This made doing my work a lot easier. Thankfully, Aunt Patty wasn’t in there so it wasn’t awkward. I picked up the phone and looked through my laptop at some potential classmates of mine that I believed could handle Juliet. It wasn’t that I disliked her, but she was just such a big job, I wanted to make sure I chose the right person. I had asked my Aunt Patty, and she had told me everyone she knew already had a job. She assured me having some new meat was a good idea.

I went through my contacts and smiled when I caught Xavier’s name. Xavier was a bit older than me, and had tutored me through some of my classes. He was smart, tough, and unfortunately very handsome. Maybe that would be a good thing? I shrugged and started dialing on my cellphone.

“Who are you calling?” Chad asked curiously.

“Old classmate of mine. For Juliet.” I tacked on and Chad nodded.

“Hello?” Came the very deep, and confused voice on the other end.

“Xavier? It’s Lana Reed, do you remember me?” A rumbling chuckle sounded.

“Of course I remember you. Cute, short, and very smart.” I felt myself blush. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m glad you remember me by my height.” I said, flatly though I knew he was teasing. “Well, I’m actually the political advisor for the children of the royal family…” I paused.

“See, very smart. I knew you would make it to the top. What do you need?”

“I actually have a job for you, if you’re interested.”

“Oh? Go on…” Xavier urged.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve seen something about a new scandal in the royal family named Juliet?” I started. “I can see her having a lot of potential, but she really needs help. She’s very confused with all of this, especially etiquette…” I grumbled. “I was tasked with finding her a royal advisor, and I would like to offer you the position.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment. “Are you serious? Isn’t she the daughter of a duke?”

“Um, yes?” I said, awkwardly. I smacked away Chad as he tried to distract me by kissing my neck.

“I don’t know why you’re asking, I wouldn’t turn an opportunity like this down for anything.” He replied, sounding genuinely excited. “Thank you so much, Lana.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have done nearly as well in school if not for you.” He laughed along with me and I felt Chad bite me gently on the ear. “OKAY! Well, I will send you all of the information to your email, including phone numbers and addresses. I will also send something to Carolynn for James so they know that you’re coming!”

“Thank you again, Lana. I owe you big for this.”

“Don’t forget you said that. Goodbye, Xavier.” I managed to say before hanging up the phone and turning to Chad who was smiling innocently.

“Are you done working yet?” He asked and I couldn’t help but smile in return.

“Give me five minutes to put all these papers away.” I started organizing everything and shutting down the laptop. The second I stood to leave, Chad pushed me on my desk and pressed against me, wrapping my legs around him. He started to kiss me viciously, and I was soon completely immersed in his lips. We were so distracted that we hadn’t heard the knock or the door open.

“Aww, you two are so adorable!” Christine’s voice tittered, and I snapped my head in her direction to see Ian was standing next to her, looking utterly infuriated.

“What are you two doing in here? It’s late.” I asked as I pushed Chad back and awkwardly jumped off my desk, brushing down my dress pants.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Ian seethed.

“We just came in to ask you about Juliet. We haven’t heard from her and wanted to know if she was okay. She’s our cousin and we were worried.” Christine interrupted, trying to avoid an argument.

“Oh, well, to be honest I know just as much as you two. I arranged for her to have a new advisor of her own. He should be helping her sometime this week. This will hopefully help and then you’ll be able to see her again.” That was the best I had. I was still out of breath from Chad, and completely caught off guard by Ian’s reaction.

“Well, then, don’t let us keep you. Have fun!” Christine started as she pulled Ian out with her, who looked ready to say something. She closed the door behind them and I turned back to Chad who was smirking.

“We always seem to be interrupted.” Chad’s arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a hug against him. “Thank you for letting me spend time with you today. I know you don’t usually have a lot of it to spare.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that. We’re dating, we should be spending time together. I’m just not great at the dating thing.” I shrugged and he kissed me again.

“You’re very good at everything else, so I’m willing to overlook your crazy overworking side. Though, I can’t say I’m not jealous that you get to spend so much time with Ian.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re the one that has me, right?” I kissed him softly before taking his hand and dragging him out of the office. I felt bad. I had been such a terrible girlfriend that he was actually thanking me for spending time with him. I needed to fix this, and I needed to fix it now.

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BTW: pic of Lana's gown --------> on the side