Page 78 of That Prince is Mine
“How curious,” Gabriel interrupted, his voice icy and hard. “Am I mistaken, or did his office hour end more than half an hour ago?”
“I know but… I thought…” The eye and the tip of the nose turned red. “I’m so sorry for disturbing you.”
The disembodied face disappeared with a scuffling of trainer bottoms. Michel frowned when his cousin turned to face him again. “The Sphinx strikes again. Why do you do that?”
“Knee-jerk reaction?” Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose. “I need the Sphinx persona to teach philosophy effectively. If my students ever got a whiff of the twit I truly am, my chances of convincing them to respect philosophy will fly right out the door. I don’t want myself to get in the way of showing my students how incredible and essential philosophy is to humanity.”
“Christ, you are such a nerd,” Michel teased affectionately, touched by his cousin’s earnest explanation. And there was more to Gabriel’s preoccupation with coming across as a serious academic. “I can’t believe the people of Rouleme actually believed what the tabloids were feeding them. You were never the empty-headed playboy they made you out to be.”
“My unparalleled good looks are a blessing and a curse.” His smile held a bitter edge that said it was more of a curse. “Besides, I didn’t help matters, did I? It was just easier in some ways to play into that role.”
“You should be proud of the life you built here, Gabriel.” Michel understood why his cousin had to leave Rouleme behind. No matter what he did back home, he would never have been more than a pretty face. He needed a fresh start. “But might I remind you that was my student you just scared away.”
“Like I said, knee-jerk reaction.” Gabriel shrugged with a rueful smile. “Besides, you need to learn to set boundaries for yourself, too.”
Michel couldn’t hold back a harsh bark of laughter. “Easier said than done, my dear cousin.”
“I never implied that it would be easy.” His cousin watched him with quiet sympathy. Neither of them was speaking about his role as a professor. “Look at the extremes I’ve had to go to for my profession.”
Being a king wasn’t a profession. It would soon be his life. Setting boundaries would be impossible. In fact, there might be no Michel left, only the king, if he didn’t have Emma by his side. All the more reason he had to convince her that they were meant for each other.
But… what about Emma? Would she be happy by his side in Rouleme? Would leaving her life behind be the best thing for her? He pushed the thoughts aside and quelled the gnawing anxiety in his stomach.
“Should we start heading for the Town and Gown?” Michel stood from his chair with a determined grin.
Gabriel groaned but rose to his feet. “The Sphinx does not enjoy interdepartmental mixers.”
Michel rolled down the sleeves of his dress shirt and refastened his cuff links before adjusting the tie he’d loosened earlier. Then he retrieved his navy suit jacket from the coatrack and shrugged into it. “Perhaps I should’ve brought a change of clothes.”
“Are you fishing for compliments? Well, I think you look very pretty, cousin dear.” Gabriel grinned, just begging to be smacked on the side of his head. “And there’s no need to fuss. It’s not a ball. It’s just a get-together for the faculty and their TAs to mingle with people outside their departments.”
“You’re making the event sound like happy hour.” Michel watched Gabriel button up his light gray suit jacket. His cousin would look like an A-lister in a potato sack. “Even if it’s not a ball, it is being held in the Town and Gown Ballroom with a plus-one. It sounds like a proper fête to me.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Gabriel scratched the side of his jaw. “Especially with the open bar and dancing.”
As Michel hurried out of his office, the thought of dancing with Emma placed a ridiculous smile on his face. She had agreed to meet him at the party after a late-afternoon lesson. Even though they’d gone out just last night, he couldn’t wait to see her again. He quickened his pace while his cousin dragged his feet.
“Could you stop walking like an octogenarian? It would be rude to be late.” When his cousin effectively flipped him off by an expressive tilt of his head and a narrowing of his eyes, Michel shrugged and rushed ahead to USC’s famed ballroom.
He belatedly realized that Gabriel was slowing down to keep pace with Sophie, who had a talent for materializing out of thin air. She stared straight ahead and didn’t deign to acknowledge his cousin. Hmm. They had seemed to be on better terms of late. What changed? From the questioning looks Gabriel shot Sophie, he had no idea what was going on either.
When they got to the Town and Gown Ballroom, Sophie slipped into the shadows of the alcoves, and Gabriel joined Michel at his side. The ballroom wasn’t as opulent as the ones that Michel was accustomed to, but it was immaculate and welcoming, especially with the gold-and-cardinal theme of the event decor. Go, Trojans! Many faculty and their aides had beat them to the event, their clinking glasses and laughter ringing through the room.
Michel scanned the fast-filling space for Emma but couldn’t find her. He was relieved he’d arrived first. He didn’t want her to step into a room full of strangers by herself. Even though it was often unavoidable for him, he never got accustomed to the nerve-racking nature of the experience.
“I need a drink,” his cousin said in ominous tones beside him.
“Did something happen between you two?” Michel frowned, recalling the stilted interaction between Gabriel and Sophie.
“Hell if I know.” Gabriel huffed a sigh and raked his fingers through his hair. “She was finally letting me back in—smiling more, laughing at my jokes, even. I thought there might be another chance for us…”
“There is,” Michel reassured his obviously distraught cousin. “You just need to talk to her.”
Sophie and Gabriel had been the best of friends as children even though they were as different as night and day. Their friendship confounded the elders, but Michel had always known that they understood each other better than anyone else. Their differences complemented one another in the best possible way. He had never imagined that their feelings went beyond friendship, but now that he knew, they made perfect sense together.
Gabriel was already stalking away but stopped to ask over his shoulder, “Do you want anything?”
“No, thank you.” Michel would talk to his cousin later. For now, he needed to keep an eye out for Emma. “I’ll get something once Emma arrives.”
