Page 76 of Handle Me

“I am,” I promised, squeezing her back. “Everything okay?”

It wasn’t like her to hug me like this. Our family wasn’t really the hugging type. Maybe it was because our father was British, and my mother was more worried about wrinkling her clothes than showing affection. Either way, it had been a while since my sister had greeted me this warmly.

“No reason.” Her smile looked forced, and I knew she was lying. But I couldn’t blame her. She had a lot to worry about. Maybe she was simply relieved I wasn’t likely to add to her headache.

Except I was. I totally was.

My sister had sent me to coach Anders, to get him in line. Instead, I’d made things more complicated than ever.

I forced my anxiety deep inside me and pasted on a smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” she said, yawning. She adjusted the belt of her silk robe.

“Are you sure about that?” I raised an eyebrow.

Clara threw her hands up. “Fine, I’m tired, but that’s normal.”

“And how is my nephew?” I asked, my stomach doing cartwheels. There was more security than ever at Buckingham. Was it because they were worried something might happen to little William in his sleep? Surely not. If that were the case, he would have stayed in hospital longer.

“Perfect.” She gestured to a chair by the fire. “Belle is in with him now.”

“Is she practicing?” I teased. My business partner, Clara’s best friend, was expecting a baby in a few months.

Clara nodded, but I noticed how her throat slid uneasily. “None of us want to take our eyes off him. Alexander barely lets either of us out of his sight.”

I didn’t find that surprising. My brother-in-law was the dictionary definition of overprotective.

“Well, Anders is distracting him now,” I told her. My foot tapped a nervous beat so loudly that Clara glanced at it, her eyebrows knitting together. I hastily crossed my legs. It was bad enough I had to tell her. Did I have to look like a mental case doing it?

“Anders.” She blinked and then nodded. “I suppose that makes sense.”

“Why?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“It’s nothing important,” she said breezily—another lie. I wondered what my boyfriend would have to tell me after his meeting.

“Speaking of Anders.” I cleared my throat. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Clara tensed, her whole body going completely still. “What?”

Did she already know? I’d thought with the media circus surrounding William’s birth and his subsequent surgery, she would be out of the loop. But had she heard? Was that why she was acting strangely?

There was only one way to find out. “I might be…I mean, I am…it just happened, by the way, and I didn’t plan it, but…”

“What happened?” Clara pressed, her lips tipping into a frown.

I blew a stream of air through my lips. Now or never. “Us.”

“Us?” She blinked, looking confused. “I’m sorry. I don’t follow.”

“Anders…and me,” I forced myself to add.

“You and Anders what?” She stared for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. “Ohhhhh.”

I buried my face in my hands, wishing I could disappear. “I’m so sorry. You asked me to help him, and then I…”

“You what?” she asked seriously.

“You know.” I couldn’t bear to look at her.