“The best of care for you, Tadhg.”
Feeling silly standing here while the seamstress ogled my prince, I let my arms fall to my sides. “Is that all you need, Melody?”
She blinked at me as if she’d forgotten I was standing right beside her. Who could blame the woman? Tadhg did look rather distracting in his slightly wrinkled white shirt and unbuttoned vest. Like he’d thrown it on as an afterthought. I couldn’t wait to strip him out of it.
“Yes, milady.” She dropped her things back into her bag and looped the strap around her shoulder. “I’ll have something for you to try by the end of next week.”
That seemed a little late considering the wedding was in four weeks, but I didn’t want to add extra pressure on the woman, so I thanked her and said that would be perfect.
“All go well?”Tadhg asked when she left.
“Overall.” There was only one tiny little detail I needed to sort out to make this wedding perfect. “Have you seen your brother around?”
His brows lifted. “I believe he’s in the study. Why?”
“I need to discuss something with him.”
Tadgh offered to go in my stead, but this was between me and my former husband. “Thank, you but I’d like to speak with him privately.”
Tadhg’s head tilted, and he looked as if he wanted to protest. Instead, he blew out a breath. “If he gives you any grief, let me know.”
I could handle one surly prince. I pressed my lips to Tadhg’s, tasting sweet almonds there. “Were you eating Eava’s cake samples?”
“Of course not.”
“Liar.”
He grinned before taking control of my mouth once more, his tongue sweeping against mine. “Come to the bedroom when you’re finished,” he murmured against my lips.
My stomach tightened with anticipation. “I’m sure you have more important things to do.”
His lips tugged up. “Nothing is more important than you.” He swatted my backside and vanished, presumably to the room we’d been sharing since I returned.
I found Tadhg’s ignorant brother poring over a stack of books at Tadhg’s desk.
He glanced up when he saw me, then promptly looked back at the text in front of him.
I dragged one of the stiff chairs next to the bookcase toward the desk, the legs scraping loudly across the uneven stones. Once I reached the desk, I sank onto the chair and folded my hands in my lap. He still hadn’t acknowledged me.
I cleared my throat. Still nothing.Ignorant ass… “I don’t like you very much.”
Sighing loudly enough to wake the dead, he turned to the next page in the book. “It should come as no surprise to you that the feeling is quite mutual.”
And here I’d thought we had nothing in common. “For some reason that I absolutely cannot fathom, Aveen loves you.”
Another sigh. Another page flip. “She’ll get over it.”
“She won’t. But that is neither here nor there.” No sense arguing when I knew I was right. “I’ve come to tell you that I expect her presence at the wedding.”
Sigh. Flip. “No.”
My hands balled into fists.Churlish pig. “Do you want me to get Tadhg involved? Because I will.”
Rían’s eyes lifted from the page. A smile curled the corners of his lips. “Is that supposed to scare me?”
“It should. Tadhg’s curse is broken, his magic unbound, and he is your sovereign.” At that, Rían flinched. “So, I’ll ask you one more time to stop trying to control my sister and let her come to my bloody wedding.”
“I’m not—” His mouth snapped shut. Through his teeth, he said, “I’m not trying to control her. I am trying to keep her safe. Surely that’s something even a featherhead like you can understand.”