Maid For You 4

Chapter 24

Coleman wore a red sweater over a white collared shirt and cream-colored pants. He stood up from the stairs and started walking down towards us, and his jaw looked even sharper than normal as he chomped down on his red apple with a satisfying crunch. He looked hot, of course. He always did.

"You guys have good produce here," Coleman noted, pointing at Nikolas and grinning.

"You are not supposed to be here," Nikolas said, his voice cold and his gaze colder. "You are invited to come in two days' time, but until then, you are not welcome."

"Oh, but, actually, I am welcome, here," Coleman countered, sauntering down the stairs. He took another bite of his apple. "Wow, that's a good apple."

I was pretty sure the tension in this room would be harder to cut through than said apple, but Coleman somehow seemed ignorant of it as he kept chewing blissfully.

"Your invitation says that you are invited to come on the eve of thirteenth. Today is the eleventh. You may traipse around as you please at home, but you are not invited to stay here at this time."

"Actually," another voice cut in—female, accented. I looked up at the top of the stairs. Queen Irina. "I invited Prince Coleman to come."

Prince Coleman opened his mouth and placed his hand on his cheek in faux shock at this revelation, and Queen Irina descended the stairs to join the rest of us at ground level.

"Maht," Nikolas said, glowering at her. "You cannot do this."

"Actually, I can, Nikolai. You are not king, yet," she snapped, and Nikolas flinched, like he'd been struck.

"Well, I guess that settles the matter, then," Coleman shrugged. He then pointed to a servant on the side. "Ty!" he exclaimed, and tossed his half-eaten apple to the servant. "Voz'mi eto." He rubbed his hands up and down together very quickly, as a sort of signal that he'd finished his food. "Oh hey, Cass," he said, looking at me as if he hadn't seen me before. He grinned. "How's it going?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked him in a half whisper, though it wasn't like I was speaking very quietly.

"Did you, um, did you not hear what Queen Irina said?" he asked me.

I clenched my jaw. "Prince Coleman..."

"Queen Irina," Coleman continued, turning towards the Queen who had come to join us. "I thank you very much for your hospitality." He bowed gallantly, but despite her apparent invitation for Coleman to come to Nikoto, she clearly didn't seem very flattered by his gratitude. She merely looked at Coleman and without so much as a word turned her sights back to her son, and told him something in Russian.

"Apparently, Prince Nikolas has to go to a meeting," Coleman told me quietly, and while I was grateful for the translation, I was also just annoyed at his presence. What the heck was he doing here? I felt that his being here could only mean one thing: trouble.

"Prince Coleman—" I started in a whisper. But before I could grill him on what he was doing here, Nikolas and his mom apparently finished their conversation, because she walked off down the hall, and Nikolas spoke up.

"I'm afraid I have a meeting right now," he said, looking at Coleman and then me. His face softened a bit when he looked at me, but I knew he was still annoyed as all get out at this unexpected turn of event. "I'll see you later today."

I nodded. "I'll see you later," I said quietly, feeling very uncomfortable in that moment.

Nikolas started to walk off, but Coleman put his hand on his shoulder. "By the way, Nikky," he started.