The Unlikely Spare (Unlikely Dilemmas, #3)

by Jax Calder

Is this what love is? The idea that someone can see every bit of you, even your pettiness and sharp edges and spectacular failures, then shrug and say, “Yes, still you.”

Then again, my entire bloodline was built on the audacious belief that God himself ordained our rule, so perhaps delusion is simply genetic.

“I guess, though technically, it’s only theft if we get caught. Otherwise, it’s just aggressive borrowing with a delayed return policy.”

“If you hurt him, I will ensure that all your next performance reviews include a detailed account of how you mistook a rescue for a kidnapping. I will ensure that every cup of tea in the security office mysteriously becomes decaf for the rest of your natural lives, and I will insist you present all future threat assessments in the form of Broadway musical numbers.”

“Demanded, actually,” Singh says dryly. “Repeatedly. With increasing volume and creativity. I particularly enjoyed the bit about having us reassigned to guard parking meters in Slough.”

“That’s what? Appropriate?” Nicholas’s voice could freeze hell. “I’ve been shot at, kidnapped, and had my hair bleached to look like a cautionary tale about DIY hair treatments. I’ve also been forced to spend four hours explaining everything that happened to me to palace officials who seem to believe that the stability of the Commonwealth apparently hinges on whether I was coerced, seduced, or simply lost my mind when I decided to play Bonnie and Clyde with my protection officer. I will debrief with whomever I choose, wherever I choose. Clear?”

He looks like sin and salvation wrapped in one infuriating package.