Page 2 of Broken Prince
“It’s nice. Really damn nice. I don’t think I’m going to fit in here,” I sigh, sitting back in my seat.
“Of course you will.” Mom gives me a funny look.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I grumble. “I’ve dealt with the rich type back in San Francisco. The private school is full of them, you know?”
“This is university, Delaney. You're all adults. So, hopefully, everyone will act like it. Just go to school, work hard, and stay out of the petty drama.”
“Easier said than done, Mom.” I give her a blank look.
She laughs, shaking her head.
“So, how long until we get there?” I ask, watching as we pass stone gate after stone gate.
“It’s just down here,” Mom answers.
The road comes to an end, bringing us to yet another stone gate. Only this one is bigger and taller than the others.
Mom drives up to a little box with buttons and punches in a code. A few seconds later, the gates open.
“Now, James will not be the only one living in the house with us. Your stepbrothers will be here too—at least until school starts in the fall. But the place is big enough, so if you don’t get along with them, I’m sure it won't be hard to avoid them. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. James has told me a lot about them, and they sound like good young men.”
“Not my brothers, Mom. You're not married to James.”
“Yet,” she points out. “Only two more weeks and everything will be official.”
“I’m excited to do some more wedding planning.” I smile over at her. They already have all the big things done; the only thing we really need to do is go dress shopping for the both of us. Yes, she doesn’t have a dress. She wanted to try them on in person and every place she has been to, she didn’t like any of the options available. So we're hoping the very fancy shop James told her about in town will have something for her to wear, or I’m going to have to get on her ass for being so picky, especially because she looked stunning in every single one she’s tried on.
“Here we are,” Mom announces. My gaze shifts to the front window, and my jaw drops.
“You're fucking kidding me, right?” I ask, stunned as I take in the massive mansion before me.
“Language,” she scolds me.
“Sorry, but Mom, look at this place! I thought the resort was over the top, this is... I’m speechless.” I blink as I take in the literal castle in front of us. Like, no joke, I’m about to ask if she’s been keeping secrets from me, and she’s about to marry some prince or royalty of some sort.
We pull up to the front door, next to a large marble fountain. “I’m dreaming, right? Like I have to be.”
“Delaney,” Mom lets out an exhausted sigh.
“What?! You can’t blame me, Mom. This is going to take some getting used to. We lived in a damn townhome my whole life. I know we were well off, but this is... this is a lot.”
“I know. And I’m still getting used to it myself. This is a big change for me, too. But please don’t make this a big deal all the time. Don’t make James feel weird about his wealth. He is a very nice, caring, humble man... who just happens to have a lot of money.”
“Okay.” I nod. “Okay, you're right. I’ll try to keep my shocked comments to my inner monologue.”
“Thank you.” She gives me a grateful smile
We get out of the car, and I look over at the front door to see a well-dressed, tall, handsome man. He has dark, styled hair and a nicely trimmed beard.
“You made it!” he says with a big smile. “How was the trip?”
Mom giggles and takes off, running toward James. He chuckles as he wraps his arms around her. The look he gives my mom before kissing her deeply is one filled with pure love. Fuck, they’re adorable together.
Smiling, I shake my head, letting the two love birds have their moment, and head to the trunk.
“Boys!” I hear James shout as I open the trunk door. “Come help your sister with the bags.”
Sister. Yeah, that's going to take some getting used to. As I wait for my new soon-to-be stepbrothers to help, I start to pull bags out and place them on the ground next to me.