Page 6 of Cruel King
I shouldn’t laugh, but when she gets like this, there’s not much else to do. “Maybe the guys will grow out of that.”
She ignores my attempt to be supportive and continues complaining. “My mother has one daughter and four sons, and it’s the daughter who gets the short end of the stick all the time. None of my brothers are forced to do this grandmother thing. Just me.”
I know the answer to that unspoken question of why she has to visit and her brothers don’t. “That’s because your grandmother doesn’t like your brothers. They’re like four tornadoes whenever they show up anywhere. Maybe you should try busting up the place like they do. She might end these visits.”
That finally makes Eden laugh. “No kidding. You’d think they’d have some self-control by this point, but I think they’re worse now that they’re older, not better. I don’t think I have the heart to go tearing up my grandmother’s house, though. She’s too sweet. I just wish I was back home so I could be hanging out with you and everyone else. Since I can’t, tell me everything that’s going on. I’m living vicariously through you, Ava, so don’t let me down.”
Everything that’s going on is absolutely nothing. She called the wrong person if she wants to someone to spill the tea. I don’t have any to spill.
“Sorry, but I’ve got nothing. I’m stuck at home since there’s going to be a snowstorm today. I might walk up to the main house and see if Theo’s around in a little while. I’m sure my father would be okay with that.”
“Christ, Ava. Your father is worse than my mother. You’re nineteen, for God’s sake. He’s making you stay home because it might snow?”
Eden knows full well how protective my father’s gotten since my mother died. That doesn’t stop her from pointing it out, though.
“You know him,” I meekly answer, having no other comment about my father’s behavior. “Sorry. All I have is the possibility Theo might be around. Maybe call me later after I see him. He usually has some juicy stories.”
My friend hums and then says, “I’d rather hear something juicy about that brother of his. I heard through the grapevine right before I left that he and his girlfriend broke up. Am I to understand that Marius King is back on the market? Because if he is, sign this girl up!”
Her interest in Theo’s younger brother surprises me. “How did I not know you liked Marius? I thought you were into that guy you met at drama camp over the summer. What was his name? Cooper? Copper?”
“Cooper, and no, he’s ancient history. As for Marius, you know my weakness for the dark and brooding guys, and that King brother is working those in spades. You have to find out from Theo if he’s still single.”
Just because I feel like teasing her, I joke, “What are you going to do about it all the way down there in Virginia? By the time you get back right after New Year’s, he’ll be hooked up with someone else. You’re not the only woman who loves broody guys.”
I can hear her frustration seep through the phone as I toy with her. “First of all, it’s not nice to torture me like that. And second of all, what do you know about the broody guy syndrome that afflicts me and millions of other women? You never go for those guys. All you ever like are those eggheads you insist on dating, which by the way, seems like a poor use of your prime dating years, if you ask me. They always turn out to be tools. Come to the dark side with the brooding guys. Trust me. You’ll never go back.”
I laugh out loud at her assessment of my dating life. She’s not wrong. My exes haven’t been great. I don’t know about the brooding guys, though. Theo’s older brother Matthias always seems to be brooding, and he’s nothing short of miserable, as far as I can tell. As for Marius, he’s definitely got that dark thing going, but I’ve never seen him as anything but Theo’s younger brother.
Not that he has to worry since Eden is just one of many girls I know who’d give their left arm to be with him.
“I’ll be sure to get the scoop on what’s going on with Marius if I go up to see Theo later. Anything particular you want to know?”
Eden lets out a purely wicked chuckle. “I like what I already know about him. Gorgeous, brooding, and from what his ex-girlfriend used to say, he’s got what any woman wants.”
“Money?” I joke.
“Well, there’s that, but I was referring to what’s between his legs. Maia used to brag that she walked funny after a night with Marius King. Now that they’re history, I think I’d like to see if she was telling the truth.”
Typical Eden. Out of all of my friends, she’s the most sex-crazed of them all.
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I’ll find out if he’s single. When do you get back?” I ask.
“Second week of January,” she says in a sad voice. “They don’t even have snow down here, Ava. What the hell kind of Christmas holiday doesn’t have snow?”
“We don’t have any either, so you aren’t missing anything. I think we’re going to get some today, though. Maybe it will stick around until you get back.”
“I hope so. It’s not Christmas without snow. Ugh, I think my grandmother is calling for me. She probably wants to go for another walk in the beautiful sunshine. This is agony, Ava. Pure agony! Call me as soon as you find out about Marius. I need something to keep my spirits up while I’m down here all snowless and full of sun.”
That shouldn’t make me laugh, but it does. Only Eden would find sunny days miserable.
“I will. I promise to get all the details.”
“Thanks! Okay, I’m off to wherever my grandmother needs to go now. Remember, call as soon as you find out. I want something to fantasize about until I get back home.”
“Will do. Talk to you later, Eden!”
The call ends with her explaining to her grandmother in the background that she’ll be ready in a minute, and as I set my phone back down on the table, I think about her with Marius. She might be his type. Eden’s got beautiful black hair and green eyes that never fail to make guys fall for her. She’s also got a great body, something I suspect he’d like.