“Are you Prince Edward’s mate?” Rue asked as she passed me the pepper sauce for the roasted beef I stopped to buy on my way home. I collected the bottle from her hand, but I made no move to add it to the beef before me. “What makes you say that?” She shrugged. “He has visited a few times in the last three months, and I saw him at the parlour when I came to visit.” My eyes dropped to the beef, and I sprayed the pepper on it, avoiding her gaze. “The prince is my partner at the parlour. We work together just like you do with Alex and Liam at the library.” “You don’t stare at them the way you do him.” “How do I stare at him?” My brow raised. Perhaps I was giving out clues I shouldn’t and now she had picked them up. “Like you admire him and want him to kiss you,” she answered, showing no

