Queen Regnant ( Ace of Queens #3)

Ch.23 Juniper's Baker's Best

Chapter 23

"The council is not happy," Xavier said looking at Mavi across the table.

Rye wanted to throw her plate at the man. All she wanted was a quiet dinner, but of course he had to bring this up again.

Mavi poked at the chicken on her plate and shrugged. She had nothing to say about the council.

"You didn't show up to the lunch even for the new observatory yesterday," Xavier commented.

Mavi sighed, "No.....I must have overslept."

"The even was for 1 PM,"

"Like I said," Mavi said blankly. "I must have overslept."

Rye reached over and squeezed Xavier's hand under the table. She didn't want him bothering her and then her getting angry and leaving the table.

Xavier sighed. He knew Rye was correct. The first two weeks after Owen had left, Mavi was a ghost in a shell. She didn't speak to anyone, didn't leave her room, wouldn't eat.....it was painful to watch as a father. He had held out in hope that she would start feeling better after a few days, but things just went south. Mavi woke up one morning and decided she was done playing Princess. Whatever demon had been possessing Rye before she met Xavier had suddenly landed on Mavi's shoulder.

"How are things going with baby names?" Rye asked Gemma to change the subject. Thank god for the baby. If there was one thing everyone could be happy about in that family, it was that baby.

"It's.....going," Gemma hesitated.

"She doesn't like the name Axel." Exton explained.

"We've already had a King Axel," Xavier sided with Gemma. "It'll just get confusing."

"I like Quinn," Gemma suggested.

"Reminds me of quinoa," Exton shook his head.

"Why does it matter?" Mavi pondered. "These are all boy names but you're having a girl."

Everyone at the table paused to look at Mavi. Gemma and Exton hadn't checked the sex of the baby yet. Rye didn't even know and she was constantly checking up on Gemma's reports.

"How do you know?' Exton asked his sister.

Mavi shrugged, "I saw it in a dream."

"Aww," Gemma cooed. "What did you see?"

"You two were on the beach and Exton was playing with your daughter," Mavi recalled. "She had blond hair like Gemma and she liked cucumbers."

"Really?" Exton made a face. "Cucumbers?"

"Daddy's little girl," Gemma was smitten. She turned to Exton and kissed his cheeks. "I hope your dream is true."

Mavi didn't respond. She went back to poking her chicken on her plate until she figured she had sat long enough and excused herself.

Rye begged Xavier with her eyes not to argue when Mavi got up from the table and walked away.

Once Mavi was in her room, she crawled onto the bed and pulled out her phone. She was tempted to call Adam but just then her eyes caught sight of that black blazer handing in her closet.

With a heavy heart, Mavi walked into her closet and pulled the blazer off the hanger. She pulled the cloth close to her chest and brought her face down. By now, even his scent had disappeared from the smooth fabric. When Mavi realized she had nothing but the blazer to remember him by now, her eyes filled with tears.