When Miles boasted over the cost of the champagne in front of them, Caspian frowned contemplatively. He knew what his friend was doing. High born women were often impressed when men showered them with expensive gifts, so he had dropped the number to shamelessly imply that he would do the same for her. If he had tried it with anyone else, the tactic might have worked, but Cas knew that Iris wasn’t like other women. Materials and luxuries weren’t the way to her heart. Anytime he even tried to do her a small favor, he had to brace himself for pushback because she was independent to a fault. If Miles continued to try winning her over this way, he would just make her uncomfortable.

However, even though his friend had missed his mark, the underlying thought was still there. The other man was treating her like a princess because he felt like she deserved it. He was attentive to her needs and was trying to show her the finer things life had to offer because he wanted her to be happy. It just went to show what a great partner he could be if she was actually interested in him. The thought sent another stab of envy through Cas’s chest, and he looked away from them bitterly.

“You have to try it,” Miles insisted, picking up on her shock and using it to prove his point. “It’s the lightest champagne I’ve ever had. Really good stuff. Don’t you think so, Cas?” Suddenly roping the prince into the conversation, he turned toward him expectantly.

Caspian stiffened and glanced at his friend sideways, unprepared to join the conversation. [color=#b97703]“Um, yeah,”[/color] he fumbled without looking at Iris. [color=#b97703]“It’s good.”[/color] Unsure what else to add when his thoughts were occupied elsewhere, he fell into an awkward silence and slipped his phone from his pocket to pretend like he was busy. Usually, he was much more social and high-spirited, but it was hard for him to keep his head up when he had to watch one of his best friends and the woman who’d stolen his heart get on as if they had known each other for ages. A part of him even wondered if he should make up an excuse to go home and mope about it in solitude.

As they lapsed into silence again, Miles furrowed his brows. He had planned to just let Cas work through whatever was bothering him on his own, but clearly that wasn’t going to work. Tired of the uncomfortable atmosphere in his bedroom, he crossed his arms. “Okay. What’s your problem, man? I thought we were gonna be celebrating Iris, but you look like you just came back from a funeral.”

Cas flinched. Apparently he hadn’t been hiding his dejection as well as he’d thought. [color=#b97703]“It’s nothing,”[/color] he shook his head, hating that he couldn’t just tell his friend the truth. [color=#b97703]“I just… had certain expectations about something, and I’m still adjusting to the possibility that I was wrong.”[/color] As he spoke, his gaze drifted to Iris in a subtle implication of what he was talking about. He doubted Miles would notice, but he hoped she would realize he meant he was still struggling with the fact that she no longer seemed committed to their relationship. Even if she was going to be with someone else, he would have appreciated it if she didn’t flaunt it right in front of him. Watching them together was difficult for him to stomach.

“Fine, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Miles conceded, taking the prince’s cryptic answer to mean that he wasn’t going to give them any more details. “Just try not to let it ruin our celebratory lunch, okay? Nothing but happy thoughts and good vibes here. Speaking of which,” he stood up from the sofa to go rummaging through his nightstand, only to pull out a brown bag that he flourished before the others. “I have plenty of good vibes in solid form in here. You can take your pick if you want any.”

[color=#b97703]“We’ll see,”[/color] Cas replied noncommittally. Though he wasn’t a fan of the way he felt when he indulged with his friends, he couldn’t deny that a small piece of him was feeling tempted, if only to take the edge off the sting of his jealousy. For now, he wouldn’t make any promises one way or the other.

“Well, they’re right here if you change your mind,” Miles said, tossing the bag onto the table with the champagne bottle and flopping back down next to Iris. “You too, Ms. ‘I don’t like your ideas.’” he nudged her playfully.