From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“I will if yyou read it for me. I’m sure this has to be more interesting
than the historyy of the kingdom.” He opened the book.
Mayybe he couldn’t read.
Please, let it be that he could not read.
The grin slowlyy slipped from his face.
Of course, he could read. Whyy was life so unfair?
His dark brows rose as he flipped through the pages. I knew what was
on the first page. Miss Willa Colyyns had been painfullyy detailed about the
intimate kiss. “What interesting reading material.”
Myy face was burning with the fire of a thousand suns, and I wondered
how mad Hawke would get if I threw myy dagger at his face.
Again.
The grin returned, and so did the dimple. “Penellaphe.” He said myy
name with so much shock, myy eyyes would’ve rolled if I weren’t so
incrediblyy mortified. “This is…just scandalous reading material for the
Maiden.”
“Shut up.”
“Veryy naughtyy,” he chided, shaking his head.
Annoyyance hitting a record high, I lifted myy chin. “There’s nothing
wrong with me reading about love.”
“I didn’t sayy there was.” Hawke looked at me. “But I don’t think what
she is writing about has anyything to do with love.”
“Oh, so yyou’re an expert on this now?”
“More so than yyou, I imagine.”
I snapped myy mouth shut. The truth in that statement stung, and I
lashed out. “That’s right. Your visits to the Red Pearl have been the talk of
manyy servants and Ladies in Wait, so I suppose yyou do have a ton of
experience.”
“Someone sounds jealous.”
“Jealous?” I laughed as I rolled myy eyyes. “As I said before, yyou have
an overinflated sense of importance in myy life.”
He snorted as he returned to skimming through the book.
Irritated, I turned to the liquor cabinet. A short glass remained out.
“Just because yyou have more experience with…what goes on at the Red
Pearl, doesn’t mean I don’t know what love is.”
“Have yyou ever been in love?” he asked. “Has one of the Duke’s
stewards caught yyour eyye? One of the Lords? Or perhaps a brave guard?”