“We’ll leave right after breakfast,” she said. “You can go straight to Montedoro. I’ll get a commercial flight for Lani and Trevor and me.”
“I will take you to Dallas,” he said.
“Really. It’s fine. I’ll—”
“No.” He cut her off in a voice that brooked no argument. “I will take you to Texas. And then I’ll go straight on from there.”
A half an hour later, they lay in bed in the darkness together, but not touching, facing away from each other. Sydney knew it was the right thing, for him to go, to make his peace with the woman he’d kept on a string.
She knew it was the right thing …
But she didn’t like it one bit. She was disappointed in Rule. And more than a little angry that because of him, their wedding night had ended in such a rotten, awful way.
Here she’d married her prince, literally. She’d been so sure he was the perfect man for her—and the day after their wedding, he had to leave her to fly back to his country and apologize to the woman everyone had thought he would marry. A woman Rule said was like a sister to him, a woman who was pretty and delicate and romantic at heart. Sydney was none of those things. Not pretty. Not the least delicate.
Okay, maybe she was a bit of a romantic. But she’d never had the luxury of indulging her romantic streak—not until her own personal prince came along.
Maybe her prince wasn’t such a fine man, after all. Maybe she should have slowed things down between them, at least a little, given herself more time to make sure that marrying him was really right for her. She’d been hurt before, and badly. She should have kept those past heartaches more firmly in mind. Ryan and Peter had proved that she didn’t have the best judgment when it came to giving her heart. And yet, after knowing Rule for—oh, dear God, under forty-eight hours—she’d run off to Vegas and married him.
Sydney closed her eyes tightly. Was she a total fool, after all? She’d followed her heart yet again. And look at her now, hugging the edge of the bed on her wedding night, curled into a tight ball of pure misery.
And then the truth came to her, cool and sweet as clean water poured on a wound. Rule wasn’t Ryan or Peter. He hadn’t lied to her or manipulated her.
He’d told her the truth about Princess Lili on Saturday night before he’d asked her to marry him. And when his father had called him home to make peace with Lili, Rule hadn’t lied to her about what was going on. Even though he so easily could have, he hadn’t taken the easy way, hadn’t made up some story for why he needed to get back. After all, she knew he had responsibilities in Montedoro and she would have most likely accepted any credible story he’d told her about the sudden necessity for him to go.
But he hadn’t lied. He’d taken the hard way, the way that proved his basic integrity. He’d told her what was really going on, and told her honestly. Told the truth, even when the truth didn’t show him in the greatest light.
All at once, her stomach didn’t feel quite so tight anymore. And her heart didn’t ache quite so much.
Carefully, slowly, she relaxed from the tight little ball she’d curled herself into. She stretched out her legs and then, with a sigh, she eased over onto her back.
She could feel him beside her, feel his stillness. A concentrated sort of stillness. She couldn’t hear his breathing. He must be awake, too. Lying there in misery, hating this situation as much as she did.
No, she didn’t forgive him, exactly. Not yet, anyway. She couldn’t just melt into his arms, just send him off to Princess Lili with a big, brave smile and a tender kiss goodbye.
But she could … understand the position he was in. She could sympathize.
The sheet between them was cool. She flattened her hand on it, and then moved her fingers, ever so slowly, toward his unmoving form.
He moved, too. Only his hand. His fingers touched hers and she didn’t pull back.
She lay very still. No way was she going to let him wrap those big, warm arms around her.
But when his fingers eased between hers, she let them. And when he clasped her hand, she held on.
She didn’t let go and neither did he. In time, sleep claimed her.
Rule had a car waiting for them in Dallas. He exited the jet to say goodbye to them as their bags were loaded into the trunk and airport personnel bustled about, preparing the jet for the flight to Montedoro.
Trev went eagerly into his arms. “Bye, Roo! Kiss!” And he kissed Rule’s cheek, making a loud, happy smacking sound.
Rule kissed him back. “I will see you very soon.”
“Soon. Good. Come see me soon.”
“You be good for your Mama and Lani.”
“I good, yes!”