‘Yes, I know,’ she said, moving to a table and scrawling her signature at the bottom. She took a deep breath and wondered if the buzzing noise she could hear was inside her head, or outside.
‘His Majesty has also given you a settlement for inconveniencing you but said that if it wasn’t enough to name your price.’
‘His Majesty is very keen to see me go,’ she said softly, wondering if he would renew his engagement to the Princess Alexa now that he was free. It seemed unlikely but then this world wasn’t her usual one. Royals made deals and arrangements in the blink of an eye. ‘And Chad?’ she asked.
‘Chad is here,’ a voice said from the doorway.
Regan glanced up at him blankly and then felt her resolve start to crumble. ‘Oh, Chad!’
He stepped into the room and she raced into his arms.
‘I’ll leave you alone now, my lady,’ Tarik said courteously. ‘If there is anything you need, please let me know.’
‘Wait, Tarik, there is.’ She pulled away from Chad and tugged at the diamond on her finger. It resisted her initial attempt to remove it, but with enough force she worked it free. ‘Please return this to His Majesty.’
‘The King said that you were to keep it.’
The lump in her throat got bigger. ‘No.’ She shook her head to hold back tears that suddenly sprang up behind her eyes. ‘It’s not mine to keep.’
‘As you wish, my lady.’
Regan nodded. ‘And thank you.’ She gave him a watery smile. ‘It was nice to get to know you.’
Tarik nodded, bowing as he slowly turned to leave.
‘Wow,’ Chad said, releasing a long breath. ‘This is really full-on.’
‘What did you expect?’ Regan asked. ‘Did you really think you could go off with Milena and there would be no consequences?’
Chad sighed. ‘I suppose I didn’t really think about the consequences. Milena is a princess. If anything, I thought that once she returned everything would be fine and go back to normal.’
‘Wrong.’
‘Oh, Reggie, I can see you’re upset. I’m sorry you got dragged into all of this.’
‘It’s okay.’ She sniffed knowing that it was very far from okay. ‘I’m fine.’ It was the way it had always been in the past: her taking care of Chad, not the other way around.
‘No, you’re not. You look like you’re about to cry.’ He gave her a wan smile. ‘I’m truly sorry. I had no idea that you would rush over to Santara to try and find me.’
‘I probably should have stayed home in hindsight but... How did your meeting with the King go?’
Chad made a face. ‘He pretty much bawled me out ov
er what I’d done.’
‘I don’t doubt it. He was worried sick about his sister. It was pretty irresponsible.’
‘It didn’t seem like it at the time. But he didn’t ball me out so much over Milena as over you.’
‘Me?’
‘Yeah, he dragged me over the coals for scaring you the way that I did. Told me I had to take better care of you.’
‘Oh...that was...’ She took a breath. It was typical of a man who took his familial responsibilities seriously is what it was. ‘He’s a decent person when you get to know him.’ Funny. Sexy. Strong. Smart. ‘And you? What happens for you next?’
‘King Jaeger has ordained that I am allowed to continue to work for GeoTech if I want to, but I’m to have no contact with the Princess ever again.’
Regan heard the slight strain in his voice and groaned. ‘You’re in love with her, aren’t you?’