With these men who knew him so well, there was no point in or need for deflection or hedging.
“Since I made an American woman my bride,” Jag answered openly.
It was as if the very room in the secure downtown office sucked in its breath then, freezing the three men within it in a moment of silence before all of them began speaking at once.
“You married?” from Rafael, a grimace ready in place across his swarthy visage.
“Who is she?” Vin asked.
“When do we meet this bride of yours? I assume she is as desperately unsuitable as planned?” Zeus drawled. Eyes lighting, he added, “Tell me she is hideous.”
Jag said stiffly, “She is not.”
With far greater restraint, Rafael suggested without sarcasm, “Her being an American is enough.”
“Excuse you,” Vin said testily, his own American bride likely on his mind.
“Then what is it that makes this bride of yours so unsuitable? Or is she not? Did you go and fall into the same love trap as the rest of us?” Zeus asked.
Waving Zeus’s words away, Jag said, “Oh, no. My bride is most perfectly unsuitable. And we are most certainly not in love. She’s a mechanic from Oakland.”
The three men in the room burst into laughter.
“It seems you’re the only one of us who made it, chap,” Zeus said, laughter lingering in his eyes.
Even Rafael chimed in, a thread of rare amusement lightening his voice. “While there is nothing wrong with being a mechanic,” he said, “it certainly isn’t a background that would prepare one for ruling a nation.”
Vin’s voice and smile were rueful when he said, “I would have liked to welcome you to our side of this game, friend, but I must admit it sounds like, of all of us, you may be the only one to have fulfilled the terms of our agreement so thoroughly.”
With a smile devoid of humor, Jag said, “It would appear so...”
“But? I sense a but there,” Zeus asked.
“Is she proving to be too unsuitable?” Rafael asked, ever astute.
Shaking his head, Jag said, “No. She is truly ideally unsuitable, a study in contrasts really. She’s reckless, and brash, and daring and foolhardy, but she’s also shy and reserved. There is not a subtle thing about her body, and yet she excels at maintaining mystery and her own counsel. She’s certifiably brilliant. Rarely have I encountered a mind as quick and discerning as hers. And, for the record, she is as far from hideous as it’s possible to be. She represents everything my father hates while offering everything the people of Hayat could want in a princess. I could not have discovered a more perfectly imperfect woman if I had been trying. And I wasn’t. I was just picking up my car.”
“I’m beginning to see your problem,” Zeus said dryly.
“As do I,” said Rafael.
“Clear as day,” Vin added.
“And just what is that?” Jag said testily, lifting an eyebrow, ready to deny whatever wild theories they put forth.
Until Zeus said, simply, “You want her.”
“That’s absolutely absurd. Were you listening to what I said? She’s utterly unsuitable.”
“We heard the important part,” Vin said with a grin.
“Perfectwas the word I believe you used,” Rafael added.
“Couldn’t have discovered better if you’d been trying,” Zeus served his words back to him.
Jag closed his eyes and forcibly set down the violent urge to deny it again.
His friends would never believe it, and neither could he.