Page 14 of The Royal Engagement

He bends over and kisses me on the lips—it’s just a quick kiss, but it still causes my heart to race. He says goodbye to Kaine and he’s out the door.

I look at Kaine who is watching me. I wonder what he’s thinking as he tilts his head to the side to study me.

“You seem happy.” Kaine takes a step closer.

“I am.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Damek is a really good guy. And I like him more than I thought possible when I first heard I had to marry a prince.”

“I’m not surprised.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “Prince Damek is a good choice. The two of you fit well together. If I hadn’t been so smitten with you, I would’ve seen it that first night. I made a lot of mistakes with you.”

“Mistakes?” I ask.

“By forcing you to go out with all the princes. It made you miserable. I’m sorry about that,” Kaine says.

I shrug. “It’s okay. I don’t regret those dates, even if they sucked. Now I know that Damek is the perfect choice—theonlychoice.”

Kaine nods. “Good. I’m glad that you’re happy.”

“Are you?” I take a step closer to him. “Happy, I mean.”

He hesitates before saying, “I’m fine, Princess Madeline. Don’t worry about me.”

But Idoworry about him. I worry that he’s miserable. And if he is miserable, I worry that he will keep it to himself.

Did I hurt Kaine? And if I did, what can I do to make things better?

“You can’t stop me from worrying about you,” I say.

His face softens. “Princess Madeline, I’mfine.”

“Just Madeline,” I tell him.

He starts to object. “No, I—”

I cut him off. “Yes. You can call me Madeline—or even Maddie—when it’s just us. I know you have to call me by a title in public, but I consider you a friend.”

He sighs. “You don’t make things easy for me.”

I shrug one shoulder, a grin tugging at my lips. “When have I ever made things easy for you?”

“True.” He smiles back, but it quickly fades as he takes a step around me. He starts to walk toward his office, so I follow him.

“You’re working late,” I comment, as I pace beside him.

He glances over at me, raising an eyebrow. “I often work late, but I’m only here for today. We’re leaving again tonight to try a few different locations and I have some work I need to get done. I’ll sleep on the plane.”

I frown, not liking the sound of that. Is Kaine getting any rest? Or is he doing what he always does and throwing himself into his work?

“Do you think you’re close to finding Lucien?” I ask.

“I think so.” He opens the door to the office and flicks on the light. He motions for me to walk in first. “At one location, we found evidence that Lucien had been there. Now that we know who has him, it’s only a matter of time.” Kaine sits in his seat behind his desk, so I take a seat across from him.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I ask, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth.

He shakes his head. “No. You have duties here.”

“Lucien is my brother—there is nothing more important than family,” I protest. “Besides, I already promised you that I would help find him.”

“And you did help.” Kaine offers me a smile. “Without you, we’d still be in the dark. It’s because of you that we found out the Nodin Clan were the ones holding Lucien. I’d probably still be looking into the Rune Clan if it weren’t for you.”

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