Page 44 of Trapped with the Undercover Prince

“Luke earned it. He is an inspiration to us all.”

“Yes, he is,” Anna added, trying not to cry.

Marie hugged her. “Thank you, Dr. Anna, for giving us our son back.”

“Thanks belong to His Highness and the rescue teams,” she said. “I did very little.”

Zar snorted. “After the accident, you took care of the injured. You coordinated Luke’s rescue, kept him alive on the journey here, then operated on him. I’d say you did a great deal.”

Anna cursed the heat crawling up her face and Zar for causing it in the first place. “No more than you,” she said with a rueful grin. “You’re the one who organized the volunteers and got the fire out. You helped rescue many of the injured out of more than one burning rail car, and you’re the one everyone looked to for leadership, which you didn’t once fail to deliver. All I did was follow orders. Yours.”

Zar blinked, then a slow, deep smile spread across his face, and he stepped close. “A leader is only as good as the people following him, just as a man is only as good as the woman beside him.”

Holy moly, he didn’t just say that in front of an audience. Did he?

A glance at Marie and Christophe’s shocked faces told her that yes, he did just say that in front of them.

Anna’s stomach quivered, the heat in his eyes bringing her blood to an instant boil. She opened her mouth and sucked in a cooling breath, but his scent only further enflamed her. She swayed toward him, off-balance and unable to find solid ground.

Someone coughed, and Anna caught herself before she could close the distance between herself and her prince.

She turned to Luke’s parents. “I’m really sorry, but I need to go. I haven’t slept in...a long time, and I’m afraid my tiredness is getting the better of me.”

“Of course,” Christophe said, coming forward to kiss both her cheeks. “Thank you, Doctor, for saving our son.”

“Yes,” said Marie, also kissing Anna’s cheeks. “Go with God.”

“I’ll make sure the staff alert you as soon as Luke is conscious,” Anna replied, edging out the door. Maybe Zar would stay behind to talk with them some more?

Christophe and Marie nodded.

“I’ll join you, Dr. Anna,” Zar said. He followed Anna out the door before she could protest. “I need to speak to the hospital staff as well.”

“Oh, um...sure.”

She tried to think of what should happen next. She needed to find a hotel, but she’d lost her backpack.

Well, crap. Zar was home now, so it was unlikely he’d need her and their fake relationship to fool anyone into thinking he wasn’t investigating the terror attacks. He’d been on the stupid train when it blew up. It would be natural for him to take an interest in it.

Besides, anything more serious than a very short-term fling was out of the realm of possibility, and she was discovering that she liked him far more than was good for her peace of mind. He was too kind, too thoughtful, and too damned hot.

Anna didn’t realize she’d sped up to an almost trot going who knew where until a hand caught her shoulder and pulled her to a stop.

“Where are you going in such a rush?” Zar asked, his brows elevated.

Trying to outrun you and myself. But Anna couldn’t even begin to figure out how to say it and not sound like a gibbering idiot. She was afraid that if she looked into his gorgeous blue eyes she’d confess her admiration for him, her desire for him. A prince whose duty was to his people and country, not a single American woman on vacation.

She focused on his chin. “I’m sorry, I’m at the end of my ability to think straight.” Right then, her stomach growled so loud it echoed down the empty hallway. Heat crawled up her face again, and she dropped her gaze to his chest. “Also, my stomach thinks it’s in charge.”

Zar chuckled. “Lerasian hospitality obviously requires much improvement. Have you eaten at all?”

“No, not since those omelets on the train.” The memory of the kiss they shared after that meal hit Anna square in the chest, knocking the air out of her lungs. Her gaze slipped up to his mouth. How she’d love to taste him again and again.

But, no, that was a childish fantasy. She’d had her one dance at the ball. It was time to leave and face reality. She couldn’t pursue a relationship with any man, not with her medical history. It wouldn’t be fair to start something, to fall in love only to disappoint both of them. Not to him or her.

“Then as soon as we’re finished consulting with the doctors, allow me to feed you.”

A vision of Zar hand feeding her, her tongue licking his fingers as her teeth captured each morsel he so graciously offered had more than just Anna’s face hot. “No.”

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