Page 10 of The Reluctant Wife

"What the—" I gape at him. "Did you just?—"

"You leave me no choice.” He turns slowly to face me. “We need to be in sync about your safety precautions."

I tap my foot. "There are people who will realize the elevator has stopped and call you?—"

His phone buzzes as if to punctuate my words. I look at him triumphantly.Yeah, yeah, I know. Not very princess-like of me to swear inwardly.But I’ve spent my entire life trying to break out of the box people keep trying to put me into, and no bodyguard, however hot, and gorgeous, and drool-worthy he may be, is going to rein me in.

He pulls his phone from his pocket and growls, "Davenport."

A voice squawks on the other side.

"The princess and I decided it best to have our discussion in the most secure place possible, an elevator, which I searched beforehand to make sure there were no bugs."

He listens again to the voice.

"You can monitor us on the security cameras. We should be on our way in five minutes, at the most." He disconnects the call.

I stare at him open-mouthed. "You told them?—"

"The truth. Which is always best, don’t you think?" He pockets his phone, leaning a shoulder against one of the walls. "As I was saying, we’ll meet every morning with your personal assistant to go over your schedule for the day."

I fold my arms across my chest and paste the most regal expression I can summon on my face. Not that it has any effect on him.

"You will always be accompanied by me, wherever you go. I will be present at all your meetings, internal and external,” he says in a voice which brooks no argument.

I brush aside the resentment bubbling inside and say in a remote voice, “Whatever.”

His forehead furrows but doesn’t react to my less than enthusiastic response. "For safety reasons, my room will be in the same suite as yours in the hotel."

"Oh?" A shiver squeezes my spine. I hadn’t expected that. It’s exciting to think of this epitome of masculinity being so close.

"Also, once we have our morning meeting there will be no more changes to your appointments for that day,” he declares.

My frown deepens. “That sounds very rigid.”

“It’s the only way to ensure all preparations are made to protect you throughout the day,” he rumbles in that reasonable tone I’m coming to hate.

What he means is that there is no way I can make a last-minute change, then take advantage of the resulting confusion and slip away, like I used to do. Which was more a testament to their ineptitude than my innovativeness, if I’m being honest. It livened things up though.And now,that window of opportunity is gone too. A suffocating feeling squeezes my chest. I take a breath to calm myself.

“There have been enough threats in the past, none of which have played out.” The words slip out before I can stop myself.

He face tightens. “Which doesn’t mean this threat should be taken lightly.”

“Yes, I get that. But what if you put these measures in place, and then, it turns out the threat was empty?” I lock my fingers together. “Meanwhile, there are even more restrictions on my life.”

“What if the threat is real?” His voice is not unkind. “It’s better to be safe than to regret the lack of security measures later.”

It shouldn’t be a big deal that my freedom is even more curtailed, but it makes me feel like I have even less control over my life. That sense of suffocation spreads to my throat, and I struggle not to panic.

I must let some expression slip, for his features soften. "This is for your safety, Princess. I am only as good as your cooperation. If you think these rules won’t work for you, now is the time to speak your mind."

And disappoint my father? I can’t do that.

"They’re fine." I pull out my phone from my purse and pointedly glance at the screen. "Can you get the elevator moving? I don't want to be late for my appointment."

6

Aurelia

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