Page 16 of The Prince's Secret Twins

She found a car seat and lowered Laith into it, strapped him in carefully, then moved to sit down beside him. Rafi was already secured and Joran sat next to him. The vehicle was so large, there was enough room for both car seats, as well asherself and Joran, in the wide backseat. As soon as the door closed, the driver reversed out of her short driveway.

Tila wondered if her neighbors might be peering out through their windows, witnessing this clandestine departure. Her lips twitched slightly at the thought. Her neighborhood was clean and basically crime-free. But it was also filled with gossips. She’d been the target of their gossip ever since her first visit with her grandmother, years ago. Tila hadn’t adhered to their persnickety standards of behavior. Never had, and never would, she told herself as she watched the houses speed past.

Finally, the houses grew further apart until there were just large expanses of darkness. The driver finally turned on the headlights, and Tila was fairly certain that the SUV was going well over the speed limits.

“What’s going on, Joran?” she finally asked. There was a long silence as the tension hung thickly in the air.

He looked at her, then down at the two sleeping boys. “I told you who I am.”

She snorted. “You’re not a prince, Joran. You just told me that story to get me out of the house.”

The driver’s head jerked around and she caught his startled gaze before he returned his attention back to the road.

She shivered, not from the chilly night air, but because she was starting to worry that she’d made a horrific mistake. Had she just walked out of her home in the middle of the night with her precious babies because a man told her to? Dear heaven, had she just allowed her babies and herself to be kidnapped?

“Tila,” Joran’s voice interrupted her growing panic. He reached across their sleeping children, offering his hand.

Tila ignored the reassurance, knowing that any touch right now would further zap her brain cells.

“Who are you,really?” she hissed. “What the hell is going on?”

He sighed, holding her gaze. “I really am Prince Joran Al-Sintra of Lativa. If you don’t believe me, then look me up online.”

She stared at him for a long moment, then her head nearly exploded. “I don’t have my cell phone!” In the rush to get out of the house, she only had her sneakers and the clothes she was wearing. Even her sons’ diapers had been taken away!

“Joran, I need you to…” She stopped when he flipped his phone around, showing her a picture. It was of him. He wasn’t smiling, and looked very stern and he wore a formal military uniform. She didn’t recognize the medals on his chest, but she definitely recognized the flag behind him. Tila wasn’t a very political person. She rarely listened to the news, preferring to focus her energy on her work and on living every day to the fullest.

So, it was a shock to find the man she’d had a wild affair with staring at her from what looked to be an official Lativa website. She swallowed hard, but couldn’t dislodge the lump of panic in her throat. Joran touched the screen and another picture appeared. This one was more familiar, even for someone like her who wasn’t up to date on politics. It was Sheik Khal Al-Sintra, current ruler of Lativa. He looked incredibly grumpy in that picture, and terrifying, if she was being completely honest. When Joran ran his finger over the screen again, a wedding picture appeared. The groom was Sheik Al-Sintra and his lovely wife, Tessa or…no, Tasha. She remembered when that wedding announcement had been all over the internet a few months ago.But it was the man standing beside the ruler that made her gasp. It was Joran and he looked so incredibly handsome!

“This is my older brother,” he explained. “And this is my younger brother.” He grimaced. “I used to be the middle child, but a little over a year ago, we discovered that my father’s second wife had a daughter.” He flipped to another picture. “This is Marianna. Technically, she’s my half-sister, but we don’t call her that. She’s ours and we’re keeping her.” He looked at the picture with pride.

That expression of pride was what convinced her that Joran was who he said he was. That he was a prince. No, a freaking crown prince! Didn’t that mean that he was next in line to be ruler?

The implications of that terrified her. “Are you…?” she stopped when her voice cracked and she tried again. “Are you going to take my boys from me?”

She felt Joran’s shock even in the darkness.

“What?” he snapped. “Why would you ask something like that?” he demanded. “Why would you even think it?”

Tila looked away, staring out at the inky blackness. “Because you’re a very powerful man, Joran. I’m just…” she looked down at her hands in her lap. She pressed her lips together. “I’m just a web designer. I have no power. I don’t have the money to fight you if you want custody.” She looked down at her adorable, sleeping twins. “But I can’t live without them!” She sniffed, fighting back sudden tears. “They are so much to handle and I know I haven’t slept enough for…I don’t actually know how long but–”

“Tila!” he interrupted, stopping her. “I would never take our sons from you. We’re heading back to Lativa. Once we’re there, we’ll get married. The boys will have everything they couldpossibly want. They’ll have tutors and nannies. You’ll be able to get a full night’s sleep, not just tonight, but every night. You’ll never want for anything ever again.” He reached over the boys, touching her shoulder. “Tila, you can stop working and just enjoy yourself.”

That startled her. “Why would I want to stop working?” she asked, baffled. “I love my job.”

He shrugged. “Then you can keep working. It doesn’t matter to me. My point is you can do whatever you want. I’ll support you and the boys in proper style.”

Tila swallowed hard, shaking her head. “You can’t promise me that.”

“Yes, I can,” he countered, grinning. “Everything, Tila. You can have everything.”

What about his love? Tila was stunned by that unexpected thought. She hadn’t ever thought about falling in love with Joran. He’d been her secret lover, the man who had come to her in the night, made wild, passionate love with her, then slipped away before the sun peeked over the horizon. He’d been her secret. But that didn’t mean that she loved him. Nor did he know her well enough to love her.

And suddenly, that was incredibly important to Tila. She’d never thought about falling in love before. But now, faced with her babies and their uncertain future and the unbelievable promises he was making, she realized all she truly wanted was his love.

Chapter 9

Joran watched as Tila explored his private suite. It had a large living area, a dining room, sitting area, and an enormous bedroom. Over the past twenty-four hours, the palace staff had miraculously built a connection to the neighboring suite, so there was an additional bedroom for the boys, as well as a playroom filled with toys.

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