Page 30 of The Prince's Secret Twins

“Sorry to interrupt,” their sister said in a soft, halting voice. “One of my classes was canceled, so I…” she took a step back, still eyeing everyone. “I’ll just…,” and she took another step back.

“Marianna!” Khal called out.

But before he could say anything more, she turned and ran from the room, disappearing down the long hallway.

There was a long, painful silence after that. Khal looked at his wife and Tasha nodded. “Yeah, she’s upset about not being included.” She folded her linen napkin into a neat square and placed it on her plate, then stood up. “I’ll go find her and talk to her.”

Khal nodded sharply, then watched as his wife left the dining room. Tasha moved with dignity, her shoulders back and her head held high. The navy blue sheath dress she wore moved with her figure as she hurried to catch up with the winsome teenager that was on the cusp of womanhood.

Tila sighed, trying to figure out all of the complicated personalities and palace protocols. Prior to meeting Joran, she’d lived life without worrying about the future much. She worked hard at her job and put money away towards any possible emergencies as well as a bit towards her retirement, but she hadn’t considered world peace or civil wars.

Khal and, apparently, Joran, had to consider all of these issues when planning out their days. And that’s when Khal’s words registered.

“A year ago” he’d said. Joran had taken over the responsibility of the military and country’s defense a year ago! That must have been right after the last time he’d left her!

If that was the case, then Joranhadn’tabandoned her! She looked at him, her heart pounding against her ribs as she watched Joran and Khal discuss something. She didn’t understand the technical terms they were using so she ignored the conversation. Plus, she was too overwhelmed by the possibility that Joran hadn’t deserted her when she’d neededhim most. Maybe he’d been overwhelmed as well! Maybe, he’d wanted to come back to her.

It wouldn’t excuse him not sending her a message. He should have done that. A phone call, a text message…anything would have helped her get through those long, lonely, terrifying nights.

The men suddenly stood up, startling Tila out of her thoughts. She looked up at Joran who immediately bent low and kissed her. She was startled by the open show of affection and, to be honest, slightly self-conscious as she glanced over at Joran’s older brother. But Khal was already leaving the dining room. He glanced back at them and Tila only saw approval on his tough, grumpy features.

Sighing, she looked back at Joran. He was pulling away, but that little peck wasn’t enough. She grabbed a fistful of his dress shirt and pulled him back down for a longer, more satisfying kiss.

When he pulled away this time, his eyes lingered on her lips before he looked into her eyes. “What was that for?” he asked, his voice rough with desire.

Tila smiled. “Because I wanted to kiss you,” she whispered back at him.

He gave her a crooked smile that warmed her heart. “Feel free to do that anytime.” Then he straightened up. “I have another meeting. What are you up to for the rest of the afternoon?”

“I’m going to log into my email,” she said, startling even herself. “I want to catch up on work issues now that we have the nannies to help out.”

Joran hesitated. “Tila, you know you don’t have to work. I will take care of you, no matter what.”

Tila rolled her eyes and stood up, moving closer to him. She felt warmed when his arm automatically wrapped around her waist, pulling her in even closer.

“Joran, I appreciate the offer, but I enjoy my work. I like helping my clients with websites and I’m good at my job.”

He grunted. “As long as you are happy,” he kissed the top of her head. Then he turned and walked out of the dining room, leaving Tila alone.

It was a strange experience, she thought as she looked around at the empty plates and coffee cups. She was alone! Completely…nope. The guards at the doorway shifted, reminding her that she wasn’t completely alone. Tila suspected that there were servants hovering behind the doorway to the kitchen as well.

She wondered if she would ever be alone again. Was this her life now? Looking around at the lavish red and gold décor of the dining room, Tila sighed. It wasn’t a horrible existence. Plus, the small cottage that she’d inherited from her grandmother had been cramped after she’d brought the boys home.

She noticed the two bodyguards standing outside the doorway. One kept peering inside and Tila wondered if she should be doing something other than just sitting in an empty dining room. Perhaps she should get out of here so the wait staff could clear up the table?

This servant-issue dilemma would take some getting used to.

But as Tila walked back to the suite she’d been sharing with Joran for the past two weeks, her mind drifted back to hisbrother’s comments about how Joran had avoided a civil war. Had it really been that dire here in Lativa? As a citizen of a different country, Tila hadn’t been aware of the problems. Of course, she’d been oblivious to so many concerns during the past year. Becoming pregnant and learning that she was going to give birth to twins had taken over most of her processing capacity.

Maybe Joran had been equally overwhelmed. Maybe she’d been unfair to him when he hadn’t called or texted.

When she walked into their suite, she saw both of the day nannies sitting beside a pair of bassinets. Smiling, she walked over to her baby boys, amazed at how sweet and innocent they looked when they were blissfully asleep.

“I’ll take over for a while,” she told the nannies. Immediately, the two women stood up and left the suite. Tila sat down between her boys, thinking back to the days when she’d been alone with them in her small cottage. Goodness, life seemed more like a whirlwind lately!

Chapter 24

“The guy is here,” Raj announced, hurrying into Khal’s office.

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