Page 29 of The Prince's Secret Twins

When she caught his eyes, there was something there, but she couldn’t quite interpret his gaze. They stared at each other for a long moment, but she didn’t understand.

Looking away, she tried not to think about Joran loving her. She tried to convince herself that lust was enough.

It would have to be, she thought, rubbing the pad of her thumb over the snowflake ring. It looked so pretty on her finger and she wanted to keep it forever. But what if…?

The waiters brought the first course, interrupting her thoughts. Then Khal turned the subject to what could only be described as an interrogation. “What’s going on with the new aircraft?”

“I don’t like the terms of the contract,” Joran replied, taking a sip of his ice water. Khal and Joran got into a back and forth over the minute terms of the conversation, with Joran answering his brother’s questions.

Finally, Joran got fed up. “If you want the job back, I’d be happy to throw everything back on your desk.” He stabbed a potato. “But if you could back off, I guarantee that the planes will be delivered on time and within budget.”

The two men glared at each other for a long moment. Finally, Khal sighed and nodded. “You’re right. You took over the job last year and you’ve turned the military around. I know that you’ve traveled to the border check points and interviewed hundreds of defense employees, implementing many changes for the better.” He lifted his eyes to his brother. “You’ve done a great job. I’m sorry if I implied otherwise.”

Joran nodded sharply, then jerked his chin towards Raj. “But feel free to question our baby brother’s choices all you want.”

Raj snorted and rolled his eyes. He pointed his fork towards his oldest brother. “If you start in on me, then I’m going to raise the interest rates on the banks and tell them that it’s your new policy. You’ll have fifty appointments with every top banker and several of the minor ones as well, asking for ‘five minutes of your time’ to discuss your new economic policy.”

Khal chuckled and lifted his hands, palms out in defeat. “I concede!” he said with a laugh. “When you took over the economy, a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders. I admitthat you understand the intricacies of financial issues much better than I ever did.”

“You’re lying, but I don’t care,” Raj replied. “I enjoy the intellectual challenge of managing the economic pulse of our nation.” He grinned, winked at Tila, then drained his glass of wine. “However, I have meetings this afternoon.” Raj wiped his mouth with the napkin and stood up. “I enjoyed our lunch,” he said. “We should do it more often, especially when Marianna is around.”

“Agree,” Khal replied. “Why don’t we keep a day open for a family lunch or dinner?” he suggested.

The two brothers nodded, and Joran looked to Tila, silently asking if she was okay with the plan while Khal looked to Tasha for her approval.

Tila shrugged, not sure she had any say in the matter. It wasn’t as if she was a member of the family, she thought with a pang. But she nodded, offering a one shouldered shrug as well.

“When’s the wedding?” Raj asked, moving towards the doorway. He glanced over his shoulder at Joran. “That’s a lovely engagement ring, by the way.”

Tila quickly covered her snowflake ring protectively even as she glanced at Khal, wondering if he was going to admonish Joran for proposing without his permission. But the big, terrifying man simply stared back at her as if waiting for an answer.

During the tense silence, Tila wasn’t sure what to say. She and Joran hadn’t discussed a date. Good grief, she wasn’t even sure if she’d agreed to the marriage proposal. But the way she curled her fingers around the ring told everyone her answer. They all chuckled and Raj walked out of the room, calling back over his shoulder, “Tell my assistant the date and I’ll be there.”

Khal sighed as he looked across the table at his brother. “You need to set a date,” he told him, then looked at Tila. “The boys need to be protected.”

Tila stiffened as her eyes narrowed on the man. “Are you saying that my children won’t be protected if I don’t marry Joran?”

“Our sons will never be left unprotected, Tila,” Joran assured her, shooting a hard glare at his brother.

Khal shook his head and leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. The boys need your name in order to be assured their rightful place in the line of succession. We all remember what happened when our great uncle died suddenly. The country was in chaos and there was speculation of a coup.” He looked at Tila, his eyes not releasing hers as he continued. “It took years for my father, and then me and my brothers to regain control of the country. Yes, I was in charge, but many people were creating dissent in order to gain power.” He let those words sink in. “A year ago, Joran took control of the military of Lativa, as well as the defense of the country. He worked long hours, and I know he went through hell trying to fix the problems he discovered.”

“Is that…?”

“It was fine,” Joran assured her.

“It wasn’t fine,” Khal countered. “I’d been trying to do everything. So, when Joran stepped in, I realized just how bad everything really was.” He shifted his gaze towards Joran. “I’d tried to pretend that everything was fine but it wasn’t and you damn well know it. If you hadn’t taken over when you did, Joran, there would have been a civil war.”

“You would have suppressed the factions,” Joran said with finality.

Khal shook his head. “No, Joran. I wasn’t even aware there were problems in the military. I wasn’t aware that those traitorous factions existed. You discovered the problems, rooted out the traitors, and reorganized the military and our country’s defense. Don’t belittle what you did, Joran. It was…,” he sighed and looked down at the table. A moment later, he looked back at his brother. “You saved this country.”

“I didn’t,” Joran snapped. He looked self-conscious for a moment, then his expression hardened. “You’re an excellent ruler, Khal. I merely stepped in to tweak a few things.”

Khal rolled his eyes, then looked at Tila. “Don’t let him convince you of that,” he asserted adamantly. “Joran’s intervention literally saved this country. And now I want your sons to be recognized.” He leaned back. “I won’t have anyone voice concerns about the legitimacy of their right to rule this country if anything happens to–”

Tila gasped and shook her head. “Don’t finish that sentence,” she whispered, then looked over to Tasha. She looked pale as well. “Nothing’s going to happen to your husband,” she assured her. Tasha had accepted Tila as well as her sons as soon as Joran had brought them into the palace. Tasha was a beautiful, wonderful person, both inside and out.

There was a movement at the doorway and Tila turned, noticing Marianna standing there. She had a stricken look on her lovely features as she looked in. Before Khal could ask her to come in, the younger woman stepped back and lifted a hand.

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