Page 31 of The Prince's Secret Daughter
Was she angry? What she had to be angry about, he hadn’t a clue, but he let his own temper simmer. Why the hell had she left this morning? What would have been the harm inwaking up in his arms? Had last night been just a fling? What game was she playing?
Raj was completely baffled right now, and that wasn’t a state he enjoyed. He was always in control, always prepared for whatever came his way. Hell, most of the time, he maneuvered the world so he obtained the results he wanted.
But Helen, and Angela, had been a curve ball. He hadn’t been thinking clearly from the moment he’d seen Helen walking down the street. And when she’d walked into that conference room, his mind had been blown! All the memories of their past affair had blurred his ability to think. And a daughter! He looked at Angela who was happily doing a little dance with her stuffed elephant. She was adorable, shrieking in delight every time those ugly boots lit up.
He remembered reading an article about parents who hated a gift that someone had given to their child. At the time, he’d thought that the parent should just take the damn thing away. Especially if the toy made obnoxious noises.
Now, seeing the joy and fascination in Angela’s adorable features, he understood the dilemma. As much as he wanted to take those ugly, pink boots from her and chuck them into the incinerator, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t hurt Angela’s feelings.
Glancing at Helen, he could tell from the disgust in her eyes that she didn’t like the boots either.
Was she feeling just as overwhelmed and out of control as he was? For a moment, Raj couldn’t think. He was staggered by the possibility that Helen might be feeling lost. He hated the sensation, but she probably did as well. When she looked up, their gazes collided. That’s when he looked at her, really lookedat her. Underneath the heavy layer of makeup, her eyes were puffy. He narrowed his gaze and…had she been crying?
Helen rubbed her hands down her denim covered thighs…thighs that had been wrapped around his waist last night as she’d begged him to move faster, harder. His body tightened at the memories and he nearly groaned as lust and need threatened to choke him.
If they’d been alone right now, he would have stood up, tossed her over his shoulder, and hauled her right back into bed.
Lights distracted him and he glanced at those awful boots again. Why the hell had someone designed a pair of boots to light up with every step or movement? Who was that insane?
And why had Helen been crying?
Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to think it through. Raj had been out of control for the past two days. It was time to regain control of his world!
And it was time to get his family home!
With that in mind, he considered ignoring the mystery of whatever the hell Paul and Nathan were up to. Or perhaps he could hand the issue off to his security team and have them look into the problem. Hell, Evelyn and Harry probably wanted, and deserved, to know what had happened to them two days ago.
Damn, he suddenly realized that he hadn’t checked in with them yet. He hadn’t called to make sure they were okay, nor had he followed up to get their thoughts on the meeting.
Mentally sighing, he sat up straighter in his chair, determined to get back on track. He’d let Helen and Angela derail his processes and that wasn’t a good thing.
Or maybe it was, he thought as he watched Angela dance around in her boots. As ugly as those boots were, his sweet, energetic daughter looked adorable as she moved around, trying to get the lights on the boots to flash.
Nazir came back into the room with a small item in his hand. He was silent for a long moment, but there was an alarmed look in his eyes.
“Helen, would you take Angela back to…” He stopped when Nazir stepped closer to Angela and shot him a pointed look. The tool in his hand lit up. Helen had realized something was wrong as well. He bent closer and the lights on the tool flashed faster.
Raj knew what that meant and he put a finger to his lips. He could see that Helen was initially confused, then alarm suffused her face. Raj shook his head when she opened her mouth to speak.
“How about those pancakes?” he suggested, giving her a look that he prayed she would understand.
Helen opened her mouth again and he wondered if she was going to argue with him. But Raj looked pointedly at her, then at Nazir. Or more specifically, at the tool in the man’s hand. It was blinking wildly now and Angela watched curiously, her tiny fingers reaching for the lights.
Raj looked around, nodding with approval as the other guards quickly understood. They moved into position,surrounding them. Not even the hotel butler was in the room at the moment. It was just Helen, Raj, Angela, and his bodyguards.
Angela seemed to realize that something was going on, but she clearly had no idea what. Nazir looked up at Raj, not sure how to handle the situation. After giving Helen another warning glance, Raj walked over to her, took Angela’s tiny hand in his and leaned in.
“We’re playing the silent game, honey,” he whispered in her ear. “Can you be very,veryquiet?” Raj pulled back and looked into her eyes. She grinned and nodded. Only slightly relieved, Raj smiled at her, then leaned closer again. “You have to take off your boots so that you can be even more quiet. Think you can do that?”
She looked alarmed now, but Raj leaned closer. “See the thing in Nazir’s hand? It shows how quiet you are.”
Angela nodded, still not speaking. She rested a hand on her daddy’s shoulder, one hand over her mouth to keep herself from making a noise.
Raj nodded his approval. “We’re going to tiptoe into the other room, okay? We’re going to be as quiet as possible, but your boots will make noise. So, I’m going to lift you up and Nazir is going to help take your boots off. Okay?”
She grinned and nodded again, then lifted her arms, eager to be picked up.
Raj breathed a sigh of relief, then lifted Angela into his arms. At the same time, Nazir pulled the gaudy, pink boots off. Raj moved towards the back of the hotel, waving Helen to his side.
