Page 36 of Redemption of a Prince

She hurried past him as quickly as she could, into the room she suspected had been designated for him initially.

Everything in it spoke of the expectation that someone far more important than she would be using it - from ornate designs carved into the wood of various pieces of furniture to the size of the bed and the roaring fire, this room was for a VIP.

Something she definitely was not.

But at that moment, as the warmth washed over her, Nikki decided she didn’t care. She shed the outer layers and with just the thermals, slid into the bed warmed by the blanket.

The shivering actually increased as she tried to warm up. It took an eternity for it to slow down and let her drift to sleep.

In that time, she imagined the look Ezekiel had given her meant far more than it did.

That it meant he still had feelings for her.

That he wanted to give them another try.

That their history as teenagers could be overcome, redeemed even, and they could fall in love all over again.

It didn’t much matter what he wanted, not when it came to her feelings. Not at the moment.

Because over the last couple of weeks, she’d found herself falling for him all over again.

And her interpretation of the look on his face could only mean one thing.

Nikki was over halfway gone already - and it was only a matter of time before her heart wound up broken again.

10

When the sun came up, it didn’t change much. Zeke only assumed the sun had made an appearance behind the dull gray clouds dropping more ice on them, but it couldn’t actually be seen.

It seemed to have iced most of the night. Tree limbs lay on the ground all across the property. Several trees had split in two or fallen all together.

“I’m hearing reports that trees are down on the road leading to the Manor, sir.” Toby looked at his notepad. “We’re going to be here a while. What would you like us to do?”

Zeke thought it over. “I don’t think we need to keep the whole building up to a livable temperature. Keep the rest of it warm enough so nothing freezes, but if we keep the generator on for this flat, Ms. Major and I can stay here. The generator for the staff housing should be run as well. I would imagine the tanks for the other generators hold significantly more fuel. Could we siphon it off if needed?”

“That won’t be necessary. There are several underground tanks. Most of the generators pull from the same ones. The ones that don’t we can refill using tank trucks filled from the big tanks.”

Zeke nodded. “Sounds good. Have you talked to the palace yet?”

“Not yet. I’ve got a message in to your father’s assistant, but we’re all safe and warm. There wasn’t any point in waking anyone up.”

“Agreed. They’ll be in touch shortly, I’m sure. Fortunately, we somehow, still have phone service, at least for now.”

“There are several towers close enough thanks to the resort and the town. The ice hasn’t affected those yet.” Toby picked up his phone as it buzzed. “Your father’s assistant.” He headed for the other room when Zeke’s phone buzzed.

Zeke stared at the photo on his screen of him and his father grinning at the camera after a great ride on a double black diamond run a couple of years earlier.

For that one day, they’d just been father and son having a great time at a resort in Mevendia. His brothers, even Gideon, hadn’t been with them. There had been no talk of succession or life-altering mistakes. Just two blokes skiing.

It was one of his favorite days ever.

He swiped to answer. “Hello, Papa.”

“I take it everyone is all right, or I would have been notified hours ago?” He cut right to the chase.

“Yes. I woke up and communicated with Toby. We let Nikki sleep a while longer. I would have sent someone up for her if she hadn’t contacted me when she did. We’re in the flat near the kitchen. The generators will keep the rest of the house warm enough not to freeze, but we’ll stay in here.”

“Good plan. I did have a short briefing on the general area before I called. There aren’t very many people without power, thankfully. None near you. But there are large limbs and even trees down all over. It will be days before you can get down the road to town. Others have priority.”

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