Page 12 of Forbidden Bastard
Smart and not afraid to look ridiculous meant she honestly had the guts to get anything she needed without owing him or anyone else.
Which meant he had nothing to offer, no deals to play, and that made him want to hit the dessert tray and eat like he was still the young boy that overindulged.
Years of training hadn’t changed who he saw in the mirror. He would always carry that boy inside, despite how hard he worked in the gym every day to make that young, insecure, slightly chubby kid disappear.
The beep Sandi used went off and whatever the Texas woman said suddenly stopped. They said polite goodbyes, then he headed back to Sandi.
Soon, she’d leave him. She'd already realized that she wasn’t for him and that was before they'd even met.
His skin shouldn’t grow cold at the idea of being alone. He rubbed her lower back. “Is my time with your women over now?”
She'd been using her phone as a timer and now put it away. With innocence written on her face she said, “If you want to talk to anyone individually, you’re free.”
From the Texas girl, who'd be more comfortable in jeans, to his coworker clearly interested in the tall man she hadn't stopped laughing with, the ladies had all been wrong.
If he did marry and keep the title as Clara wanted, then whoever he chose in the end would need to be both a lady for Avce and someone he could take home as his partner.
No one fit the bill, but he tugged his ear and slid into the seat next to her at the tall bar table. “None of them are right for me.”
Sandi tilted her head. “I tried to vary the choices as I didn’t know your type or what you want in a wife exactly.”
“You tried to find Americans to help my business which was nice.” The air smelled like a simple rose around Sandi, not an overwhelming floral bouquet. “Truthfully I’m happy with the arrangement I made with your parents, if only you’d agree to be my bride.”
Her face went white like the makeup she’d worn with her bunny costume. “I already told you that won’t happen.”
He folded his hands in front of him and scooted closer. “Because I’m a bad idea for you.”
She sat back and pushed her empty water glass between them to use as some sort of shield. “Both of us would end up miserable if parents decided our lives.”
The party guests around them continued to laugh and the music grew louder.
Normally at parties, he found the prettiest woman and focused on getting her home and into bed, with him.
Life used to be simple, but here the royal family supervised from afar. Even his ex, who quite rightly had every reason to hate him, glared at him. What did they all want?
Adrenaline rushed through him as he tapped his thumb on the table and glanced toward the exit. “I suppose. I never had parents to worry about.”
Suddenly she reached for his hands. “You don’t have parents?”
The spark that raced through him made no sense.
Sandi wasn’t the girl for him. In fact she was smart, attractive, clever, and exactly the type that generally walked away from him without a second glance. He took his hands back. “You don’t know anything about me if you didn’t even know that.”
She leaned forward and said, “No. I only read a business article on you though there was a connection to the royal family mentioned.”
Sandi picked up her nearly empty cup and sipped the melting ice. As she put it down he said, “Well that’s refreshing to not have you judge me based on my birth.”
“I find myself wanting to talk more and learn more about you for myself.”
Charles slipped off his seat and tugged both of her hands. “Tell you what… meet me at the adjoining bar to the hotel for a glass of wine and we’ll talk about me and my needs for a wife.”
For one second she just looked at him. He was half-sure she’d leave him and say, "no." If he was a betting man, he’d choose those odds, but then she stood, patted his shoulder and said, “I’ll come with you now.”
And just like that… he had a date.
Only for an hour or so, because Sandi wasn’t the one-night-only type.
He felt a hint of excitement. He’d get a drink with the only woman he’d met in a long while that actually triggered any interest from him, even if Cassidy named her as his true love and he’d arranged with her parents to prove her wrong.
