Page 22 of Prince of Her Heart
“Later,” he said, then opened the SUV door and climbed inside, calm as ever.
Tabitha stepped back into the neatly clipped grass of her parents’ yard, watching as the three black SUVs rumbled down the street.
She didn’t move until the last one turned the corner.
Then, very quietly, she muttered, “What the hell have I gotten myself into?”
From the edge of her vision, she caught a flicker of movement.Her mother’s lace curtains twitched back into place.
With a groan, she turned and marched inside.
Time to do some damage control.
Chapter 8
Ramzi looked around the room, irritation tightening his jaw.The space was clean and comfortable, but it was smaller than his dressing room in Philadelphia—and tighter still than his shower suite back in Uftar.Pale blue curtains hung in soft folds over the single window, their edges lifting gently in the late spring breeze.A delicate scent of lemon polish lingered in the air, faint but persistent, blending with the warm, yeasty smell drifting up from the bakery downstairs.
The town’s only bed and breakfast was fine.It had charm, flowers in hand-painted vases and crisp linens.But he wasn’t here to appreciate charm.
All he wanted was to get back to Tabitha.
That kiss…
He ran a hand over his mouth, half-annoyed that he could still feel her lips on his.That kiss had been a detonation.A line crossed.Far more than he’d expected so early into this plan.She'd responded with fire—raw, sweet fire—and he hadn't been able to stop himself from matching it.
He was halfway to the door when his phone buzzed in his pocket.Only a select few had this number.His fingers curled around the device, tension immediately coiling through him when he saw the caller ID.
With a sigh, he pressedAccept.“What do you want, Zayn?”
A low chuckle filtered through the speaker.“Is that any way to greet your favorite enemy?”
Ramzi rolled his eyes and leaned a shoulder against the worn, pine-paneled wall.The texture was rough beneath his shirt, a far cry from marble and velvet, but somehow grounding.
Zayn.His cousin.Crown Prince of Lativa.Firstborn of his Uncle Khal, and older than Ramzi by six years.Absolutely family.Perpetually irritating.
Zayn, Angela, and the twins—Laith and Rafi—had been raised more like siblings to each than cousins.Ramzi, his younger brother Rylan, and their close-knit pair of cousins, Saif and Nahla, made up the younger branch of the Al-Sintra clan.Their families had grown up crisscrossing palaces and holidays, all thanks to his mother, Queen Marianna, the youngest sister of Khal, Joran, and Raj.
The eight of them all laughed, fought, and survived the royal fishbowl together.No political maneuvering.No cold-blooded power plays.Just teasing, fierce loyalty, and a never-ending supply of shared secrets.
“I wanted to congratulate you on your latest acquisition,” Zayn continued, his tone breezy, “and see if there’s any way we could work out a deal.The recipe for those building blocks you sent me—it’s genius.They’re going to change the face of construction in our region.”
Ramzi straightened, smoothing his expression.“I agree,” he said, glancing at his watch.“But could we discuss this later?I’m running late for a meeting.”
“Is that what we’re calling it these days?”
Ramzi’s eyes narrowed.“What are you talking about?”
Zayn sighed, and the amusement in his voice made Ramzi want to slam the phone down.“You’re in a small town in Pennsylvania.Hendersonville, to be precise.The very same town where the lovely Tabitha Jones used to reside.”
Ramzi’s entire body stiffened.“What do you know of Tabitha?”The words came out low and clipped.The kind of tone that warned most people to back away slowly.
“Easy,” Zayn said, not at all intimidated.“I’m a happily married man now.And I have no interest in poaching your future bride.I’m just calling to see when we’ll be welcoming her into the family.I understand a diamond ring was exchanged?”
Ramzi glanced down at his hand, then around the room, as if looking for listening ears.How the hell had his family already heard about the ring?He’d only slipped it onto her finger this morning.The moment hadn’t even been real.Not entirely.Not yet.
Still, the ring was on her hand.
And the rumors had started.
