Page 12 of Desert King's Forbidden Temptation

She pressed a finger into the rounded tip of her fork, steadying her nerves. ‘What if you don’t like my opinion?’

‘It will change nothing about mine,’ he said. ‘Your opinion is exactly that—your thoughts.’

‘Well, then, Your Highness, seeing as you asked, I find the idea of any marriage off-putting.’ She lifted her glass from the table without drinking from it.

‘Why?’

‘I’m not sure. Probably because my parents’ marriage was such a red-hot mess.’

‘In what way?’

They were straying into territory that really didn’t matter, and yet she didn’t point that out to him. ‘They were miserable together. They fought all the time.’ She smiled to hide the pain of those memories. ‘They only stayed together because of me. I can’t tell you how many times I found myself wishing they’d just put each other out of their misery and divorce. I must be one of the only children who’s felt that way,’ she said with a shake of her head.

‘What did they fight over?’

‘The air they breathed,’ she responded sharply. ‘Absolutely, unfailingly everything. They were so different; I can’t believe they ever thought it would work out between them. My mother was a control freak—a lawyer, in fact—and incredibly unyielding about everything in her life. She was neat and fastidious and anxious. My father was a total hippy who couldn’t hold a job for longer than a week. He was messy and drank alcohol until he was loud and silly—not that I realised that at the time. He would forget to do the jobs she’d asked him to take care of.’ She tried to get control of her emotions, to push the heavy memories away. ‘Anyway, they died a long time ago.’

‘I’m sorry.’

She lifted her shoulders. ‘I was sad, of course, but in some ways, I was also quite numb. Every day of my life felt like such a roller-coaster, their deaths was just another drop off the side. Does that make sense?’

He nodded once. ‘I imagine you got in the habit of carefully guarding your emotions around them, so that you had some defence mechanism already in place when they passed away.’

Her eyes were saucer-like in her face when they lifted to his. It was the most succinct way of describing exactly what she’d felt. ‘Yes,’ was all she could say, though it was completely inadequate.

‘And so you’ve decided to avoid marriage in case it turns out like theirs?’

The question brought her closer to what they’d been discussing, but she was off kilter, feeling raw and exposed by the things she’d just shared with him, memories she usually kept far from the surface washing over her now.

‘I...haven’t made any firm decision,’ she said with a slightly haunted expression. ‘But it’s a moot point, anyway.’

‘Oh?’

‘I’m not seeing anyone,’ she said, wondering if he heard the brittle tone to her voice.

‘Why not?’

She lifted her brows. ‘Is it a prerequisite?’

‘I’m just curious.’

‘Why?’

‘Because you’re here.’

She laughed softly. ‘Gee, thanks.’

‘That’s not intended as an insult.’

She sighed. ‘I work long hours,’ she said after a pause.

‘As an advisor to the Crown Princess?’

‘Yes.’

‘What other matters do you advise her on?’

She hesitated. The state of the Ras Sarat economy wasn’t a secret, but Eloise felt disloyal to go into too much detail. ‘A broad range,’ she hedged carefully.

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