Page 30 of Out of Office Nights (Royals of Cartana #2)

If she’d thought the first days in her grandmother’s house with Teo were emotionally strenuous, they were nothing compared to her first week in Teo’s Cartana mansion, starting with the harrowing decision to move her things out of Teo’s suite and into one of the many luxurious guest suites.

The part of her that wasn’t furiously trying to preserve her heart had mocked her for attempting to elicit a reaction from Teo.

After her announcement at the breakfast table the next morning about moving bedrooms, he’d remained silent for a full minute. Then he skewered her with one of those hard, censorious looks that somehow also managed to hold shades of perplexity and disquiet. As if her decision had wounded him.

He’d left for the palace straight after.

And that had set their routine. She’d work all day in his studio, her heartache temporarily alleviated by creations that were positively bursting free from her sketching pencil.

In the knowledge that she’d well and truly come through the fire.

She filled sketchbook after sketchbook, and still the ideas poured out.

It was only after she’d completed her fourth that the disturbing truth that Teo hadn’t enquired about her work since their arrival propelled her to his suite before breakfast halfway through their second week, her nerves gobbling her as she knocked on his door. To no response.

A throat clearing showed Fernando hovering several feet away.

‘Is Teo here?’

He hesitated for a moment before replying, ‘His Highness is no longer using his suite.’

Surprise was washed away by all the reasons Teo would abandon his suite. ‘Then, where is he?’

Again the butler hesitated for a beat. ‘He spends most of his nights in his studio or…in the suite next to yours.’

Her heart soared then dipped, knowing it was foolish to ascribe any reasoning to Teo’s actions or why he was choosing to work in his studio only when she was asleep.

Maybe he didn’t care anymore? It shouldn’t hurt that he was avoiding her, especially when she knew he was spending daylight hours with his father.

They were rebuilding a relationship long left to fallow. She was happy for him. And yet…

The unbearable notion that their connection—as tenuous as it might turn out to be if she wasn’t pregnant—hung in the balance wouldn’t be dismissed.

Berating herself for the selfish thought, especially when Eden had reported during their brief coffee dates that the old king’s health had steadied, she turned from the door. ‘Is he in the studio now?’

Fernando shook his head, a flicker of a frown marring his brow before disappearing. ‘He left on his motorbike before dawn, miss.’

Her spirits plummeted further. ‘Oh.’

‘Would you like your breakfast now, miss?’

Her appetite was non-existent, but she had to eat. Because if the growing belief that she was pregnant turned out to be true…

If she was going to be a mother…

The overwhelming forces of awe and apprehension shaking through her stalled when they reached the bottom of the stairs and she was confronted with Valenti Domene.

His uncanny resemblance to his twin made her heart flip over. Then it settled because, besides the small scar characterising Valenti’s features, his face didn’t hold the constant gleam in Teo’s eyes that kept her mesmerised.

‘Hello,’ she said tentatively, suspecting he wasn’t there for Teo. This Domene most certainly knew his twin’s whereabouts at all times.

‘You’ve been summoned to the palacio ,’ he rasped, his deep voice an octave lower than his brother’s.

She fought to quell her heart’s stagger. ‘By whom?’

‘My father.’

Her thwarted elation must’ve shown, but although one brow quirked, he didn’t crack a smile. In fact, during the short journey, she got the distinct impression he was less than thrilled to be in her company.

The chilling gaze he turned on her just before a footman opened the door once they reached the palacio further clued her in. ‘Word of advice. Do not toy with Teo.’

She bristled. ‘Excuse me? What makes you think I—’

He held up his hand. ‘You’ve seen beneath his surface.’ Eyes eerily similar to his twin’s pierced her. ‘You’re worth something to him. The question is, are you woman enough to admit he’s worth it to you, or are you going to judge him by another’s standards until he slips through your fingers?’

Her mouth was still agape when he drove away .

The senior palace staff member discreetly cleared his throat. ‘Miss El-Maleh? His Majesty is waiting.’

The prompt refocused her. But she didn’t move.

Hell, she even went as far as to consider refusing the monarch’s request. After a week and a half of living on tenterhooks and not feeling anywhere near assuaged about the distance she’d put between them with her decree of wanting to keep their brief liaison a secret, she was now severely doubting this road she’d taken of keeping her feelings to herself.

Because…

He’s worth it. Dear God, he is.

Her insides shook as she was led through the stunning palacio to a sun-drenched terrace. And on a wide seat that looked more lounger than chair, festooned with pillows, sat King Alfonse.

Sabeen drew in a breath and dropped into a curtsy. ‘Good morning, Your Majesty.’

‘Welcome, young lady,’ he rasped in a voice much stronger than she’d expected. Maybe it was the lighting, but he looked more robust than she’d expected, too.

He caught her scrutiny, and his mouth twisted, a quirk he’d passed on to his son. ‘If you’re wondering why I’m not knocking on death’s door, I have a secret.’

‘Oh? What’s that?’ she asked, taking the offered seat adjacent to him.

He waited until servers had poured fresh coffee and juice, uncovered succulent platters of food and retreated before he replied, his gaze contemplative. ‘I find confronting my past failings, while not strengthening my failing heart, heals my soul.’

‘I see,’ she murmured. ‘Is that aimed in some way at me?’

He reached across and patted her hand. ‘It’s not a dig, my dear.’

Relief twinned with confusion as she reached for the decaf coffee. If he hadn’t brought her here to echo Valenti’s indictment, then—

‘I invited you here to talk about my son,’ he started, his shrewd gaze delving beneath her surface.

She set her cup down without drinking it.

She was terrified it would go down the wrong way.

But while she was even more terrified of the words she was about to utter, she didn’t let that stop her.

Maybe it was high time she stopped letting fear win?

‘That’s lucky because I’m…feeling the need to do the same,’ she ventured.

His eyes turned the same quicksilver that, in his son, made her heart jump. Then he smiled. ‘Good. Then, I hope this won’t be arduous.’

‘That’s really up to you, isn’t it, Your Majesty? Your son has been in knots over you for most of his life. He’s not been exactly forthcoming with me as to whether you’ve made things right yet. Have you? Because he deserves every scrap of attention and love denied to him for whatever reason.’

And because he helped me confront my demons and deserves to vanquish his.

Grey eyebrows rose a notch. Then a glint of respect lit the silver depths. ‘He was right to sing your praises. Perhaps you should take your own advice and point all that righteous passion in another direction, eh?’

Her throat tightened. ‘I’m not sure what you—’

‘You know exactly what I mean. He’s caught in anguish that has nothing to do with me or his next collection.’

‘And you think I’m to blame?’

‘I think you hold the key to ending his anguish. And you’re not afraid of a fight,’ he tossed in cryptically.

Dear heaven , if the old king was right, if one more fiery battle was what it took, then didn’t she owe it to herself to fight for him? For them?

‘I—’

‘What the hell is going on here?’

They both turned as Teo approached them, his long stride eating up the vast space.

His hair was sexily dishevelled, and his leather jacket and dark jeans lent him a rakish look that set her every nerve alight, rendering every argument to deny the pure, profound emotion blazing in her heart to nonsense.

She’d foolishly chased after an unworthy man once.

And lost. This time she would chase one a million times worthy.

‘What does it look like, mijo ? I’m having breakfast with your guest.’

His frowning gaze rested a beat on his father before settling with unwavering intensity on her. ‘Why wasn’t I told?’

The old man shrugged. ‘Because we were talking about you.’

Teo stiffened. ‘Papá…’

The king’s expression softened as his gaze moved from her to his son. ‘It’s perfectly fine. You can steal her away now if you feel so strongly about it.’

Emotions competed on his face before his eyes darkened. ‘That depends on Sabeen. Does she wish to be stolen?’

She rose to her feet, glad her shakiness wasn’t outwardly visible.

Then prayed for greater composure when Teo’s gaze, like clockwork, dropped down her body to her stomach.

She saw his father intercept that look, his eyes widening a touch before his introspection deepened.

Before he put any thoughts to speech, she stepped away from the table, dropping into another quick curtsy.

‘What I wish is to return ho—to the residence. I’ve had enough of everyone telling me what I should do,’ she muttered under her breath.

‘Indeed,’ King Alfonse said, his tone infinitely amused. ‘You have a beautiful voice. And more command at your fingertips than you know. Don’t waste them.’

For the second time in a space of an hour, she found her mouth agape in stunned silence as Teo turned to stone.

She did the only thing she could. She fled the royal presence before she did the unthinkable. Like use that power to demand his son love her as she loved him.

He caught up with her before she was halfway to the entrance. For a full minute he walked beside her in silence.

Then ‘What was that about?’

‘Did you not ask him?’