Page 11 of Royal Deception

Grabbing my bag, I practically fly out the door and take a cab to Clover & Sage. Inside, the scent of freshly baked bread lingers in the air. Miranda is already seated at a small corner table, a cold brew in front of her. She smiles when she sees me, waving me over.

“Hello, Clary,” she says, gesturing for me to sit down. “You look lovely, as always.”

I almost laugh at that. “That makes one of us who thinks so.”

Miranda tilts her head, studying me for a beat. “You’re always lovely, dear. Now tell me. How are you truly doing?”

I exhale, pressing my hands flat against the table. "Honestly? I don’t know."

She hesitates, then leans in slightly. “I feel like I might’ve overstepped when we last talked. I shouldn’t have just thrown out the pregnancy thing like that. But…” She pauses, watching me carefully. “I was right, wasn’t I?”

I swallow hard, staring at the tea menu like it might offer me an escape. “Yeah. You were.”

Miranda doesn’t look surprised, but she also doesn’t rush to fill the silence. She gives me space, and for some reason, that makes it easier to keep talking.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I admit. “Things in my home life are… complicated, to say the least. And the father, well… I don’t know if I can tell him. It’s all such a mess.” Alittle sniffle escapes me. “You always seem to have everything together. How do you do it?”

“It’s not always been easy,” Miranda says, reaching out to place a warm hand on mine. “I had a lot of help when I was coming up. That’s why I wanted to see you today, dearie.”

I look up, wiping a stray tear from my eyes as Miranda smiles at me.

“You have so much potential. I’ve seen how hard you work, how organized you are, how determined. I want to nurture that in you. I’d like to become your mentor.”

I stare at Miranda, her hand still resting gently on mine, her words lingering in the air between us. A mentorship? I turn the idea over in my head, the offer feeling foreign.

My heart pounds in my chest, and I realize I haven’t said anything in what feels like an eternity. I open my mouth, but the words won’t come.

Finally, I manage a breath, but my voice is barely above a whisper.

“I… I don’t know…”

5

RORY

As I lean back in my chair, the phone pressed to my ear, my fingers tap a rhythm on my desk. The muffled voice on the other end of the phone is barely a distraction as my mind wanders, mentally arranging yet another meeting.

It’s a step toward putting the mess of the past year behind us, proving the Russians wrong, and a step toward taking the Brannagan name to new heights.

Senator Burns was right. This security venture was a good idea. It’s going to give us a fresh start. This’ll be the kind of work that’ll get us out of the shadows and back into the good graces of Thornville's elite. It’s the perfect way to erase the stain of the past, and I’m not about to let it slip through my fingers.

“Sure, we can meet tomorrow,” I say into the phone. “Let’s iron out the details then. I’ll have my team ready to move forward.”

I hang up, letting out a breath just as a knock on the door pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Come in,” I call out, leaning forward as Kellan steps inside. He’s composed, his blue eyes sizing me up as he takes in the sight of me.

“How’s the security firm set-up going?” he asks, his voice low.

“Not too bad,” I tell him, drawing a knee up to place one leg across the other. “We should be up and running in no time.”

He sits down in the chair across from me. “I’ve got something for you. Darcy has a client at her work, a big-name author over there who might need our services.”

My mind starts turning at the news. A client in publishing? It’s not exactly the type of business I was expecting, but it’s a start.

“Anything else?”

“Darcy didn’t get all the details yet, but I figured it’s worth looking into. If they need protection, we can set up an initial meeting.”