“It wasn’t hard,” she says, and even though she looks shaken by what I just revealed about her fake friend, she gives me a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “All I had to do was show them this.”
Only now do I notice the newspaper in her hands.
“You didn’t think it was odd that even though you texted me last night, I only came now? Let me explain: my phone was dead, so only this morning at university did I see your oh-so-kind suggestion for me to visit the museum on Saturday. I wanted to come here immediately, but as the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold.”
“What are you talking about?”
She waves the newspaper again. “I needed enough time for the story to make it into the afternoon edition. It wasn’t easy, but turns out my last name opens doors. Oh, and of course, it helped that I placed a nice financial incentive in the columnist’s hand.”
“What did you do, Jazmina?”
I walk toward her, unsure if I even want to read it. My intuition tells me she’s up to something.
But nothing prepares me for what I see printed on the page.
Princess Jazmina Faheem of Rheadur grants exclusive interview announcing her engagement to billionaire Rodrick Alistair Gastrell MacQuoid, Duke of Kindubh
“Let’s see who gets the last laugh now, Your Grace. Say goodbye to your nightlife and those potential brides. Until Idecide to end this—and I should warn you I’m not in a hurry—you are officially taken. If I can’t have fun, neither can you.”
I inhale slowly because the urge to throttle her is dangerously strong. I want to bend her over my knee and spank her. Almost as much as I want to drag her against me and shut her wicked mouth with my tongue. “You have no idea what you’ve just done, you lunatic.”
“I was a princess, now I’m a lunatic? Your standards are slipping, duke! You used to be more polite. And regarding the interview, of course I know what I did: I ruined your romantic plans for at least the next three months.”
One more step and our breaths mingle. The chemistry between us is undeniable, maddening, and I swear God himself decided the woman who drives me insane must also be the one I can never have.
“No, Jazmina, you don’t know. You just bound yourself to me permanently. In my family, once an engagement is publicly announced, it carries the force of a contract.”
As if to prove my point, the phone rings. When I walk back to my desk, I see it’s not a relative calling, even though I’m sure the congratulations from a hundred aunts and distant cousins will come soon enough, but Kaled.
Fuck.
I return to her and show her the screen.
She goes pale.
“See what you’ve done? Did it occur to you the story wouldn’t only affect me, it would affectyourfamily too? You made your bed. Now lie in it. You won’t embarrass me in front of my duchy. We’re keeping this fake engagement for a while before we publicly break it off. You wanted freedom to do whatever you pleased? Get ready, princess. As of now, you’re mine.”
Chapter 27
“Don’t answer the phone,” I beg, gripping his arm. “Please, Rodrick. You’re right, I didn’t think before acting. If Kaled finds out I caused all this, he’ll make me go back to Rheadur.”
He studies my face, checking whether my fear is real, and I guess it doesn’t take him long to understand just how terrified I am. “Your brother wouldn’t hurt you.”
“Not physically, but he wouldn’t hesitate to force me to marry one of the princes he’s been trying to introduce me to for months. He made it very clear, when I came to Europe, that I couldn’t drag the family name into scandal.”
“I don’t think you understood what I just said, Jazmina. You can’t marry any prince. We’ll need to stay engaged for a while, at least until things settle down.”
“And your duchy? You’ll lose the title if you don’t marry in just over a month, right?”
“How do you know that?”
I blush, but I face him. “I found out the details the night you took me to that dinner in Scotland. I went to the restroomand overheard some women talking about it. Including the names of your twofinalists,” I add with a hint of sarcasm.
“It wasn’t a contest.”
“Sure looked like one.”
“And what does that have to do with the mess you created?”