I look straight at him, because a plan is beginning to form in my mind, but I’m terrified he’ll laugh at me.
The phone rings again, and he glances at it.
“Please, not yet, Rodrick. Let me ask you a few questions first. If you answer that call before we talk, all my dreams of studying in Europe and experiencing life will be buried. My brother’s duty to honor our country comes before everything, even family. If I embarrass him with a fake engagement, he will never forgive me.”
“Jazmina, do you even hear yourself? You’re talking in circles. We’ll tell Kaled the truth, pretend for a while for the public, and then we each go our own way.”
“And you’ll stop being a duke,” I finish quietly. “Let’s do this: give me five minutes. I need answers.”
He checks his watch. “Your time is ticking, princess.”
“As far as I understand, this marriage of yours wouldn’t involve love, right? It would be some kind of agreement, basically a contract?”
He looks uneasy answering that. “Yes.”
I’m curious why the great Duke of Kindubh refuses the normal route of love, but I’m well-aware that I’m not in the power position here, so I won’t push my luck. “Before I gave that interview, had you already chosen one of them?” I can’t hide the twist of disgust on my lips. The thought of him married unsettles me more than it should, and I don’t know why.
“No. In fact, I had called off the search.”
“Because you’d already chosen?”
“What exactly is the purpose of this conversation, Jazmina?”
It’s now or never.
Before I can lose my nerve, I drop to one knee right at his feet.
“What the hell are you doing? I already told you I’d listen. You don’t have to beg.”
Even in my panic, I have the urge to roll my eyes. “I’m not begging. I’m proposing, duke.”
“I’m sorry, I must have misheard you, princess.”
The door opens and someone says, “Well, looks like I walked in at a bad moment.”
Only then do I realize I’m kneeling . . .directly in front of—
Oh God.
Heat floods every inch of me. I’m kneeling at Rodrick’s crotch-level, and whoever walked in must think—
I jolt so hard I fall straight onto my butt, as if kneeling to propose and him not understanding wasn’t humiliating enough.
“Jazmina.” Rodrick crouches and lifts me into his arms. I hide my face in his chest, praying for death to claim me quickly.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Athol says.
“Whatever you’re thinking, that’s not what it looked like, Athol,” Rodrick snaps. “She was proposing.”
Great. He tried to fix it and only made everything worse. Wonderful! I’d honestly prefer the man to think I’m an expert at sex.
“Ah, wonderful! So everything is settled and the title is saved.”
“Nothing is settled,” Rodrick growls, setting me on the sofa.
I consider pretending to be dead. Truly. Anything is better than dealing with this humiliation.
But then Athol’s words replay in my head, and suddenly, I see an ally.