Page 170 of Reluctantly Rogue

Fuck.

My protective instincts have me fighting the urge to push up out of my chair.

She slides her chair back, then takes Diarmuid’s hand as he leads her out of the room.

"You okay?" Colin asked me.

Obviously, I have not perfected hiding how I feel when it comes to that woman.

I shake my head. "No. Diarmuid just took Linnea out of the room. "

"They’re close, right? Is that a sign of problems?"

I take a breath. "No. Not necessarily." I typically wouldn’t have thought anything of it.

But things started being atypical about three months ago.

Because until then, Linnea had never done anything that would even slightly upset the king.

But for about three months now, she’s been doing a lot of things that would upset the king very much. With me.

Chapter32

Linnea

* * *

Idon’t think that I have ever talked to King Diarmuid without underwear on.

I also realize that that should not be the first thing on my mind.

But I’m feeling uncomfortable and that is not helping.

"The wedding was so lovely," I comment before he can say anything. I have no idea what would cause him to pull me out of the family dinner into the hallway.

"It really was." His smile is full of love and happiness.

I have no question that Diarmuid is happy about this wedding. He loves Abigail and knows that she’s very good for Torin. Good for Cara. Torin and Diarmuid have mended some fences. I believe that Diarmuid truly believes that Torin is on his way to being a wonderful king.

I was there when Diarmuid told Torin that he expects to be able to turn the crown over within the year.

I’m very happy for them both. I am happy for Cara too.

"You have been such a wonderful friend and advisor to them both.” Diarmuid sighs. "Thank you so much for welcoming Abigail. For helping her feel more comfortable here. For teaching her all of the ins and out of our country. But also for letting her truly find herself here."

I smile easily. I love Abigail. She’s very different from me. We have very little in common. But I think she’s wonderful. She’s brilliant, sweet, and she loves Torin in the way he deserves to be loved. "I am so happy they found each other. I really think she’s going to be a wonderful queen."

"I agree. And with you by her side, she has nothing to worry about."

"I’m glad you feel that way. And you know I’m always here for Torin."

"I do. But that brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted you to hear this from me directly. Before I tell the entire family.”

I frown. The butterflies in my stomach start swooping. “Okay.”

“I want you to know that the promises my family—” He stops and shakes his head. “The promisesImade to your grandfather mean a lot to me. I am not backing out of those."

I frown. I’m not sure what he’s talking about. "I don’t understand."

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