Page 35 of Crowned for His Son

Because of his royal status and all the infernal protocols? Eden kicked herself for forgetting that for a second.

‘You seem to know a lot about me already—what makes you think I have more to divulge?’

His face hardened a touch. ‘You’ve been reticent about discussing your past. But you don’t have the luxury of that now,querida. Courtesy of my brother, you now know you were in Arizona—’

‘Which still tells me nothing. I tried looking up the Magnis Club. It’s super-secretive… I’m assuming a billionaires-only resort or something?’

‘Yes,’ he confirmed dismissively, making a mockery of the two hours she’d wasted scouring the internet last night. ‘Do you know why you chose not to return to Vegas when you left Arizona?’

‘How do you know I didn’t?’

‘How do you think?’ His voice was cool silk wrapped in electricity.

He’d looked for her? Why?

Pursing her lips, she toyed with the stem of her glass as she contemplated where to start with the sorry saga of her life. ‘As far as I can remember, I had plans to work my way towards California.’

‘Hopes of a career in Hollywood?’ he asked, not masking his cynicism.

A tiny snort escaped before she could stop it. ‘Nothing so fanciful or unrealistic.’ And if she’d had such hopes her father would’ve doubled his efforts to squash her. ‘I was on my way to a commune in Joshua Tree to bail out my mother. She’d found herself in another predicament.’

‘Did this happened often?’

‘A few times here and there.’

Shame dredged through her and she fixed her gaze on the glass, then jumped slightly when his finger brushed her chin, firmly nudging it up.

When she met his gaze, he rasped, ‘Go on. Why were you chasing after your mother?’

‘She’d been left stranded after yet another man— After her relationship ended. The guy she was seeing had left her with a few bills and she needed help.’

A fewdozenbills—including a bail bond she’d naively and shockingly signed her name to and become responsible for after the man had absconded.

Azar’s hand dropped and she immediately missed the warmth of his touch. ‘Were you in the habit of bailing her out of “predicaments”?’

An echo of the judgy voices she’d heard so many times in the past, from friends and strangers alike, throbbed through his voice. ‘Does it matter?’ she asked.

His censorious gaze said that it did, but he didn’t vocalise it—for which she was somewhat thankful.

‘She was facing jail if she didn’t come up with a way to settle her bills. So she called me. I… I couldn’t pretend she didn’t need my help.’ Unwilling to delve into her fraught relationship with her mother, she changed the subject. ‘Tell me about the Magnis Club. Was I working there?’

His jaw clenched. ‘Sí.You were a hostess.’

Shards of memory pierced her. ‘I’m assuming it was the job Nick mentioned?’

He stiffened, his eyes boring into her. ‘I wouldn’t know, but it’s safe to assume so since you need a member who vouches for you even if you’re staff.’

Her own shoulders stiffened with the tension engulfing them. ‘You’re giving off unpleasant vibes again. I was Nick’s croupier when he visited the casino. Nothing else. And if you’re wondering whether I promised him anything in return, I don’t remember—but I know myself enough to be certain I’m not that kind of woman.’

They both stopped as the chef headed towards them, two servers bearing trays one step behind him. The elaborate presentation cooled the temperature between them, and for the next ten minutes they enjoyed the beautifully prepared bite-sized helpings of blue lobster croquettes with caviar, truffle-vinaigrette-coated scallops and grilled shrimp rolled in buttered lettuce.

Every morsel elicited from Eden an inner groan. And by the third bite a tiny bit of her tension had eased—especially because Azar, for whatever reason, had chosen to let the matter drop.

When the black stone slab of theiromasakewas delivered, he expertly caught up a rolled sliver of sea bass in his chopsticks, dipped it in a sauce and held it out to her. ‘Try this.’

Her mouth watered, but something in his voice made her ask, ‘Why?’

‘Because you adored it before,’ he said simply. ‘Let’s see if you still do.’

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