Page 62 of Out of Office Nights
He waited until servers had poured fresh coffee and juice, uncovered succulent platters of food and retreated before he replied, his gaze contemplative. ‘I find confronting my past failings, while not strengthening my failing heart, heals my soul.’
‘I see,’ she murmured. ‘Is that aimed in some way at me?’
He reached across and patted her hand. ‘It’s not a dig, my dear.’
Relief twinned with confusion as she reached for the decaf coffee. If he hadn’t brought her here to echo Valenti’s indictment, then—
‘I invited you here to talk about my son,’ he started, his shrewd gaze delving beneath her surface.
She set her cup down without drinking it. She was terrified it would go down the wrong way. But while she was even more terrified of the words she was about to utter, she didn’t let thatstop her. Maybe it was high time she stopped letting fear win? ‘That’s lucky because I’m…feeling the need to do the same,’ she ventured.
His eyes turned the same quicksilver that, in his son, made her heart jump. Then he smiled. ‘Good. Then, I hope this won’t be arduous.’
‘That’s really up to you, isn’t it, Your Majesty? Your son has been in knots over you for most of his life. He’s not been exactly forthcoming with me as to whether you’ve made things right yet. Have you? Because he deserves every scrap of attention and love denied to him for whatever reason.’
And because he helped me confront my demons and deserves to vanquish his.
Grey eyebrows rose a notch. Then a glint of respect lit the silver depths. ‘He was right to sing your praises. Perhaps you should take your own advice and point all that righteous passion in another direction, eh?’
Her throat tightened. ‘I’m not sure what you—’
‘You know exactly what I mean. He’s caught in anguish that has nothing to do with me or his next collection.’
‘And you think I’m to blame?’
‘I think you hold the key to ending his anguish. And you’re not afraid of a fight,’ he tossed in cryptically.
Dear heaven, if the old king was right, if one more fiery battle was what it took, then didn’t she owe it to herself to fight for him? For them?
‘I—’
‘What the hell is going on here?’
They both turned as Teo approached them, his long stride eating up the vast space. His hair was sexily dishevelled, and his leather jacket and dark jeans lent him a rakish look that set her every nerve alight, rendering every argument to deny the pure, profound emotion blazing in her heart to nonsense. She’dfoolishly chased after an unworthy man once. And lost. This time she would chase one a million times worthy.
‘What does it look like,mijo? I’m having breakfast with your guest.’
His frowning gaze rested a beat on his father before settling with unwavering intensity on her. ‘Why wasn’t I told?’
The old man shrugged. ‘Because we were talking about you.’
Teo stiffened. ‘Papá…’
The king’s expression softened as his gaze moved from her to his son. ‘It’s perfectly fine. You can steal her away now if you feel so strongly about it.’
Emotions competed on his face before his eyes darkened. ‘That depends on Sabeen. Does she wish to be stolen?’
She rose to her feet, glad her shakiness wasn’t outwardly visible. Then prayed for greater composure when Teo’s gaze, like clockwork, dropped down her body to her stomach. She saw his father intercept that look, his eyes widening a touch before his introspection deepened. Before he put any thoughts to speech, she stepped away from the table, dropping into another quick curtsy. ‘What I wish is to return ho—to the residence. I’ve had enough of everyone telling me what I should do,’ she muttered under her breath.
‘Indeed,’ King Alfonse said, his tone infinitely amused. ‘You have a beautiful voice. And more command at your fingertips than you know. Don’t waste them.’
For the second time in a space of an hour, she found her mouth agape in stunned silence as Teo turned to stone.
She did the only thing she could. She fled the royal presence before she did the unthinkable. Like use that power to demand his son love her as she loved him.
He caught up with her before she was halfway to the entrance. For a full minute he walked beside her in silence.
Then ‘What was that about?’
