Page 14 of Prince of Her Heart
Still, her eyes drifted to the box again.She opened it, unable to stop herself from staring at the ring’s perfect sparkle in the sunlight.
He snorted, and somehow eventhatmade her knees a little weaker.
“Where did this come from?”she asked, tracing the delicate setting with her fingertip.
He shrugged and leaned back against the desk, arms casually crossed.“I’ve had it for a while.Now, it’s yours.”
“Not mine,” she gasped, snapping the lid shut again.“Ramzi, I can’t wear something that expensive.I’d be terrified of losing it.”
He didn’t move.Didn’t blink.
“If you lose it, I’ll replace it.”
“That’s not the point!”she snapped.“You can’t justreplacesomething that beautiful.”
He stared at her, dark eyes unreadable.
She couldn’t tell what he was thinking—and that only made it worse.
Finally, he pushed off the desk and turned away, still ignoring the box she held like a live grenade.
“Wear the ring,” he said simply.“If you don’t want it after the four days, give it back then.”
He sifted through a stack of files, no longer looking at her.“But you’ll need it to sell the illusion.”
When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he glanced up again.
“Tell Marwan what I need to pack for the weekend.Everything’s casual, I assume?”
“Yes,” she replied, her voice a little hoarse.
“Tuxedo for the wedding?”
She shook her head, a quiet laugh slipping out.“Not in Hendersonville.No tuxedos are needed.”Her gaze drifted back to the box still resting in her hand.“Especially not a tailored Armani tuxedo.”
He tilted his head, that faintly smug expression tugging at his mouth.“Fine.A suit?”
Tabitha turned toward the window, pretending to study the city skyline.But her thoughts were nowhere near the view.
She knew this man.She’d worked with Ramzi long enough to understand exactly how his mind worked.Once he set a goal, there was no stopping him.He was deliberate.Focused.Merciless when it came to obstacles.
And right now, she was the obstacle.
The image of her parents flashed into her mind—her mother, trying to hide her disappointment behind brittle cheer, and her father, stoic but undoubtedly affected by the whispers of a tight-knit town.Men didn’t gossip the way women did—but they weren’t innocent either.The damage was the same.
Ramzi was right.
The only way to silence the rumors was to show them they were wrong.
“Fine,” she said, turning to face him again.“We’ll go to Hendersonville.But—”
“As a couple,” he interrupted, calm and confident.
Tabitha hesitated.
That phrase carried so much weight.So many implications.But she looked at him—this man who always protected what was his—and something in her chest softened.
She trusted him.That terrified her more than anything.
