Page 64 of Princess of Pride
“No one’s,” Lachlan answers, his tone even.
“I don’t believe you.”
“No one has ever stayed in here. You’re the first. At least, since my family has lived in the castle.”
Still skeptical, I ask, “Who designed it?”
“Why?” He walks past the sitting area and stops near one of the large windows.
“It was designed for a woman.”
“It was designed for you.”
I laugh.
“You don’t believe me,” he states rather than asks, his tone calm but also condescending.
“No. You never planned to bring me here.”
He sighs and frowns, his gaze back on the ocean view. “Shedid. My mother. She wanted you here.”
Shock grips me. “She did?”
“Yes.”
“How’d she know me?”
“I told her about you—showed her your picture.”
I cringe. Not my high school graduation photo. “What picture?”
“The ones from your social media accounts.”
“You stalked my Insta,” I say aghast while wondering whatpictures he showed her. Now I find myself wanting to impress a woman I’ll never meet. “What… what did she think?”
“She thought you were beautiful. And that you looked like you knew how to have fun.”
More shock, but also my heart warms. “She said that?”
He nods and glances at the view again, sliding his hands in his pockets. His somber demeanor catches me off guard. He cared for his mother dearly. He feels her loss.
“I bet I would have liked her.”
“You would have.” His features soften with nostalgia.
It makes me think of my mom and her confession. I need to call my sister to see if she knows anything about this. If she does, I’ll be furious. My family is far from normal, but to be betrayed by your mother and sister in this way… that’s a different kind of hurt.
Lachlan strolls to another door and opens it. “I had this filled on the flight here.”
I walk over. Again, my jaw drops. A variety of clothes, from formal to casual, fill the dressing room. My eyes narrow. “Whose are these?”
“Yours,” he says as if it’s obvious. “They’re new, and in your size and style.”
Upon a closer inspection, I can tell they are all items I would wear. “How’d you know what to buy?”
“My assistant got information from the personal shoppers you used at the hotel.”
Clever. The suitcase I got from Reveena rests on a top shelf. The clothes I bought must be here too. Knowing that doesn’t comfort me like my own belongings from home would.
