Page 152 of Tall, Royal Hater
The liquid sheen returned to Shehryar’s eyes. Letting go of her hand, he stepped closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders instead. “She is.” His voice was thick with emotion. “And you were right.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her hair. “Love is enough.”
Esmeralda lifted her chin to a haughty, regal angle. “I’m always right.”
Shehryar grunted and shook his head before his eyes roamed to me. “Maybe,” he said quietly.
The fluttering bubbles and clouds expanded in me again, understanding what he was talking about.
Fine. I’d admit it too.
Esmeralda maybe,slightly, kind of had been right about me and Shehryar.
There had always been more than hate between us. It had just taken us a while to accept that the hatewasn’tmore powerful and fulfilling than what lay underneath.
It wasn’t love yet, but it was something worth taking seriously.
I almost burst out laughing at the cementing thought.
Fucking Neves, I was whipped for Shehryar Timur. That was going to be one heck of a story to tell everyone who knew how I’d once abhorred him. But it was a weirdly pleasing idea.
That delicious dickhead is mine, and I get to tell everyone.
Someone cleared their throat.
A big, fat mischievous grin sat on Esmeralda’s face as she glanced between us. “We don’t like each other,” she mimicked in a voice that sounded neither like me nor Shehryar.
I flushed pink and glared. “You’re not gonna let it go, are you?”
She shook her head once. “No. Not at all. But…” She clasped my wrist in one hand and used the other to grab Shehryar’s hand. Placing my palm on top of Shehryar’s, she said, “I leave you in each other’s care from now on and trust you will make the most of what you can be without hate.”
With her dramatic declaration complete, Esmeralda stepped back. Kai was already there with an open arm, and she tucked herself against him, grinning at us. “And I would like to be the first to know when the wedding is, so I can plan it myself,” she added.
My cheeks flamed and my chest lurched in shock. I snatched my hand back, smacking myself right in the chest. “Yo, relax. Why are you talking about weddings?”
The Crown Princess of Jahandar hooted up at the ceiling. Even grumpy TRG flashed me a toothy, dimpled grin.
And Shehryar? Well, he coiled an arm around my neck, holding me to his chest in a headlock.
“Shehryar,” I snapped, trying to pull at his tree-trunk arm.
“You don’t think we can make it that far?” he said, grinning wolfishly.
My heart hiccupped again, but I took the joke for what it was and pulled a sarcastic smile. “Guess you’re gonna have to prove yourself, aren’t you?”
That was the end of conversation as Fay, Adam, and all of Kai’s friends, including little Tara and Max, encircled us. Hugs and laughter and watery words flew all around, but Shehryar’s arm remained locked across my shoulders. And I didn’t complain about the weight of it either.
Chapter 37
Shehryar
“Shehryar,” I heard my mother call over the loud music filling the public dining hall.
I glanced to my right and smiled as Mum, with her hand around Prince Arsh’s elbow, approached. Transferring the glass in my hand into the other, I opened my arm. “Hello.”
Mum wrapped her arm around my back in a quick, tight hug as she said, “What are you doing slinking by the wall?”
The reception party was in full swing thanks to Esmeralda, Mariyah, and Alisha with nearly everyone on the makeshift dance floor set between a semi-circular scattering of rounddecorated tables. The moment the feast of Touman and Jahandari dishes had been eaten, the cake had been cut, and everyone had gushed over Prince Fay’s lifelike painting of the happy couple, the three stubborn women had grabbed Gary and demanded he start DJing the palace down.
I’d stayed by the table except for Esmeralda’s few attempts to get me on my feet. Every time I went back, Mariyah had rolled her eyes and snarked, “Leave the boring old man, Ez,” and sauntered off with swishing hips, at which point I had wanted to turn around and correct her statement. Seeing her having fun with Esmeralda and Alisha was the only reason I resisted the urge.
