Page 106 of Tall, Royal and Grumpy

“No, don’t apologise, and please, call me Esmeralda,” she said, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Candy acting so passive behind Pierre’s hand. “And I understand why you’re protective of Kai, Candy.” I felt her gentle weight sink against me. “I’m protective of him too.”

A passing breeze brought a cooling silence with it as my friends absorbed what Esmeralda said.

Candy pulled down Pierre’s hand from over his mouth. “She knows about…”

I nodded. “Hmm, she does.”

No one said anything for what felt like a solid minute. Then Candy huffed loudly enough to make Trevor jump. “Dammit, she’s so cute, I can’t even be mad.” He sighed. “All right. Fine.” He straightened the lapels of his pristine blazer, stepped forward, and swung over into a deep bow. “Please accept my apologies, Your Highness.”

“Esmeralda,” she said and shook her head. “And I will not accept your apology because no apology is necessary. Although…” She dragged out the word in a playful way. “If you really would like me to accept something, I would love to have an exclusive dress designed by you.”

He grinned at her like the last couple of minutes hadn’t just happened and took her hand in his. “Only if you promise to model it at one of my shows too.”

“Deal.”

“Then consider it done.”

The moment she gasped, she was gone from my side. Tugged away by Candy as he drew her around to stand between him and Pierre. Far away from me.

“Candy,” I growled, jerking forward to reach for her.

“Oh-ho, look at this. Look at him trying to get her back.” Candy’s teasing forced me to stop. “Look at that face—so angry as if I took away your blankie.” He fussed at me like one would do to a baby and my cheeks heated. It only made him look more pleased with himself. “We’re so damn possessive, aren’t we, dear prince? So much so you can’t even be away from her for even a second?”

He words rang true. My hands were opening and closing around air, unnerved by how empty they felt without having Esmeralda to hold onto. And without her body pressed right next to me, I felt like there was an icy wind biting away at the imprint of her warmth on me. I hated it. I wanted her back. Where she belonged. Next to me. Always. That probably made me seem like a petulant child, but I couldn’t change how miserable I felt without her in reaching distance.

Trevor chuckled. “Candy, stop.”

“Let her go,” Pierre said. “He bloody looks like he’s about to explode.”

“I know. I like it,” Candy said and winked at me. “Who knew this whole jealous-possessive thing would look so good on our dear pretty prince.”

I ground my teeth together and rubbed at my burning ear as my friends laughed, even Zain.

At least Esmeralda didn’t laugh. But the tilted-head-achingly-beautiful-smile combination she subjected me to scratched my bones with a bittersweet needle.

Having her go back to Jahandar in a few days’ time was going to kill me.

Chapter Thirty

KAI

“Thank you for coming,” I said, pulling back from Zain’s hug. We stood next to his car in the palace car park to the west of the gold-painted iron gates.

“Thanks for inviting me,” he said with a smile. “I’m only sorry I couldn’t stay longer. But with Max ill, Alisha and I hardly had any sleep last night. I can’t leave her on her own to look after the kids with both of our parents wreaking havoc in the house too.”

“No, you need be with your family. Give Alisha and your parents my regard. And tell little Tara she can play in the tower the next time she comes.”

Zain grunted and shook his head. “You know I haven’t heard the end of that since you mentioned it her. Every night it’s, ‘Baa, when are we going to see Uncle Kai’s tower?’. I’m entirely sure she believes you have some Visney princess in there for her to meet.” I chuckled, and his mouth turned up in a slow smirk. “Though, I guess you do in fact have a princess to put in your tower now.”

Heat fanned across my cheeks, and I tugged at my earlobe. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

“We’re going to have to do another meet up. Alisha and Tara really wanted to meet her. Maybe dinner at our place—if Princess Esmeralda is fine with that.”

Something tight gripped my stomach. “It would have to be when she’s next in Touma.”

“Crap, right. I forgot she has to go back. When is she going?”

“She’ll be leaving on the morning of the twenty-eighth.”

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