He gave a nod and drew in a breath. “Unlike you, who comes from old money and old traditions, my family are considered nouveau riche. We’re bankers, as you know. My great-great grandfather, Charles Godman, lived in India. He opened a bank in Mumbai.” Damien’s smile widened. “He met my great-great grandmother, Adhira, there and married her. She came from Indian royalty. Charles brought his young bride back to London. In that thriving city he set up a financial establishment that set my family on a path to become the dynasty it is today.”
“And your family moved to Tennessee?”
“Yes. Where we continue to grow the empire.”
“You reject your privilege.”
“I learned early on that it wasn’t the things that were handed to me that made me happy.”
“I don’t care for money either.”
“That’s because you’ve always had it.”
“Earlier, you accused me of hating you.”
He leaned in, his lips hovering close to mine. “If this is hate, I’m all in.”
Frantic, I searched the garden for Pandora.
This wasn’t how I wanted to spend my Sunday morning—heart pounding, phone in hand and ready to make that call—searching for the woman I wasn’t meant to care about. The fear of losing her ripped at my heart. My mind kept seeing the horrifying highlights of what might have happened.
Last night, we’d slept in separate rooms. That was the last time we would ever do that—from now on, we’d be sleeping together.
When I’d gone to check on her this morning, she wasn’t in her bed or anywhere else in the cottage. We were supposed to be having breakfast together, lounging by the pool, swimming and spending time together.
If anything happened to her, I’d have to explain to the world how I’d let their beloved princess out of my sight just long enough for her to succumb to harm. I’d have her blood on my hands…two weeks before the damn election.
The thought of her suffering threatened to break me.
Yes, we had security, but we’d been dodging them the last seventy-two hours and they were probably used to our bullshit.
Pandora had breached my defenses and lately I’d seen her in a new light, peeled back the layers she hid behind to see the sweet girl beneath that high-class shell. Fucking her had felt like a spiritual practice I couldn’t be without.
I’d been selfishly pursuing the one goal my family had chased after for decades, unwittingly forgetting what had been important to me all along: people. I’d gone through the motions of serving the public but deep down I’d felt like I was fighting a losing battle.
I’d lost my way.
Through Pandora I’d found it again.
Pressing my phone to my ear, I resigned myself to suffering the consequences of alerting our security team. It would, of course, trigger an alert that would be sent back, the fallout monumental. Not ready to call that number yet and bring hell down upon us, I put the phone back in my pocket and kept going, willing Pandora to be okay.
Hurrying out of our private garden, I made it to the pathway that led along the ocean front, hoping to see her walking along the beach.
Farther down, a gardener was shoving some exotic plant into the dirt, his tan-weathered face a testament to the sun.
“Did you see a young lady come this way?” I tried to keep the panic out of my voice. “Probably wearing a sundress.”
“Is she blonde?” he asked.
My heart rate took off. “Yes.”
“A young lady, a blonde, headed off in that direction about ten minutes ago.” He pointed. “There’s boutiques down there.” He gave me a knowing smile.
“Thank you!”
Sprinting, I rounded another cottage and saw a luxury line of stores. Starting at an ice-cream shop, I kept peering through the windows, moving rapidly from one store to another until I’d gotten all the way down the boulevard to a jewelry shop.
Pandora was in there, standing before a glass counter and talking with a woman on the other side. The shop keeper appeared bright and engaging.
Adrenaline continued to surge through my veins.
Taking a calm breath and at the same time finding true religion, I opened the shop door.
The doorbell drew attention as I entered.
I was greeted by a wide smile from Pandora. “Hey, you found me.”
My nod probably appeared out of place, half casual, half subdued panic, as though my mind hadn’t gotten the memo she was okay.
My fiancée stood before me looking devastatingly beautiful and unaware of the dread she’d caused. Her