The Prince's Devious Proposal - Holly Rayner Page 0,41

I are able to sit down together, we’ll begin feeling like ourselves again. We’ll be able to work through this.”

“I hope so,” Naomi said. “That’s what I want to happen.”

“Then you’ll meet me tomorrow when you’re finished with work for the day?”

“I will,” she said, wondering if she was being suckered. If he had been lying to her all along, he might be lying again right now. Maybe she would end up at the Crystal Lounge alone tomorrow night, humiliated and heartbroken.

But she had to take the gamble. Things had been so good with Petr. Whatever this was, whatever was going on now, she couldn’t allow herself to forget about the possibility of happiness. If there was even a chance of recapturing the magic that had existed between them in Europe, Naomi would try.

Besides, he really did sound as if he was sorry. She could hear the old Petr, the one she had been so sure of, in his voice. The frightening coldness with which he had spoken to her at the beginning of the call was gone now.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, hoping against hope that that was true.

When the call had ended, she wandered into her bedroom, pulled open the curtains, and sat staring out her window, pondering what she had just heard.

A royal emergency in Sovra. Could that be true? If it was, how did it fit in with the article she had read about Petr’s family being mired in debt?

She hadn’t had the courage to tell him about the article. A part of her had hoped that he might say something about his family’s financial state, that he might somehow provide clarity without her having to ask for it. That had probably been an unrealistic dream, she thought now. She was going to have to ask him directly.

She would do it tomorrow, at the Crystal Lounge.

Assuming he showed up at all.

God, she wanted to believe that he would be there.

It couldn’t be a coincidence that he had chosen the Crystal Lounge again. The site of their first date. The place where—she realized now—she had begun to fall in love with him, when he had gotten up to sing “Perihelion” for her.

That was still the strongest evidence of his sincerity and goodness. How could he have known that song unless he was what he claimed to be—a real fan of her music? A pretender would have performed the hit song, not a deep cut.

But if he was what he claimed to be, then why would he lie to her? Why would he marry her without being honest about his circumstances?

There must be an explanation. There must be a way to make all these pieces fit together.

But for the life of her, Naomi couldn’t see what it might be.

She could have used a friend right now, someone to help her think her way through everything that had happened. But she was distanced from all her friends. She hadn’t spoken to them in months. Who could she possibly call right now and tell this story to?

There was no one.

She was going to have to try to navigate it by herself.

She sighed and buried her face in her hands. She never could have imagined, on that beautiful day in Barcelona when she and Petr had said their vows and celebrated their marriage to one another, that such a short time later she would be feeling so utterly alone.

Chapter 14

Naomi couldn’t focus at work the next day. Though her assignments were beginning to pile up in front of her, the idea of getting anything done felt impossible. She did her best to work on a few projects, but her mind was miles away, with Petr at the Crystal Lounge.

Finally, the workday came to an end. She hurried out to her car and was about to pull out of the parking lot when her phone rang.

Naomi’s heart skipped a beat. Would that be Petr, calling to cancel? To make some excuse? She fumbled with her purse and extracted her phone.

And paused.

The caller wasn’t Petr. It was her sister, Sarah.

Naomi heard from Sarah infrequently, and almost never by phone—her sister was more prone to sending long emails once every month or so. The last time they had spoken on the phone, it had been to make arrangements for their mother’s funeral.

Naomi swallowed, composed herself, and answered the call. “Sarah?”

“Naomi,” Sarah said, her voice brusque and businesslike as usual. “How have you been?”

“I’m okay,” Naomi said. “How are you?”

“All right,” Sarah said.

“And Harry