The Prince's Devious Proposal - Holly Rayner Page 0,45

seen him, but it felt like a lifetime. Now, looking at his face, she felt a rush of unwelcome affection. She wanted to forget all the details she had just pieced together and rush into his arms, welcome him home, step into the life with him she had imagined having.

He saw her and got to his feet, clearly wanting to greet her just as badly as she had wanted to greet him. With an embrace, and perhaps a kiss.

But he doesn’t mean it, she reminded herself firmly. He never meant any of it. And if you let him get away with it, you deserve whatever he does to you.

She summoned her courage and stalked over to the table.

“Naomi,” he said, reaching out his arms for her. “It’s so good to see you.”

She held her distance, not stepping into his embrace. “Petr.”

His smile faltered. “Is something wrong?”

“Why don’t you tell me?” she asked.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, sitting back down. “I’m sorry that I didn’t call you. I wanted to talk to you about that a little more tonight, actually—”

“Don’t bother,” Naomi said, pleased with the frosty tone of her voice. “I know you’ve been lying to me.”

“What?” He shook his head. “I haven’t been lying to you. Of course not.”

But Naomi could see the sudden doubt on his face. He seemed incapable of looking her in the eye.

I knew it.

“Tell me something,” she said. “Were you really in Sovra at all? Or was that just another lie?”

“It’s…it’s complicated, Naomi,” he said. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Should I start, then?” she asked. “Why don’t I tell you what I think happened, and you can tell me how close I am to the truth. Sound good?”

She could see by his expression that it didn’t sound good to him at all. That gave her confidence. She was getting to him.

It also broke her heart. If her deductions had been wrong, she wouldn’t be having this effect on him. The details she had pieced together must be the truth.

“When you didn’t contact me for a few days,” she said, “I decided to do some research. I’d realized that I didn’t know what you did for a living. You’re going to laugh, but I actually felt guilty. I felt like I was in the wrong. I was sure that the reason you’d been so standoffish was because you were upset with me for not taking enough of an interest in your life, and I was going to surprise you by learning the details of the business that had kept you in Rome.”

“Oh,” Petr said quietly.

“I guess you know what I found?”

“I’m guessing your searches led you to some unsavory details about my family’s finances.”

“I can’t imagine why someone dealing with a large amount of debt would choose to fly first class,” she said. “God knows I never asked you for any international plane tickets. You didn’t have to do that to hold my attention. But maybe you thought I was a gold digger. I suppose it makes sense that you would think of other people that way, since that’s what you are.”

“I didn’t think that, Naomi,” he protested.

“My sister called me today,” Naomi said. “It turns out I’m about to inherit some money. Isn’t that something? And just days after I rushed into a marriage with a deposed prince in crippling debt! What a crazy coincidence!”

“Naomi, wait a minute,” Petr said, holding up his hands. “Are you going to let me explain myself here?”

“Explain yourself?” she asked. “What are you going to say? Can you tell me that that wasn’t your plan?” She shook her head. “I’m an idiot for not seeing it. I knew that, years ago, my mother was involved with an advisor to the Sovran royal family. I should have remembered when I met you, but I always tried not to think about that man. I put him out of my mind.” She laughed bitterly. “This is all my fault, really, isn’t it?”

“Of course it isn’t,” Petr said. “Don’t blame yourself.”

Somehow, the idea of being consoled by him was as offensive to her as anything else he’d done.

“Stop that,” she said. “What do you think, that I care about your opinion? It doesn’t matter what you say. You’re a con man. Nothing you ever said to me was real. You’re just in this to steal my mother’s money from me.”

“It’s not like that,” Petr said.

“It’s not?” she challenged. “So you didn’t know that I would be inheriting that

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