good, so dutiful...whereas really? She was a coward.
‘If something’s happened, Jade, you can tell me, or we could swap back. Now.’
‘No. I don’t want to swap back, not yet,’ she said swiftly. She didn’t want to end it for Juno already. And she needed to straighten out her own head before she headed home. She needed this time. So much more than she’d realised. ‘I’d really like to stay until New Year’s Eve, like we agreed. Plus, I don’t want you to miss your chance to jump Leo,’ Jade added with a choked laugh. ‘Unless you need to...’
‘No, I don’t want to swap back yet either...’ Juno admitted.
‘Listen, Ju, I’ve got to go.’ Jade made herself get moving before she confessed everything to her sister. ‘I’ve got a busy day ahead of me,’ she fudged. It wasn’t a complete lie; it would be a busy day recovering from the night of her life. ‘But whatever you and Leonardo do, or don’t do, you have my blessing. Okay?’
Her sister deserved some fun. Jade desperately wanted her to be happy.
‘Okay.’
But Juno had said she and Leonardo had agreed it wouldn’t be anything more than physical, that it was just chemistry, and now Jade knew that wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
‘But do me a favour,’ she added swiftly before ending the call with Juno. ‘Don’t underestimate your feelings for him. They might be stronger than you think.’
Because that was the fear gnawing inside her—that the reason she’d told Alvaro she was ‘so much better than okay’ was that it had been so much more than physical. And now, the desire for more with him still tempted her to risk everything all over again.
But she was Queen and she couldn’t. She could only be grateful that she’d had the night she had. Now, she needed to focus on herself. That was what Alvaro had shown her. She needed to speak up and strengthen her own damn spine.
Liberation swept over her. She and Juno had endangered themselves with this switch. But if she could time travel she’d choose to do the same again. No regrets. By the sound of things, Juno had none either. They could sort out any resulting mess once Jade was back home. But one thing was certain and it had been certain from first thing Monday morning. There was no way Jade was ever marrying King Leonardo or any other suitable prince her advisors recommended...
But she couldn’t marry for love either. Her parents had tried and look how that had worked out. They’d fallen in love so quickly and out again only a few months later. They’d come from different worlds. And the mess it had made of their lives? Now, she knew there was nothing to be gained from a reckless, passionate relationship. Fortunately, the fact that she couldn’t go ten seconds without thinking about Alvaro Byrne wasn’t anything to do with love. It was lust. Simple, basic, bone-deep lust. And what had happened between them was perfect. Finite and perfect.
Honestly? She didn’t think she’d ever marry anyone.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ALVARO PACED AROUND his apartment. She’d wanted immediate escape. She’d turned as soon as she could, trying to leave without drama, her face aflame in awkward embarrassment... But when he’d stopped her something else had emerged. Not the deeply ingrained politeness, not the ex-virginal embarrassment, but a pure, personal, simple admission.
She’d said she was ‘so much better than okay’ and then, ‘I hope you are too.’
That sweet wish for him had glued him in place—but he’d been unable to admit the same. Frankly he’d been unable to even breathe. Not before she’d already left.
She’d required no post-mortem. Apparently had no regrets either.
But that was good, wasn’t it? He’d wanted—needed—her to go, too. He too wanted nothing, no last words, to spoil the perfection of their night together. And it would be spoilt eventually if they saw each other again.
He’d spoil it. Somehow.
He knew a moment in time was all they could ever have.
But he hated how empty his home suddenly felt. How desolate and vast his bed now was. He’d loved the curling length of her hair, the creaminess of her back, the narrowness of her waist and the flare of her hips...slender but sweet and soft. Irritated, he scratched the back of his neck and headed to the shower.
The next day he went out of town on a totally unnecessary field trip to sign the deal that had been under discussion for so long. It didn’t matter that his own