Entangled with the Prince - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,18
face. “I know that I’m not supposed to hate Orella. She was my big sister. But…” she sighed and turned around, heading back into the suite. “Well, to tell you the truth, she wasn’t around much. And when she was around, she didn’t like talking to me. She’d shoo me out of her room, then go off on some wondrous adventure somewhere.”
Gaelen shook his head. “That last ‘wondrous adventure’ she took off on also took her life,” he reminded his sister. They both moved to the bar and he poured her a snifter of brandy as well as one for himself. “I loved her too, Talia, but she was a selfish brat sometimes.”
They sipped the brandy in companionable silence. Talia was the first to break the silence. “Was she ever different?”
Gaelen led her over to one of the long sofas and they sat down. Talia curled her legs up underneath her and he pressed a button, lighting the fire instantly. “I don’t know,” he admitted honestly. “She was always going off, doing her own thing. Mom and Dad argued with her most of the time, then she’d storm out of the palace and…well, we’d find out where she’d gone by reading about her latest exploits in the tabloids. They cut off her credit cards and wouldn’t give her money, which is why she married that ass.”
Talia sighed, the sound tinged with sadness and regret. “She was so beautiful though. How could he resist her?”
Savannah appeared behind his eyes, leaning in for that kiss. A simple kiss that had turned not-so-simple. “Yeah, I’m starting to understand Orella a bit more lately.”
Talia sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. Years ago, Talia would have simply crawled onto his lap, but they were older now and, hell, she was a woman. He turned and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Is there a special man in your life?” he asked, his tone teasing.
But when she didn’t respond immediately, he pulled back, dislodging her head from his shoulder. “Talia?” he prompted.
She grinned up at him. “Seriously, Gaelen, if there was a man in my life, don’t you think I’d bring him to you or the guards for a security check?” She snorted and shook her head. “I think I learned my lesson with Orella’s husband, the money grubbing bastard!”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close again. “Hey, don’t condemn him for marrying Orella, thinking that he was marrying into money when she did the same thing by marrying him. It just happened that they were both shooting pretty low in the ethical barrel and both came out wanting.”
“I really hope that the man I fall in love with isn’t a bastard,” she whispered.
He chuckled and squeezed her affectionately. “I’ll make damn sure that he isn’t!”
With a sigh, he looked at his watch. “Speaking of bastards, I have an early morning meeting with one tomorrow. I should really get some sleep.” He turned and looked down at her. “What are your plans? I wasn’t expecting you, but there’s plenty of room here.”
She grinned up at him. “I know, which is why I came here to surprise you.”
He looked at her and noticed the haunted look in her eyes. “Are you really okay?”
Her smile vanished and she didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then she replied, “I don’t know. I know that Harper said we should be talking about our feelings more, but every time I think about Orella, I get angry with her. I wanted to know my older sister, but before that could happen, Orella went and did something stupid. I feel as if I’ve lost out on something really important.”
He nodded. “Tomorrow, I’ll tell you stories about her. I’ll find something good for you.”
They turned and headed towards the bedrooms. “I don’t want just the good stuff though. She was human, I know that. So tomorrow, tell me some bad things too. I only have vague memories of her and how mean she was to me. But I’d like to know who she really was.”
He tilted his head thoughtfully. “That goes against all of my instincts,” he replied, “but for you, I’ll come up with good and bad stuff.”
He left her at the door to one of the guest rooms and proceeded on to his own room. Stripping off his clothes, he thought about his older sister who had died in a car crash. Her husband had been going too fast through the narrow,