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I hung up with her and pulled the Sutcliffe phone to my ear.
“Sutcliffe, I assume you know why I called.”
“Miss Washington, sir?”
He fucking knew why. He wanted me to admit I had been wrong to bring her. That wasn’t going to happen.
“Yes.” I clenched my jaw. “I thought it might take the press longer to show their interest in her, but it escalated with one picture.”
“I saw it, sir.”
“Everyone has seen it,” I snarled. “Ayla is working with her now, but I need protocols in place when we return tomorrow.”
“Your highness, what type of protocols?”
“I can’t let her return to her apartment without security. She won’t be able to go to the library. Her world has just been interrupted. I expect a solution when we return.”
“Are you suggesting she move into the palace, sir?”
I rubbed the back of my head. “I’m suggesting you find a way to keep her safe. One that will satisfy my requirements and keep the country from imploding with gossip.”
This was a fucking train wreck.
“Your highness, this is unprecedented. No companion has ever lived at the palace. It’s not possible.”
I exhaled. “Make it possible. Find an historic anecdote. Find a loophole. You and I will meet when I return in the morning.”
“Yes, sir.”
I tossed both phones on the couch and slumped in the chair with my bourbon.
I realized with one trip. One tiny mis-step and I had done what I had avoided my entire life. I had fallen for a woman so hard, I was willing to break every fucking royal rule to have her.
24
Molly
I knew something was wrong the instant I saw him. He was hiding a scowl when he should have been smiling.
Ayla had chosen every inch of my outfit.
For the first time since I meet Damon, it seemed as if he looked right through me. He didn’t seem to notice the subtle dip of the V between my breasts, or the slit that rose to my thigh.
He met me at the car parked at the rear entrance of the hotel.
“What’s wrong?” I searched the dark swirls in his eyes for answers.
“Nothing, love.”
I slid into the seat, careful to keep my knees and heels together as I spun my glittery heels onto the floorboard. Ayla had been specific about every movement of the night.
The chauffer held the door as Damon climbed in, his heavy frame engulfing the air in the backseat. I could feel the heat of his irritation. Only, I had no idea what caused it.
“What’s the surprise?” I asked.
He gazed out of the window. “Dinner.”
“Oh.” I watched the tiny shops of the village drift by.
