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Was he kidding? “That’s not how it works, Dima. Not for me, anyway.”
“You said you understood.”
“What did I say I understood?”
“Me seeing the women my father picked out for me. You knew it wasn’t going anywhere.” He spoke dismissively, like it was a nonissue.
Only she didn’t know what the issue was, and now she wanted to, badly.
“That’s what you said.” She couldn’t pretend to be thrilled his father was looking elsewhere for a bride for Dima, though.
However, the older man had no idea that the relationship between Jenna and Dima had changed. So the only people they could blame for Prince Evengi’s attempts at matchmaking were themselves.
“It is what I said, and I expect you to trust me,” Dima assured her, all arrogance.
That trust thing was still a bit of a sticking point, and Jenna never reacted well to being told what she was supposed to do, much less feel.
“Let me see,” she said again, this time her own tone matching his more closely.
“Fine, if you insist.” He handed the paper over, but even under all that chill, she could read his reluctance to do so. “We made the front cover.”
His disdain for that reality dripped from his voice. Then, without another word, he spun on his heel and walked from the room.
For a moment, staring at the empty room where he’d just been, Jenna forgot the tabloid. Didn’t he care how she reacted to whatever it was that had him acting so strangely? Wasn’t she important enough for him to stick around and have it out, whateveritwas?
Uncertainty filled her, feeding her fears that despite her change of heart, they had no real future. Her prince did not care if she was upset by what she was about to read.
If he did, he would have stuck around. Wouldn’t he?
Only, the first thing he’d said was,You’re not leaving me. Not,You’re not leaving Abu Dhabi. Was that because Dima was a possessive alpha male who expected everyone around him to fall into his plans?
Or becauseshemattered tohim? Jenna knew what she needed to be true, but she was a mature woman, who could and would accept therealtruth, whatever it was.
Even if it meant coming to terms with a prince who was seeing his father’s matchmaking candidates because Dima saw those women as better potential life partners than her.
She lifted the paper and focused on the front cover.
It was a European tabloid, so that they were featured on the front cover was kind of surprising. Until Jenna saw the rest of the front-page splash.
Prince Dimitri Already Cheating on Princess Sophia!
Two pictures were side by side on the cover with a diagonal split. In one, Dima danced with a beautiful twentysomething woman wearing a formal gown. The background was familiar to Jenna. It was in the grand ballroom at the palace in Mirrus.
Dima and Princess Sophia were both smiling and looking into each other’s eyes.
The other photo showed Jenna and Dima walking hand in hand along the waterfront, as she’d noted. What she hadn’t been able to see from across the room was their expressions.
Jenna was looking out over the water, a half smile on her face. Dima was looking at her, his expression intent. If she could believe what her eyes were telling her, there was a wealth of emotion in that intent gaze too.
Jenna flipped open the scandal rag and found the article. Speculation had been rife since Dima’s latest trip to Mirrus, when he had singled Princess Sophia out at a formal function to dance and chat with.
There were several pictures of them together, but Jenna gave those photos nothing more than a glance. It was the pictures of her and Dima that caught her attention and would not let go.
They looked like two people in love. While the paper painted her asthe other womanin a nonexistent love triangle, their photographer had captured the truth. Dima looked at her like he looked at no one else.
Jenna wasn’t immune either. She had a particularly besotted expression in one of the shots, but her affection for him shone through in all of the pictures, if you knew what to look for.
Had Dima seen her love for him? Was that what really had him riled?
