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Because of the kind of man the Prince had become.
Ruthless and heartless.
At least enough to abandon his closest friend precisely when he needed his support the most. Meaning Nate had had to turn to her for help.
Lily was still reeling from that morning’s phone call.
‘Baby Sis, I’m in trouble and you’re the only one I can trust.’
Baby Stepsis, she could have corrected, though it hardly mattered. Nate was all the family she had, or the only one who would acknowledge her, at least.
Her big, handsome stepbrother, whom her friends swooned over. But to her was just Nate, her lifeline, the only person who’d ever tried to put her first.
Whether that had been ditching his own plans to take her shopping for her first grown-up party dress and then being there to collect her after the dance, or rearranging his diary to attend school sports days or prize-givings. The only adult in her life who ever had.
Nate was her hero. She’d help him come what may.
‘Funds have disappeared from the charity account and Khaled thinks I’m responsible,’he’d told her.
The men had been friends since school. Nate even worked for him now, as director of the charity benefitting from tonight’s event. How could Khaled believe such a thing?
Through the slits in the doors Lily glared at the real villain here. But then off went that snowy white shirt, sliding from a perfectly sculpted back.
The dressing room became rather airless.
She’d seen photographs. Who hadn’t? He was one of the most photographed and photogenic men on the planet. She’d even seen him close up before. Twice.
None of that quite prepared a girl for the effect of seeing the man he was now. Though there were traces of the teenage boy she’d once known, this bare-chested Adonis was all power and physical confidence.
As he crossed the room Lily gazed after him—and almost toppled into a row of neatly hung suits. A hanger creaked as it swung on the clothes rail.
The Prince stopped.
Right next to the small table set in the window recess.
Where her stepbrother’s laptop now lay.
Where there had been only anemptytabletop when she’d entered the suite.
She gnawed on a finger. Why hadn’t she brought the wretched thing in here with her?
Frantically she tried to remember Nate’s advice should the worst happen.
‘Improvise.’
‘Improvise how, exactly?’she’d asked.
‘I don’t know... Cry, throw yourself on his mercy, or...’
She’d waited for something useful.
‘Don’t get caught.’
Don’t get caught? When Khaled stood right next to evidence that he had an intruder.
But after trailing a long finger across the computer lid, he turned, disappearing into the bathroom opposite her hideout.
Lily deflated on a long sigh. There was still a chance to get out of this. The Prince was otherwise occupied. From the bathroom came the sound of a shower running.
