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The general smiled. Was that three smiles in the space of fifteen minutes? That usually only happened if Princess Macey or Kiera were with him. He stood, and Chad did as well. Mason and Brad both saluted. The two military leaders nodded and strode from the office. The officers standing silently behind them followed.
Arianna was left with two handsome men, and a very uncomfortable silence.
They both turned to her at the same time. Mason was closer. He reached for her hands as he’d done when he’d first entered the office. She let him clasp her hands, hyperaware of Brad watching. She appreciated Brad being willing to help protect her, but she owed him nothing. He was the one who’d left.
Why, then, was she wishing his hands were around hers and his golden-brown eyes looking into hers? Mason’s summer blue eyes were very nice but she’d never seen eyes that topped Brad’s. Mesmerizing.
“That must’ve been absolutely terrifying, and you bravely fought off the most wanted man in Europe. You’re brilliant, Arianna.”
“Thank you. I was a mess, praying for inspiration. My dad calls my spike heels ‘shoe weapons,’ and when I needed a weapon, that came to me.”
“Ah, bless your dad. You are a bit shorter at the moment, aren’t you now?”
She laughed. There was the Mason she was used to.
“Come now, let’s get you to our suite. You can rest while Private Rivera and I hash some things out.” He released her hands but wrapped his arm around her waist and turned her toward the door.
Brad was … glowering. Oh, no.
“Are the pair of you currently … dating?” Brad got out, the word rolling off his tongue like poison.
“Yes,” Mason said.
“Not really,” Arianna said at the same time.
Brad’s expression lightened at her response.
Mason glanced swiftly down at her. “Not really?”
“We’ve gone on three dates,” she protested.
“Yes, but …” Mason’s blue eyes suddenly filled with mischief. “They’ve been brilliant dates where you’ve laughed at my wicked good humor to the point of hiccups and you’ve wanted to pledge your heart and life to the most handsome and strapping lieutenant in the military.”
Arianna laughed and even Brad smiled.
“Forgive me,” Brad said. “It’s none of my business and I shouldn’t have asked such a personal question.”
Arianna wanted to protest. She wanted him to be personal. With her. The longing for him, the hurt of eight years without him, and the terror of tonight intermingled until she could hardly think straight. Would Brad ditch her again? Most likely. Was he even interested in her any longer? Most likely not. He’d never truly been interested. Besides their family friendship, he’d only kissed her once. She’d instigated the kiss and he’d responded so not even a proper kiss. Then he’d run away for eight years.
“Nothing to forgive,” Mason assured him, then he tightened his grip on Arianna’s waist and leaned closer. “It’s the ‘not really’ that I’d fancy an apology for.” He grinned to show he was teasing. “Unbelievable. We both know you fell head over heels for me when I pummeled the king with snowballs and made your event an untold success.”
Arianna laughed again, though she was confused and frustrated by Brad’s responses.
Mason directed her out the door, to the side staircase, probably to avoid running into anyone, and up to the next floor where the guest suites were located. Brad fell into step behind them. Arianna could’ve sworn he was glaring at their backs.
“Now I know your shoes are wicked spikes, but they truly penetrated the Gifted Genius’s abdomen and forearm?”
“Truly.” She nodded. “I’ll never doubt my Stuart Weitzmans again.”
“I’m assuming that’s a brand of shoe?” Mason’s eyes twinkled.
“Someday, I will teach you to appreciate the finer things in life.”
“You are the finest thing in my life, and I fully appreciate you.”
Brad cleared his throat behind them. Arianna would normally have been embarrassed for a man she was interested in to overhear her and Mason’s constant teasing. Now that everything had settled, the full import of Brad being here, and him volunteering and being assigned as one of her round-the-clock private guards, hit her.
He’d kissed her and ditched her in the same night. True, they hadn’t been close as teenagers, more her idolizing him and him being kind to the childhood friend two years younger than him. Yet they’d reconnected when his mum died, big time, and then he’d disappeared. She should’ve slapped him when she saw him again, but she’d been terrified and out of sorts, and now she would be even more out of sorts, stuck in the castle with the clock ticking to the royal event of the century.
