Because I would have objected…and I walked out angry again.Maybe he’d done the right thing. She wanted the man so much it hurt, but God help her, she didn’t know if she wanted his life.
By the timeshe boarded the plane in Ravello, Meredith was a bundle of nerves. As expected, Kate Braddock waited for her onboard with all of her papers. Gencome proved to be a capable companion, but the Frenchman said very little and his watchfulness only increased her tension. She’d received no phone call from Sebastian, but maybe he was still en route in Belaria. It wasn’t as though he’d told her how he planned to travel or mentioned his expected arrival time.
It made her sick to her stomach with worry, and she was quiet when she settled into the seat across from Kate. After buckling in, she stared out the window. Had it been merely a week since she’d sat in the same seat? Her entire world shifted in the space of seven days.
All around her, staff prepared the private plane for takeoff and she sighed.
“You look tired,” Kate said into the quiet, reminding Meredith of her presence. Where on the first flight Terry sat next to her, Gencome chose another set of seats closer to the main door which allowed her a modicum of privacy.
“Then I look how I feel.” She tried for a smile, but gave up when even her poor attempt seemed more trouble than it was worth. “Thank you for bringing my things.”
“No problem.” The other woman settled back and crossed one leg over the other. “It gets easier.”
“What does?”
“The lifestyle of being royal and under siege.” A faint smile curved the other woman’s lips, but Meredith couldn’t tell if she was serious or not based on her dry tone.
“I thought you were engaged to an attorney.” Meredith wasn’t sure if the same rules applied.
“I am and he spends a lot of time with the family.” When she didn’t offer further details, Meredith assumed she was done. The jets outside began to power up and the plane began to taxi forward. “But the key to surviving all the nonsense is to focus on what’s important.”
Digging her fingers into the armrests, Meredith tried to ignore the churning in her gut as the plane began to hurtle down the runway. “You’re being subtle on purpose and I appreciate the effort, but my heart isn’t in this particular game at the moment.”
“I’m not playing a game. Being royal kind of sucks. Don’t get me wrong, it has perks, too. It’s definitely a trade-off.” Kate shrugged. “Of course, I don’t understand you and Sebastian.”
“What do you mean?” She blew out a breath and studied her companion, but Kate’s expression bordered on neutral.
“It means exactly what I said. I don’t understand you. The two of you were in a relationship for five years. One day, you decided it was over and pretty much gave up. When you told him it’s over, he moved heaven and earth to get you both in the same place. I get it didn’t go as well as you might have hoped and bullets are not a romantic enhancement, but I was under the impression you two worked things out. Instead, when I talked tohim, he sounded dead inside. Now, you look like someone kicked your dog.”
The plane leveled and Meredith’s stomach lodged somewhere near her feet. “He left without saying goodbye after we fought because he’d made decisions without including me.” She disliked everything about the situation.
Kate nodded as if her answer made perfect sense. “Okay.”
Her simple response gave Meredith pause. “Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. At least it explains why you look like someone kicked your dog.” A light flashed overhead. Kate pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and checked the screen.
“I’m glad I enlightened you.” Fresh irritation rasped her already bad mood.
The other woman didn’t look up from the cell phone. “Don’t snap at me. I didn’t let him do it.”
“I hardly think I did, either. You participated in the charade to get me to the island in the first place, so obviously you know more about the whole situation than I have been advised. Do me a favor? Either fill me in or leave me alone.”
Setting the phone down on her thigh, Kate pinned her with a stare. “You know for someone who is arguably a genius—and yes, I did look at your background check and your record—you’re really dumb.”
Meredith felt her jaw go slack. The statement, delivered in calm assessment, lacked the sting of insult, yet delivered a more than solid whack to her pride.
“Seriously, you see a man for five years, let him set all the terms and you know he’s been raised to be in charge. He lives in a world where decisions come down like they are at the right hand of God, yet you’re shocked when he doesn’t involve you?” Kate’s brows inched upwards. “Word to the wise? You want to be involved, you involve yourself.”
“You make it sound so easy.” Meredith spread her hands and leaned forward.
“If it were easy, it probably wouldn’t be worth it. I like this family. They’re arrogant, and they’re more than a little entitled at times, but they’re good people. So, decide if you want to be with him or not. Decide who you want to be when you’re at his side because, if you don’t, this life will crush you like a bug then you won’t be good for anyone, least of all him.” If the first wasn’t enough, she wasn’t finished. “He wants to protect you more than he does his own life. He was the target on the island, yet he coveredyou. He keeps the press out of your life and very focused on him, but when you stood up to him, what happened?”
Who the hell was this woman to judge?Meredith’s spine stiffened and she lifted her chin. “He tricked me into meeting him, a brilliant move on his part.” One she could applaud for tackling game theory when her response was the most uncertain variable he faced and he’d done it. His actions were beautifully romantic. “I love him. I have decided where I want to be and maybe I won’t be any good at it, but I assure you, I can learn anything and I will learn how to do this. This trip he’s on? It’s dangerous, but he refused to let me go with him.”
“Men. Brilliantly possessive, incredibly protective, and wildly hardheaded. And you let him leave?”
“I could hardly stop him.” What did Kate want her to do?
