“Can we not do this?” She pleaded with him.
“Meredith,” his voice gentled immediately, and he sighed. “Are you all right?”
She could lie, but she didn’t want to. Not anymore. “No, Bastian, I’m not all right. I haven’t been for a long time, and I don’t want to dothisanymore.”
“Darling, you’re upset.”
“Yes, I’m upset. I’m unhappy and I’m tired of feeling like the dirty little secret kept in the closet. I just want it all over. I want—” Everything.You.But she swallowed the words and fought the tears in her eyes. “I need to not do this. Can you please understand?”
“Idon’tunderstand.” He gritted his teeth, and the grinding echoed over the line. “Everything was fine and then you tell me you wish to end it. No warning, no complaints—merely over. Ineedto see you. I know we can work this out if you will simply talk to me.”
“Talking to you is the problem. We’ll end up in bed and we’ll make love and you’ll say everything the right way, but at the end of it? I’ll come back here, you’ll go back to your life andnothingwill have changed. I don’t want to live my life on constant hold anymore. I can’t do it. Everything wasn’t fine and it hasn’t been. Let me go. Leave Terry alone. Go find some princess you can crown or some other mistress to make you happy. I don’t have it in me anymore.” Tears slid down her face and she wanted to curse. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry, but it hurt so damn much.
“Meredith, I don’t want any other woman. I‘ll send the plane for you. Come, meet me. We’ll talk. I promise not to make love to you until you’ve said everything you think I need to hear.” Bless him for the irritated condescension in his voice because it worked to dry up her tears.
“I can’t tell you how really generous of you the promise sounds.” She sniffed and swiped away her tears. “But I told you no. I realize it must be difficult for you, Your Highness, to be told no. You’ll forgive me for being crass, but I have tried to explain. You are refusing to understand. I will not be sent for. I will not be brought to you. The living for your beck and call part of my life is over.”
“Don’t. Hang. Up.” The order rang over the line and locked her fingers before she could depress the end call button. “Meredith, you can be angry at me. You can throw things at me, but I will notallowyou to ignore me. Doyouunderstand?”
“Allow me?” Pulling the phone away, she stared at the empty screen as if trying to read his face thousands of miles away. If it were her phone, she might very well have thrown it across the room. Putting it back to her ear, she blew out a breath and said, “I’m not one of your—” The click on the other end told her he wasn’t there anymore.
I’ll be damned.He’d hung up on her.
Chapter 3
Sebastian
After confessing his affair with Meredith to Armand, Sebastian excused himself to meet with Peterson and Vidal. Both men provided very clear visions of how they wanted the visit to Minsk to proceed. Sebastian listened and offered little in the way of changes, though he irritated Peterson by going with Vidal’s specifics over his.
Unfortunately for Peterson, Vidal’s personal efforts saved Sebastian’s life. Twice. His actions lent weight and credence to his word over any other, even if the other person was the head of Armand’s U.S. security forces. After the meeting, he walked into another with Anna and the Dagmar Foundation to go over a list of appearances they were hoping he could commit to, and a follow up meeting with the specifics of the foundation’s goals in Belaria.
Six weeks was not a tremendous amount of time to plan a visit which would hopefully achieve Armand’s agenda. The rushed nature of the planning sessions, coupled with their desire to limit the visibility of his public schedule all played an important role in the design. They didn’t want to give anyone the idea of the visit’s importance. He wished they could scrapthe whole damn thing, but Armand was right. The familyneededhim to act.
By the time he returned to his suite, he was not in the best of moods. When his calls to Meredith’s cell phone continued to go to voicemail, he ordered Vidal contact O’Connor. The call had gone less than well, though he’d been profoundly grateful to hear Meredith’s voice.
The sadness in her tone cut deeper than the assassin’s blade, which nearly killed him so many months before when it nicked his ribs and punctured his lung. Rubbing a hand against his side as if to soothe tentacles of remembered pain, Sebastian paced over to the window. He needed to go to Boston. If she required groveling to let him in the door, then he’d bloody well grovel.
But they needed to talk.
Why the hell is she having dinner with O’Connor?It made no sense. The man provided security. It was his job to oversee her general protection and to maintain a low profile, but he was there for her protection.
Furious and frustrated with the whole debacle, he was through with O’Connor stepping out of line. He’d all but sacked the man over the phone, and she’d rushed to his defense. Even her anger had been preferable to the tears shedding in her voice. He’d infuriated her on purpose, but it proved too easy. Regretting hanging up nearly as soon as he’d done it, he reached for the desk phone to order the plane.
The phone rang before he reached it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t merely ignore it. He picked it up on the second ring. “Yes?”
“Come up to the penthouse.” Armand didn’t leave him any room to refuse because it wasn’t an invitation. “We need to discuss your earlier matter.”
“Of course.” He didn’t sigh or scowl. His brother expected his cooperation, so he would acquiesce. At least when he’dexplained all of it to Armand earlier, his sibling actually listened to the whole sordid story without comment. If he’d summoned Sebastian, perhaps he’d come up with something to say on the matter. “I will be right there.”
Disconnecting, he picked up his discarded jacket and checked his tie. Pausing for a moment, he adjusted the tiepin. A gift from Meredith their first Christmas, it was his favorite. Silver, it didn’t quite fit with most of his ties, but his valet always managed to find one to match it. The penthouse was one floor above and the elevator opened as soon as he stepped out of his suite. Security released the elevator to ride to the top floor.
The family owned the Petersburg Tower and no one passed the thirtieth floor without clearance from security to access the family’s private apartments. Kyle Johnson stood outside the penthouse door along with another man. Their presence warned Sebastian. Armand and Anna must be entertaining. Security did not maintain a presence on the floor when the couple was alone.
Not even if Anna began throwing things.
Johnson inclined his head and opened the door to admit him. However, not even the men at the door could have prepared him for the room full of people awaiting him. In addition to Armand and his bride, George lounged in one chair, while Alyx and her husband Daniel occupied one of the sofas. Richard took up another chair with his fiancée, Kate, perched on the arm. Stopping just inside the room, Sebastian frowned.
“Come, join us, Sebastian.” Armand rose and walked over to the bar.
