We reached a set of double doors. Pushing inside into a living room area, one guard, his accent thickly Slavic, motioned to another set of double doors. “The couple.”
He twisted toward the opposite side and motioned at another set of doors. “You.”
I winced a little at the curt exchange, offering a weak, “Thanks,” before they left us behind, slamming the doors and locking them from the outside.
“Wow,” Ava said with a shake of her head.
“Really. Bro, you know how to pick ‘em. A queen?”
“Queen Regent,” I reminded him, still not certain I understood the term. “But I’m pretty certain it kills my chances with her.”
“Why do you say that? She seems into you,” Ava answered.
“She’s royalty, Ava. Those people don’t marry normal people.”
Alex clapped me on the shoulder. “You’re not normal, bro. Face it.”
“Okay, fine, Mr. Comedy. I’m not normal. But they don’t marry abnormal people like me. They marry other royalty or people who are carefully vetted. I probably won’t even pass the ‘stay in the castle another night’ test.”
“Yeah, they are being weirdly secretive,” Ava said, crossing her arms as she sank into one of the antique-looking chairs. “What’s with all the security?”
“Probably normal for royalty.”
“Okay, so why was she in the Hamptons on her own?” Ava shot back.
“Escaped?” I suggested. “Wanted a few hours to pretend to be normal?”
Ava narrowed her eyes, clearly unhappy with the answer as she tightened her arms across her chest. “It doesn’t add up.”
“Okay, so what then?” I asked.
Alex settled onto the couch, clasping his hands as he leaned forward. “I don’t know, but something is definitely off.”
I collapsed into an armchair, rubbing my eyes. “How do these things always happen to me? We’ll probably be sent packingtomorrow morning, and I’ll be straight back to where I started in terms of relationships.”
Alex offered me a consoling glance. “Sorry, bro. Tough break, though Sparky warned you that there was something weird about her.”
I covered my face with my hands. “I know, I know. I should have listened. I totally should have listened.”
With a sigh, I let my arms drop. “Still…this puts a whole new spin on my terrible luck.”
“I’m still not convinced you’re going to be sent packing,” Ava answered.
I furrowed my brow as I stared at her. “Huh? Are you serious?”
Ava lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “If they wanted to get rid of us, they would have. They’re vetting us. We’re being kept here for a reason.”
“What?” I asked.
Ava chewed her lower lip, her gaze in mid-space. “I don’t know. But I do think she’s into you. But there’s way more going on here than meets the eye.”
I raised my eyebrows. Was I being kept here because Nattie liked me? Or was there something more nefarious going on?
CHAPTER 18
NATASHA
Apiece of my heart went with me as Kyle left the room. So many hopes were pinned on him. The warmth of his connection had given me so much strength–strength I’d desperately needed after the confrontation with Nikolai.
