Page 105 of Bred By the Sheikh

Goblin immediately flattened herself against the cushion.

I almost laughed.

“You’re welcome to try.”

The woman reached for her.

Goblin launched herself neatly over the arm of the sofa and disappeared beneath the next chair.

The attendant stopped.

I looked at her.

She looked at me.

Neither of us spoke.

Then Goblin’s paw shot out from beneath the chair and hooked one of the toy mice.

Goblin swatted the mouse into the open and pounced after it, apparently satisfied with that victory. She chased it beneath the sofa, came out the other side with her tail high, and nearly collided with the attendant’s shoes.

I picked up the ring box and turned it once in my hand.

The guest-wing door stayed closed.

I didn’t go near it.

I set the box on the higher table beside me and opened the report on my tablet again. I’d dressed for the day in tailored trousers and an open-collar shirt.

I made it through half a page.

Goblin streaked past carrying the mouse in her mouth.

I made it through another paragraph.

Someone brought breakfast into the adjoining dining room. I heard china touch the table and the quiet movement of staff, nothing more.

I answered one message from Samir about an afternoon call and declined another meeting entirely.

Then I stopped pretending I was reading.

The guest-wing door opened.

Chrissy stepped into the shared sitting room.

My breath deepened at the sight of her.

She wore the cream linen trousers from the estate and the pale coral blouse she’d worn earlier in the week. Her hair fell loose over her shoulders in soft strawberry-blonde waves, and there was no makeup on her face that I could see beyond whatever she’d done to her lashes.

She was carrying her phone.

She wasn’t carrying her suitcase.

That meant nothing.

I stayed seated.

Chrissy saw the ring box on the table.