His Forbidden Princess(41)

“You should let them take you to hospital,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”



“I don’t want to leave you. There are going to be a lot of questions.”



“I’ll handle it.”



And she would.



Princess Sofia had taken down two dangerous insurgents with a hockey stick and a bottle of window cleaner. She’d kept her wits about her and had acted in a way he hoped his agents would act in a crisis.

She acted the way a leader should act in a crisis.

And her country needed that more than ever.

“I’m going to tell the truth, Ian,” she said. “There’s nothing hard about that.”



He couldn’t argue with her, but over the past few days he’d learned that arguing with Sofie was usually a pointless exercise.



She took both his hands in hers and he could feel her incredible spirit, her warmth, seep into him. “Please let them take care of you?”



Her eyes were clear, her voice steady. She was beautiful and confident, a living example of the word noble. There was no question about what he had to do. He had to go.



“You were amazing today,” he whispered. “I love you. Never forget that.”



“Sofia,” the deep voice from the doorway was the Ambassador from the Aubonnian

Embassy whom he recently discovered was Sofie’s uncle.



Sofie rose and hugged her uncle, made introductions, and by then, Ian was trying to focus on getting out of there. He had to get out before he broke and asked her to stay with him forever.

Mercifully, the medical evac helicopter had arrived.



She bent in to kiss him. This was one of those times when doing the right thing made you want to die. When he was with Sofie his heart beat stronger, his purpose in life was clear, everything was right. The brush of her lips against his and the back of Sofie’s hand stroked his cheek. The tenderness of each touch broke his heart. She didn’t know it yet, but they were over, and Ian hoped she didn’t hate him too much when she realized they wouldn’t be together.



Sofie had things to do, important things, and Ian wasn’t about to hold her back.





Chapter Eight


“Your next meeting is in ten minutes, Your Highness. The Counselor General would like to go over your statement again regarding what happened when you were in New York.”



Sofie stretched her arms over her head, not sure she could take another minute of

questions from the Counselor General. “This is getting tedious. I wonder why the counselor can’t read his notes from our previous meeting.”



Her new personal secretary, Sara, was a flaxen-haired young lady from Britain with ties to the royal family. She’d graduated from Oxford with honors, and spoke six languages. Sofie liked her very much, because she brought to her work a level of refinement that made old Louis look like a circus act.



“If you’d like, I can remind him that I sent extensive notes from both your prior

meetings.”



“If he wants to talk again, I’ll take you up on it.” Sofie thought Sara might need a raise.



Sara was a love, and one of the only people who didn’t ask her ten times a day if she was alright. Which she wasn’t. When she got up and left the room, Sofie had time to think, to go inside her own head, and that was a dangerous place to be.



Leaning forward and bracing her elbows on her knees, Sofie surveyed her palace office.

She hated it and there was no good reason. It had been fully redecorated in the two months since she’d been home from her ordeal in the States. The walls were a soft, buttery yellow; the furniture wasn’t stiff or formal, but relaxed and easy with dark, earthy wood tones and soft, supple fabrics. It was a mood she wanted to create.



Of course, when she'd first come home and settled back into her role, she was a very different person. That person was happy, optimistic, and looking forward to the future. She was in love. But now? The person she’d become was brokenhearted and sad. Still in love, but resigned to a life without it.



Which was why everyone was worried. Why Ella checked on her constantly. Why her

parents hovered. Why her sister regularly asked how she was feeling. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could tell them.



Sofie had no idea why Ian had cut her off without a word. They’d been so happy and, with the threat to her family gone, she was free to think about a life with him--the life they talked about when they were shut in the big house on the water. The place where she found herself.



Now there was nothing, just a hole in her heart and questions that would never be

answered.



Walking to the window, Sofie looked out at the formal gardens. It was a gorgeous late summer day, sunny with bright blue skies. It wasn’t too hot thanks to the gentle breeze blowing down from the mountains. One of the servants was playing with the dogs, two silly Labrador Retrievers, on the great lawn. Sofie wished she could have that job. Yes, being a dog nanny was a truly pleasant idea. It was much more pleasant than having another conversation with the General Counsel, or speaking to Parliament.