The Prince’s Forbidden Lover(25)

Giving up on working in her office, she stepped out onto the sales floor and smiled, feeling that same sense of satisfaction that she always felt when customers were milling about, looking at the clothes and, especially when there was a line at the checkout! It was a good sales day, she thought with relish.

She took a deep breath and tried to push her interaction with Rais out of her mind. But by four o’clock that afternoon, she suddenly remembered that he’d said something about dinner.

She couldn’t go to dinner with him! No way! In fact, she would be happy if she never had to face him again! She could just picture the knowing, satisfied expression on his hard, raw features the next time she had to face him. She didn’t want to see that look, thought she might just smack his face if he looked at her with a smug, victorious grin.

By six-thirty that night, she was pretty much a basket case. The evening shift had started and she’d retreated to her office, but all she wanted to do was call Rais and tell him that she couldn’t meet him for dinner that night. Unfortunately, she didn’t have his phone number! Nor did she dare call Shantra to ask for her brother’s contact number, afraid of what her friend might think. Shantra was already excited about Rais’ interest in her while they’d been at the palace. Nope, there was no way she could call her friend and ask for her brother’s cell phone number. She was positive that Shantra would provide the number, but the questions that would ensue would be too difficult to answer. She wasn’t even sure what the answers might be!

Goodness, now she was making up conversations?

Joline sighed, realizing that it was quite possible that she was losing her mind. The man certainly made her crazy.

Maybe she could just leave the shop, head out of here and go back to her apartment. Of course, he probably had the resources to find her home address. And she really didn’t want him to see where she lived. She was embarrassed by the tiny apartment but it suited her needs. Especially since she was rarely there. She worked here too many hours to even consider having a larger apartment. Besides, the smaller size meant lower rent. And lower rent meant she could put more money back into the business.

Her cell phone rang and she grabbed it, hoping that it would be Rais calling to cancel for some reason. Any reason! “You haven’t called to ask me where we are heading tonight,” Keith said without any greeting at all.

Joline closed her eyes. It wasn’t frustration that pumped through her body. No, it was relief. Relief to be hearing Keith’s voice instead of a deeper one would mean something she didn’t want to investigate. Not today, anyway. She didn’t have the mental capacity to figure out what she was feeling right at the moment. In fact, she might not ever have the mental capacity to think about what had happened earlier today. She was more than a little messed up about this morning’s events. “Keith! Sorry, I got caught up in stuff today. I would have eventually called.”

She heard her friend’s laughter at the other end of the call and felt even worse. “I know. I’m just teasing you. Was it a good day today?” he asked.

He wasn’t talking about Rais’ visit earlier, she had to remind herself. He was only asking about the business. It was just her own mind that was wrapped around a single event.

“Yes,” she sighed, clicking the keys on her keyboard to check the sales total for the day. The two of them discussed numbers for several moments even though Joline was trying hard to get off the phone. Her plan to hide away was the best she could come up with, but if she didn’t get out of here soon, Rais was going to show up and she’d be caught. She definitely didn’t want to get caught! Not by Rais! Nope! That man was completely out of her league and so wrong for her future in so many ways. And she was definitely wrong for him!

There could be nothing between the two of them, she thought.

She and Keith discussed sales figures for a few minutes before Joline make up an excuse to get off the phone. She kept glancing at the time at the corner of her computer monitor and it was getting too close to seven o’clock. She had to get out of here! Grabbing her purse she….

“Don’t even try it,” a deep voice said.

Joline had just lifted her cell phone, about to call Shantra and get his contact information. But at the sound of his voice so close behind her, she spun around and almost ran into him.

“Rais!” she gasped and pulled back but his hands immediately reached out to steady her, and to hold her close.

“Are you ready for dinner?” he asked. He looked behind her and noticed the other women, both the staff members as well as the customers, staring at the two of them. Gently he guided her to a more isolated section of the store. He was pretty sure she was going to try and get out of dinner with him, but there was no way he wasn’t spending the evening with this woman. She’d been on his mind all afternoon. He’d actually been distracted during meetings, thinking about the way she felt and her tight heat. All of which he was going to experience again. Very, very soon.