The Dreaming Of... Collection. Оливия Гейтс
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answer emerged shakier than she would’ve wished.
‘Cross Petra Nikolova off your list. We dated briefly once. She’s been known to take certain banned substances on occasion. The last thing I intend to foist on my subjects is a drug-dabbling queen. And you can also delete Sienna Hamilton.’
Every single good intention fled out of her head. Her anxiety ramped up, along with a buzzing in her head and a sick feeling in her stomach she shockingly diagnosed as writhing jealousy. Coupled with the suspected extra hormones raging through her body, Jasmine had to lock her knees and count to ten before she could speak.
‘What’s wrong with Miss Hamilton?’ Her voice trembled in a way she detested.
When his eyes locked on hers, his expression was far from mocking. ‘She’s a serial cheater. She’s discreet about it, but I prefer not to wonder in who else’s bed my wife has been when I return home at night.’
She stared at him, dying to ask why pain clouded his eyes when he talked about adultery. But, unwilling to drive the knife that seemed to be wedged in her chest further, she wiped the question from her mind. Realising she hadn’t taken a breath since Reyes mentioned kissing other women, Jasmine forced herself to breathe.
‘You realise that leaves me with just three candidates?’ she said around the knot in her throat. It was three more than she wanted to deal with, but she couldn’t see any way around this harrowing task.
He cracked a hard, sad smile. ‘Then you need to make doubly sure they are right for the job.’ His tone said she was dismissed.
Which was good because Jasmine couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Except she couldn’t leave just yet.
Reyes raised his head when she retraced her steps to his desk. ‘Can I help you with something else?’
‘I need to go into town this morning.’
He frowned. ‘Why?’
Because I need to know whether my life is about to change for ever.
‘I need stuff.’
He looked down his nose at her. Waited.
A blush warmed her cheeks. ‘Women’s stuff.’
Her tiny hope for him to feel a little bit of her embarrassment died a quick death when he returned his attention to his papers.
‘Reyes? Can I get one of your men to drive me into town?’
‘No,’ he replied.
‘Come on—’
‘I’ll drive you myself. We’ll go after lunch.’
No, no, no!
* * *
Entering the solarium, she sank into the nearest lounger, clenched her fingers around the tablet to stop them shaking.
She tried to reason with herself. The likelihood that a crown prince would be caught shopping for feminine products in a chemist was very minimal.
But then so had the likelihood of her ending up in his bed in Rio. The odds that she could be pregnant with Reyes’s child were one in a million, but she knew to her cost that fate was vested in singling her out for her parlour tricks.
She could be worrying over nothing. The tenderness in her breasts could be the result of her imagination. Or the residual effect of Reyes caressing them last night...
She forced herself to look at the list of candidates she needed to contact...and flung the tablet away. Covering her face with her hands, she caught a low moan before it escaped.
What was wrong with her? One night of sex and one heavy-kissing session with Reyes Navarre and she couldn’t handle the idea of him with another woman? No, she couldn’t deny that her feelings were more to do with the fact that she might be carrying his baby. And the growing sense that she couldn’t stand the thought of him being married to someone else whether his child was growing inside her or not.
Would Reyes go ahead with marrying someone else if she was carrying his child, or would he consider another option? Like her...
Hope rose up inside her. She pushed it away.
She was going crazy...
He would never consider her in a million years. Her heart lurched. Shaking her head, she focused on the names.
One young duchess. One daughter of a media mogul. One self-made millionaire with an extensive philanthropic background.
On paper any one of the remaining three could be crown princess material and would no doubt do whatever it took to secure the attention, if not the heart, of a man like Reyes Navarre.
So get a move on...
The quicker she got this over with, the quicker she could return to her life. Forget all about Reyes and the feel of his mouth on hers, his strong arms around her.
By the time Reyes strode into the solarium, Jasmine had secured the enthusiastic agreement of all three and had arranged for their travel to Paris.
‘Something’s come up. I can’t take you into town. Make a list of what you need. I’ll have Carmelita get them for you.’
Her stomach lurched in a queasy roll. Having Reyes find out what she suspected before she knew for sure was out of the question. ‘Umm...I’d rather get them myself. If you’re busy, it can wait till we get to Paris.’
He frowned, but nodded and walked away.
Jasmine wasn’t proud of taking the coward’s way out, buying herself some more time before she had to face whatever fate had in store for her. So when the tears stung her eyes, she raced up the stairs to her room and let them fall.
* * *
‘You’ll be dining with the duchess at the Paris Ultime this evening at eight. I’ve reserved a private dining room for you and once you review the menu I can provide it to the private chef who’ll be catering for you. The duchess is allergic to shellfish. Oh, and she doesn’t eat carbs after six, so she requests that a bread basket not be served. She can’t resist the temptation, apparently.’ Jasmine made her voice crisp, businesslike, so the pain of the vice tightening around her heart wouldn’t bleed through her voice.
Reyes raised an eyebrow at her as their limo left the private airport and drove towards the French capital.
‘You think it’s a good sign that the woman who’s to bring hope to my people can’t resist a simple bread basket?’
Jasmine shrugged. ‘We all have our faults. If hers is a simple carbs issue, then you’re all set.’ She tried to keep her voice light, but the stone wedged in her belly made even thought difficult.
The last thing she wanted to discuss was the eating habits of Reyes’s future queen.
‘Do you resist bread baskets after six, Jasmine?’
God, why couldn’t she stop her heart from flipping over each time he said her name like that? ‘Nope. Bread is a vice I happily embrace.’
The moment the words were out of her mouth, she regretted it. A chill permeated the atmosphere. Reyes stared at her, tight jawed. Jasmine wondered whether to apologise, but then dismissed it. She’d apologised enough. She was here, making amends. Even if it involved doing a job every fibre of her being rejected.
After several minutes, she cleared her throat. ‘Liliana Simpson will have lunch with you tomorrow, and I’ve scheduled Berenice Holden for an early dinner. Once you make your decision, I’ll liaise with your royal press secretary about making an announcement. I’ve also arranged for a few photographers to take some pictures...’ She stopped when his jaw clenched harder. ‘What?’
‘One camera, one photograph, one photographer.’ His tone was acid.
‘But I thought you wanted the