It was only when her team members started packing away their tools that she realised it was the end of the working day. She stretched and eased out the kinks in her back and neck. Tempted as she was to continue, Priya knew the light would soon fade until its quality wasn’t suitable to do the detailed technical work.

  She hadn’t joined the others for a lunch break and now her stomach was rumbling. It was still a couple of hours before dinner would be served. She went to the break room hoping there would be some fruit or snacks left out. Unfortunately, there wasn’t.

  Instead she headed back to her quarters to cook something for herself. All she could find in the kitchen was some bread, eggs and onions.

  Immediately, her mind went back to the day Rohan had cooked an omelette for her. She grunted out of frustration. Why was it the second she didn’t have physical tasks to occupy her, her thoughts went straight to Rohan? It was the reason she’d avoided taking a lunch break.

  She was physically attracted to him and now she had slept with him. It should have been enough to scratch that itch. It wasn’t and she knew it wouldn’t be. It didn’t alter the fact it was all she could have. The sooner she accepted it and didn’t hope or wish for the impossible she would be able to move on.

  Love, marriage, children weren’t in her future. And if she didn’t know this already, it would never be—could never be—with Rohan.

  Not for the first time, she wished her mother was there to confide in. There was no point wishing she could talk to her father or stepmother. She already knew they weren’t interested in anything she did.

  How could someone who wasn’t loved by her family, the people who were supposed to love her most, ever expect a prince to care about her?

  After dinner, instead of joining the rest of the team in the lounge, she would spend her evening working on her report. The sooner she finished it, the sooner she could hand it over. From now until the end of the project she needed to reduce the chance of meeting with Rohan again.

  She opened her laptop and was pulling up her report when her phone pinged. Not her personal phone, the phone Rohan gave her, with a message asking her to meet him in his private garden in half an hour.

  She’d just given herself a lecture on getting used to being alone, on the necessity, for the sake of her heart, to avoid coming into contact with Rohan. All he’d had to do was send her a text and those sensible decisions evaporated faster than a snowflake would in Adysara’s heat. He was still the royal family member with the interest in the preservation and conservation work, she rationalised. Maybe he wanted to speak to her about their project and the ideas they’d had when they toured Ajanta and Ellora. And maybe he wanted to meet in the garden because he needed the fresh air.

  Whatever the reason, she couldn’t give up the chance to see him again.

  * * *

  Half an hour later, she was on her way to Rohan’s private garden despite her instincts screaming it was a bad idea. Whenever she was in Rohan’s company, her libido threatened to override her common sense.

  She’d already replied to his message saying she would meet him; she couldn’t really change her mind. But it was time to behave sensibly again.

  Now they were back on the island, the same rules from before their weekend applied. She was part of a project team and he was the crown prince. They weren’t going to have clandestine meetings in the garden.

  In fact, the best option would be if they kept their meetings to a minimum—only about work and, preferably, never alone. Priya didn’t know why Rohan asked to see her but she hoped he was thinking along the same lines. She would make her view clear if it wasn’t the reason he wanted to meet.

  He was already in the garden, pacing back and forth by the bench. She stood at the entrance, watching his powerful strides. He glanced at his watch then looked towards the entrance.

  Her heart flipped at the way his face lit up. He never tried to hide how happy he was to see her. Despite her determination, only seconds earlier, when Rohan ran over to her and swept her off her feet, she met his kiss passionately.

  ‘Hey,’ he said, when they finally broke apart.

  ‘Hey.’

  ‘How was your day?’ His mouth moved over her hairline.

  ‘Good. Busy. Making good progress. How was yours?’

  ‘Busy. I spent all day in meetings going through protocols for our guests and running through where I have to stand and when,’ he said, punctuating his words with kisses to her cheeks, her eyelids, her brows and finally her lips again.

  Caught up in the haze of desire, it took a while for his reminder that the gala was more than a big party for him to penetrate her consciousness. It should have been enough to stop their embrace but Priya didn’t want to let go.

  ‘No regrets about the weekend?’ Rohan asked, when they finally stopped kissing.

  ‘None. What about you?’

  ‘Only that it couldn’t have been for longer.’

  A warm glow flowed through her at his admission. If only they’d met months or even years before so they could have spent real time together before his responsibilities inevitably pulled them apart. It didn’t seem fair that the weekend was all they could have.

  ‘But it can’t be,’ she said, taking a few steps away. ‘We knew that.’

  He walked up to her, taking her hand to lead her to a bench where he pulled her onto his lap. ‘Let’s not talk about it now. I’ve been waiting to see you all day.’

  The next minutes were spent with little talking and lots of long, drugging kisses and caresses until they were panting and dishevelled. Priya got off Rohan’s lap and sat next to him to put herself back in order.

  ‘Will you meet me tomorrow, same time?’ he asked.

  She almost laughed from pure delight at the realisation he couldn’t bear to say goodbye. After so many years, and bad relationships where she’d felt unloved and uncared for, it was a heady feeling to be wanted by such a caring, thoughtful, gorgeous man.

  ‘Is that possible?’ she asked, eagerly. ‘Isn’t your time going to be spent getting ready for the gala, greeting your guests. I heard some of them have started to arrive already.’

  ‘Some guests from the States,’ he admitted. ‘I haven’t met them yet, but I’ll meet them over dinner. But it doesn’t mean I can’t spend time with you.’

  Priya hesitated. Was continuing to meet Rohan wise when he would be meeting potential brides in a few days?’

  ‘Priya, I’m not promised to anyone yet. We aren’t doing anything wrong by meeting here. We’re not hurting anyone.’

  Priya wasn’t sure it was entirely true. She suspected the way she was feeling was going to lead to a whole load of hurt for her soon.

  But she could deal with that afterwards. She’d have the rest of her life to deal with it. For now, she was going to grab on to a small sliver of happiness with Rohan while she could.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ROHAN STOOD ERECT, dressed in his official regalia, behind his father’s throne. He was at the first official event for the gala celebration—the formal receiving of the guests.

  Each family would walk up the long, carpeted aisle, make their pranam or bow, receive a nod from his father and a smile from his mother before moving off to the side to watch the next family enter.

  It was old-fashioned. It was pomp and circumstance. It was slightly ridiculous but it was tradition.

  He’d already met most of the guests, informally, as they arrived over the past week. There were several eligible women present, but he’d been careful about how much time he spent in their company.

  Everybody knew this year’s gala was also where he would be looking for his future wife. If he gave one particular woman more attention than any of the others, he could risk gossip and speculation. Since he had no intention of carefully calculating how long he spent with someone and making sure he spent the same amount of time with everyone else, it was easier if he restricted himself to only meeting when everyone was together.

  At least that’s what he told himself. If he was being completely honest, there was only one woman who he wanted to spend time with. And she wasn’t even allowed in the palace at the moment.

  Since they’d returned from Aurungabad, they’d met every evening after work in his garden. He wanted to cover her with kisses, with his body and make love to her over and over. But he knew he had to maintain some distance so he restricted himself to holding her in his arms. And they talked. And it had to be enough.

  As soon as he was finished with the reception line, he went to his room to change out of his uniform. He tried to be patient as his staff helped him remove the regalia and handle it careful when he really wanted to fling it off him and get to the garden as soon as possible. From tomorrow, the festivities would begin in earnest and he wouldn’t have the time to leave the palace. Who knew when he would get the chance to see Priya alone again?

  He was sure his family knew where he was going in the evenings, and he had to tell his assistant where he would be for security purposes—but once they were in the garden and closed the door, the walls provided a sanctuary. As if the walls were keeping the secret of his relationship with Priya.

  She smiled when she saw him, walking over to greet him with a hug. Although he knew he shouldn’t, the realisation this could be the last time he was holding her made him hold on tighter, lowering his head and lifting her mouth to his.

  She didn’t push him away, meeting his kisses with a reciprocal passion.

  He held her away from him slightly, drinking her in, committing her form to his memory. She looked so beautiful and serene in the moonlight. She would make an incredible queen. It wasn’t fair he wasn’t free to choose her.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  TWO DAYS LATER, it was the night of the gala ball and Priya was in the town centre with the rest of her company, watching the dance performance which was part of the celebrations which had been put on for the islanders and other people who weren’t attending the ball itself.

  They’d already had a long and lavish meal which had been arranged on behalf of the royal family. She could understand how all the islanders looked forward to this gala week, and this evening in particular. The atmosphere was relaxed, fun, informal. She wondered whether the people at the palace were having as much fun. Ever since Rohan had mentioned his dance tutor, in her imagination, the ball was like a scene from a Regency film with groups of dancers moving in formation to set pieces.

  What would Rohan be doing? He must have been spending time with all his guests, with the large number of women who had come to Adysara knowing Rohan was looking for a queen. Perhaps at that moment he was dancing with the woman who would be his future bride.

  ‘This is amazing,’ one of her co-workers said. ‘They really know how to throw a party.’

  ‘Think what the actual gala is like if this is the non-official one,’ another co-worker replied. ‘Think about what the wedding festivities will be like. I hope I’m still working here when it happens.’

  ‘We probably will be here,’ the first speaker said. ‘I heard the wedding usually happens within eighteen months of this event. Priya, do you think we’ll still be working here?’

  Priya forced her mouth to smile. ‘It’s a long project,’ she replied, although a hollow pit had formed in her stomach.

  How had she failed to realise the next big celebration on the island would be Rohan’s wedding. If she continued working on the preservation and conservation of the stonework on Adysara then she could still be on the island when he got married. She would have to watch it happen.

  The idea was devastating.

  She’d always understood Rohan couldn’t offer her a future. He’d been clear about that and she’d been under no illusions. It wasn’t something she could protest against, even if she was the kind of person who kicked up a fuss. It was simply a fact. It was what it was.

  But it was one thing to know on an intellectual level Rohan couldn’t be hers and another to actually see him married to someone else, out of her reach for ever.

  She stumbled back as if she’d been punched in the gut.

  This reaction wasn’t the kind she would have if this was simply a short-lived love affair coming to an end. The pain she was reeling from was worse than when any of her former boyfriends, men she believed she was in love with, ended things with her.

  She needed time and space, and quiet, to process what her reaction meant. She should head back to her room. There was too much activity here, too much noise, it was too full of life. She needed to be alone.

  Her phone vibrated—the phone Rohan had given her. She wished she had the strength to ignore it, but she took it out of her handbag and read the message from Rohan asking him to meet her in the garden.

  She frowned. The last time they’d met, he’d told her he wouldn’t be able to come to the garden while the gala festivities were taking place. Although he hadn’t specifically said so, she assumed from that point on the only times she would see him would be on a professional basis because he would have surely met and narrowed down his choice of potential brides and would be expected to entertain them.

  Why, then, was he asking her to meet him? Was something wrong?

  But a rational part of her knew by now this behaviour was par for the course for them. So many times they’d made agreements they weren’t able to stick to—first they’d agreed there could be no relationship between them, then they’d agreed it would be a short weekend fling and everything would be back to normal when they were back in Adysara, afterward they’d agreed they would only meet until the gala festivities began, but they hadn’t kept to that agreement either.

  Rohan constantly showed her how much he liked spending time with her. It was almost as if he wasn’t ready to say it was over.

  Priya felt a heaviness in her chest. Soon what they wanted wouldn’t matter. Rohan didn’t have a choice in his future. He would have to marry for the good of Adysara. Soon he would forget about her completely while she would always cling on to her memories of their time together.

  ‘Enjoying yourself, Priya?’ Mac asked, coming over to her, an almost welcome interruption to her introspections.

  ‘Yes. It’s been brilliant.’

  ‘I hear the dancers are going to invite us to join them in the centre soon. You should prepare yourself.’

  ‘To be honest, Mac, I’m getting a bit of a headache. The incense probably. I may go back to my room and take a quick nap. I’ll join you all later. It’s going to be a long night.’

  He nodded but didn’t say anything. She was sure her absences most evenings had been noticed by her co-workers. She still tried to spend as much time with them as she could, wanting to get to know them properly in case she worked with them in the future. But she couldn’t give up the brief moments of time she got to spend with Rohan.

  She was also sure many people suspected she had a lover, although she doubted anyone would guess it was Rohan. She wasn’t the only team member who’d found romance on the island. But as long as they were safe, and it wasn’t interfering with their work, as far as Priya was concerned it was none of her business. She hoped they gave her the same courtesy.

  As she started walking back to the palace grounds, her thoughts about Rohan, and the conservation project, and his wedding, and his queen came flooding back. Why it did it matter so much to her? When she’d heard a previous boyfriend of hers had married, she hadn’t batted an eyelid. Their relationship was over—she’d done her crying at the time. But Rohan made her feel cherished and adored in a way she’d never experienced before. Was that the reason why it felt different this time even though she’d gone into this relationship with open eyes? She wasn’t the kind of person who expected weddings and doting husbands and children to be in her future.

  She’d accepted the reality of becoming involved with a prince and she knew she wasn’t good enough to be his queen. There was no future for them. So why was she having so much trouble with the idea Rohan was getting married soon?

  She slowed her pace as she approached the garden, taking some breaths to calm herself. She didn’t want Rohan to guess at any of her turbulent thoughts. He was already far too perceptive.

  Inside the garden, there were a few lanterns dotted around the wall but most of the area was in shadow. When she met Rohan there previously, it had heightened the romantic ambience. Now it felt lonely. For the first time ever she was a little scared of the garden.

  ‘Hello,’ she called out nervously.

  ‘Hi,’ a deep rumble came from the trees. Warmth flooded through her when she heard Rohan’s voice. All of a sudden, her concerns and fears dissolved away, comforted by his presence.

  As Rohan stepped into the light, she sighed with relief. A small part of her had worried Rohan’s message was because something bad had happened. But she could see he looked all right. He looked more than all right. He looked rakishly handsome in his cream prince’s jacket with gold-and-red kalka pattern on his sleeves and his rich red epaulettes with gold brocade.

  He took one of her hands in each of his and gave them a light squeeze. ‘Hi,’ he said again with an irresistible grin.

  ‘Hi,’ she replied with a light laugh. ‘What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be waltzing around a dance floor somewhere?’

  ‘There’s a refreshment break.’ His fingers gently stroked her palms causing her body to heat. She made an effort to be sensible.

  ‘Then aren’t you expected to chat with your potential brides? Won’t they be looking for you?’ She tried hard to keep the bitterness from her tone but his questioning look showed she hadn’t succeeded.

  ‘I told my family I would be in my rooms for twenty minutes.’

  ‘Okay.’ So why was he in the garden with her instead? He didn’t seem in any hurry to tell her his reason.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17