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“No. It’s just me and Max and Nana.”
His brow furrowed slightly. “Your parents?”
I shook my head, smiling softly. “They passed away a long time ago.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said, reaching up to take his hand. “Really, it’s fine. I don’t remember them.”
Adam gave my fingers a gentle squeeze. I adored the warmth in his eyes.
Another knock sounded at the door. It was Liam.
He looked exceptionally dashing today in his black suit with matching black tie. He was in the middle of inserting his radio’s earpiece when he said, “Cars here. We move out in five.” I didn’t miss the way he glanced at Adam holding my hand. I thought I caught a flicker of something past his normally stoic expression.
It wasn’t jealousy, but something more along the lines of… approval?
“Copy that,” Adam replied. “Are you ready to go, your grace?”
I giggled. “As I’ll ever be.”
* * *
There weretwo identical black SUVs waiting for us in the parking lot. Adam and Liam were assigned to me, while Charlie and Kris were assigned to protect Duchess Arianna.
I was personally relieved that I wouldn’t be riding in the same car as Kris. I could still feel his hands all over me, the ghost sensation of his kiss against my lips. The last thing I wanted right now was to be distracted by him and the endlesswhat ifsracing through my mind.
We took two separate routes to get to our location. Liam drove while Adam sat in the passenger seat as designated point man. I sat in the back, looking out the tinted window to take in the streets of Macau.
The streets were very clean, lined on both sides by towering high-density apartment buildings. It was a beautiful mix of modern-day buildings with hints of Chinese and Portuguese architecture. Decorative tropical trees lined the sidewalks in brick planters, sprinkling bits of green against the otherwise pale grey cityscape.
It was interesting navigating the plentiful one-way streets, cars parked neatly on each side with a center lane for traffic. The locals seemed to prefer to walk or ride on motorcycles and scooters, which offered far more mobility on the narrow streets.
When we arrived at our location ? a massive office building in Sé, the financial district of Macau ? I was surprised to find a large group of people waiting out front on the curb. Several of them were holding up paper signs with the duchess’ name splashed across the front. By the looks of it, they were a mix of fans and reporters.
“The hell?” Adam grumbled. “I thought Charlie told management to station their security officers.”
“Where’d all these people come from?” I asked. “Did they know the duchess was coming today?”
“Her schedule must have been leaked, though I have no sweet clue how.”
Liam’s grip on the steering wheel was so tight that his knuckles were white. “Let’s move fast. Sam, are you ready?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t ready at all. Even after all the training they put me through, being here and in the moment surrounded by a sea of faces all crowding around the car, made me realize just how out of my depth I was.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said, putting on my sunglasses to conceal the color of my eyes.
Adam and Liam vacated the car first, using their massive frames to part the immense swarm. I could hear them both barking at people to move out of the way, to give us some space, but nobody seemed to be listening. The second Adam got the door open, and Liam managed to get a protective arm around me, a frenzy ensued.
The blinding flash of camera lights left spots across my vision. People were screaming, cheering Duchess Arianna’s name. Pieces of paper and pens were shoved in my face as people demanded a signature. Some tried to grab my hand to shake. Others simply stood in the way; their phones held up in an attempt to take a selfie with the duchess in frame.
It was overwhelming. Loud and bright and suffocating. I felt like a sardine squished in a can, unable to move without being buffeted by the crowd. Were it not for Liam and Adam on either side of me, I wouldn’t have managed a single step forward.
We were just about to reach the front doors of the office when suddenly, someone grabbed my wrist and yanked.Hard.
I stumbled back, nearly losing my footing. My sunglasses were knocked loose and wound up trampled underfoot as the crowd surrounded me. When I looked up, a man ? one of the photographers ? had me in his grasp.
“You’re not the duchess,” he realized. “Where is she?”
