Page 61 of Scarred Crown

‘Your father. He’d like you to come home.” She doesn’t look up from her page until she finishes her final sentence.

“You must have told him that’s not happening, correct?”

“Why wouldn’t it be happening?” She gives me a sharp look and narrows her eyes. “We’ve done the safari thing. We’ve made the majority of the arrangements for Elena. The rest can be worked out at home and communicated with Kafil to pass on to Bahati.”

“I still have another week and a bit here, and I have my trip to Vegas. I’m on vacation. The coronation isn’t going to happen for months. I do not need to be there.”

“He would like you home.”

“Apparently, he knows the number to the camp now, so he can call me himself.”

“He sent me here to bring you home.”

“Which has never added up to me,” I huff. “Can you honestly tell me his strategy makes sense to you? It’s not like I was refusing his calls to the camp. He never called.” Although her arrival almost two weeks ago pissed me off, I’m grateful for her appearance now. Having the snow thawing between us is a pleasant surprise even if I worry there might be another ice age in our future.

She squirms in her chair.

She left the tent tense, but otherwise in good spirits. As I eye her across the table, I realize what else has set me on edge other than the reminder of Alex’s existence. She’s back in royal business mode. First the incident reports, then the short answers, and now the haughty tone.

“What did he actually tell you on the phone?” Something isn’t adding up, but I’m not sure what it is.

Julia meets my gaze, and there’s an emotion in her depths I can’t quite read. Regret? “Your father says if you don’t return within the next seventy-two hours, he’ll be on the hunt for an arranged marriage.”

I slouch back in my chair, stunned. Whatever is going on at home must be serious. The arranged marriage schtick is an inside code my father and I agreed on when I started these royalty-free adventures. If my father ever threatened an arranged marriage, I needed to return home in the assigned time period. Something big is about to hit the fan.

“Seventy-two hours?” I clarify.

“Yes.”

I sigh. “Book the tickets via Vegas.”

“Nick, that makes no sense. We’d literally be flying in the wrong direction.”

“Vegas first, for at least 24 hours, or I don’t go home.” She doesn’t need to know I’ll go home no matter what. My father enacting the code, even if it’s through Julia, guarantees I’ll turn up on time.

“Why?” she asks, mystified.

“I have my reasons. Make sure you book your ticket as well to join me.” Once we’re home, what will things be like between us? Last night and this morning gave me a glimpse of what we could be, and I’m not ready to let her go.

“I don’t need to go to Vegas. I can just return to Bellerive.”

I wag my finger. “You’re here to escort me. Probably to keep me out of trouble. Secretary Jensen, you must come to Vegas. Also, Father will want some sort of security arrangement. I am not allowed to set foot on American soil unguarded.”

Julia grabs some grapes off the table and goes to fetch her phone off the nightstand.

I watch her reaction carefully. The annoyance on her face deepens.

“Something wrong?” I ask.

“Alex. He sent me a link to a gossip story? Apparently, you and I are involved in some sort of long-term illicit love affair?”

I wish.

“Did you know about this?” she asks.

“Define know.”

“Nick.”