As promised, a black Jaguar had been waiting for her when she’d stepped out of her apartment building. Anthony had already been seated inside. They’d been on the road for over an hour now, passing through miles of farms and forest land. Few homes were interspaced in between. Up ahead, she saw severa
In front of her, Rodrigo’s house glittered under the plethora of lit lights. The entrance to the main house from here was guarded by two security personnel, indicating clearly that the main house was off-limits to the guests. Her heart skipped. It was all just too much. Doubt crept into her. What
A burst of giggles from his right caught his attention. He swept his glance over the group of socialites, some married and some not, who had their eyes on him. They whispered and giggled amongst themselves, talking about him. A few of them gave him coy looks. He didn’t even give them a second glanc
She sent him some more laughing emojis. Anticipation sang in his blood. He ached to be alone with her now. “Hiding again?” His mother’s cheerful voice made him turn. He locked and pocketed his phone. He gave her a smile. “You know what it’s like for me.” “I do.” She came to stand beside him, look
His eyes returned to Jade. She was now standing with a group of people surrounding a female politician who was known to use any platform to voice and enforce her political views. Very slowly, as if bored by the topic, Jade backed out of the group and slipped away. He smiled. Yeah, he couldn’t imagin
Thirty minutes remained, and then she’d meet Rodrigo again. The spark firing inside her shot up with every second that ticked by. She scanned the crowd for him and couldn’t find him again. This whole place was so huge that she’d barely glimpsed him throughout the night. The only time she’d managed t
She passed by pictures of Rodrigo’s grandparents and old family photographs of the elderly couple with their sons. She recognized Tony Bennington immediately. He was standing next to a younger man—his brother, Alex, she assumed. There was a photo of a younger-looking Tiana and Tony Bennington with A
She spotted a shelf with children’s books for Roy’s kids, she assumed. She ran her fingers over the brightly colored spines. “You have so many children’s books, but no fairy tales.”“No.” “Every book rack ought to have fairy tales.” “Of course, you’d say that. You are a big believer in romances a
“Rodrigo and Jade are perfect for one another.” Jule smiled. Tony chuckled. “I think everything we did for them worked out, starting from that text you sent me telling me to encourage the dinner plan. After Rodrigo mentioned where he was going for dinner, I ensured we went to the same restaurant he
“Why?” “It was named ‘Playing by Her Rules’.” He smiled, understanding her hint. “And just like that lioness in that painting, I will always protect you.” Now it was his turn to laugh out loud. And she loved it. She loved seeing him like this, carefree and so much at ease. “You are magnificent,
The horse pushed further into her hand as if in agreement again. She smiled. Xerxes reinforced her belief that he understood what she was saying, always. “I love how you communicate with my horse.” She looked sideways and found Rodrigo leaning against a pillar, watching her, arms crossed. “He’sou
He turned to Kabier and Sameer. “Thank you for your support that day. You guys stood by me when you didn’t need to. You were ready to battle your wives for me, and I appreciate that.” Kabier shrugged. “We all needed closure on your silly and childish squabble with our women.” Sameer nodded. “Besid
Soon after Jade had proposed to him, Rodrigo had whisked her off to Delhi and to his home. He’d finally slept properly again with her in his arms. His insomnia was a thing of the past now. Jade had even returned to work at FF. His woman was brilliant. One day, he was certain, she’d head the FF team
Three months later Delhi The late afternoon sun rays washed over his stud farm, casting a golden light over everything they touched. Summer hadn’t set in yet, and a light cool breeze was blowing, adding to the surreal ambience. The weather was perfect, just as his wedding had been. A few hours ago
Aisha and Jade laughed. Rodrigo felt like his chest would split open with all the happiness he was feeling. Jule and Anthony approached them. “I’m so proud of you, Jade,” Jule said. “You are brave and strong. You battled hard to win him, and now you have.” Anthony patted Rodrigo’s back and hugged
He swallowed through the lump in his throat. “I’m glad you pushed me away. Seeing you with Ayden opened my eyes. I hated it when he touched you. My heart burned when he touched your hair. Seeing you with him made me realize what a colossal fool I’d been. I figured that to get you back, I had to try
“Yes.” “Uh, okay…” He couldn’t for the life of him understand what was going on. She tilted her head to study him. “Once upon a time, there was a girl who fell in love with a prince, and they were happy for a while. But then he rejected her. Again and again.” His muscles tightened. He understood