Unwind My Resolve: Regal Rights Book #3 Read online

  I breathed a sigh of relief that Luke came to Dallas when he did. Now, our path together was straight and narrow, unlike the winding curve that we’d traveled on since we met.

  “I’m guessing that was Matt,” Luke said, coming up to me.

  I brought him close to me and embraced him. My fiancé. It had a nice ring to it. “Yes, but he’s two hours behind. He won’t get the message until he wakes up in few hours.”

  “Good,” he said. “More alone time for us.”

  “Are we good to go?” I asked him.

  “Yes,” he said. “Now that we’re taken care of, we can both get some sleep.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to call your mother and tell her?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I said I wanted to sleep, not get an earful. I’ll tell her soon. Besides, we have only one more day here before we need to get back to Qatar.”

  We. For once, that sounded nice, even though it would be a permanent change.

  Walking out of the jewelry store, the lights flashed. I turned to see them come back on but then another flash went off.

  “Get out of here!” Luke growled.

  Turning, I saw the photographer snap several more pictures, the flash blinding me. I opened my hand and held it in front of my face.

  “Nice ring!” the photographer said, rapidly snapping more photos before he took off down the sidewalk.

  “What was that about?” Luke asked.

  “It’s about the king of Qatar and his new fiancée.” A breath caught in my lungs. I recognized the photographer. He worked at the Dallas Post. Kevin-something. He was new and hungry for work. He was going to get good money to be the first to expose our engagement.

  17

  Luke

  Since I finally had Sophia forever, I was able to get some rest when we arrived back at her apartment. But she was quite the opposite. She went on about the photographer, wondering why he’d taken so many pictures of us. It wasn’t until the later hours of the morning that I calmed her down enough for us to get a few hours of sleep. We were going to have a busy day, and there was no reason we had to trudge our way through it because of tiredness.

  The spineless photographer from the night before seemed to bother Sophia more than me. Even though I hadn’t been photographed in some time, I knew there wasn’t much of a market for foreign princes in America. At least, not those who weren’t connected to the British crown.

  Sophia enjoyed her privacy, and I had attempted to assure her that she wasn’t in any danger of being exposed.

  I made sure both of us slept in as much as we could. And that wasn’t a problem because we both rolled out of bed around one the next afternoon. That was what a sleep-deprived night did to people.

  When she woke, she wrapped an arm around my body and wiggled her fingers at me. I kissed her hand and turned to face her before doing the same to her lips.

  “Good morning, my queen,” I said against her mouth.

  Her body vibrated underneath me. “I do like the sound of that.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  “How about we get out of here?” she asked. “Dallas is much nicer in the daylight.” She giggled and rolled off the bed.

  “What did you have in mind?” I asked. I wasn’t sure when we would come back to Dallas, if ever. There was nothing here for Sophia anymore, and there would be much to plan when it came to our wedding and getting her settled in as my queen.

  She didn’t seem fazed by it, and I wasn’t going to mention it and ruin her mood.

  “How about this cafe that I love?” she suggested.

  “Race you to the shower,” I said and jumped off the bed.

  Sophia turned on her heel and squealed all the way into the bathroom as I chased her.

  We took way too long in the shower, long enough that there wasn’t much hot water left by the end of it. We took our sweet time getting ready and then headed out to get some coffee. I kept an eye out for any other photographers, but the guy from the night before seemed to be working on his own. He had probably been out and about and noticed that the jewelry shop was open. Not sure what he was doing out so early, but I doubted he knew what he’d come across until we walked out.

  My phone buzzed from my pocket as we were leaving Sophia’s apartment. It was Mother. I hung it up before the second ring. She wasn’t going to ruin my day with whatever nonsense she wanted to discuss. She probably had four more dates lined up for me, but she had no idea I would never go on a date with anyone other than Sophia ever again.

  Even though most of the patrons at the coffee shop were halfway through their workday and in need of a jolt to get through the rest of it, Sophia and I were ravenous, and I was close to purchasing all the delicious looking pastries in one fell swoop. To keep my presence on the down low, I purchased only a few items to sample. Today was our last day in the States, and we would spend the rest of the time packing up Sophia’s things.

  The boxes were to arrive in about an hour and the movers later that night. I’d had everything on hold, awaiting Sophia’s response to asking her to marry me. I had started the ball rolling the moment we got into the car after she had said yes.

  Since everything was moving so quickly, I didn’t think Sophia had time to worry about the photographer. By the time any story came out, we would be out of the country.

  As I was paying for our food and coffee, my phone rang again. I knew right away it was Mother. Again. I was surprised that she had waited this long to get in touch with me. She probably expected that I would come running back to her when Sophia turned me down, but she was in for a surprise when I returned to Qatar with my queen. Her days of playing matchmaker were over.

  Sophia and I sat down and tore into our food. Both of us were hungrier than we thought and finished everything within a few minutes.

  Sophia leaned forward while sipping her coffee. Her left hand smoothed over my hand, the ring reflecting the light from above us.

  “My queen,” I said with a big smile. My cheeks started to hurt from smiling so much, but the pain was worth it to see the pure bliss in her eyes.

  “My king,” she said, nodding her head. “You’re going to have to teach me how to curtsy!”

  I laughed, and any reservations I had about returning home were dashed into the wind. With my life on track, I had no reason to worry about anything anymore. Sophia would be by my side for the rest of my life, and I wouldn’t have to be distracted with that part of my life anymore. I could focus on being the best king and husband that I could be with the most incredible woman by my side. This trip was so worth it, and I would never forget a single second of it.

  Even though Sophia was in a teasing mood, the smile faltered from her lips mere seconds later.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” she said. “At least not with me. I’m a little worried about what to expect when we get back to Qatar.”

  As if from her mouth to Mother’s ears, my phone rang again. I gritted my teeth and turned my phone on silent. She wasn’t going to ruin this moment for us.

  “You don’t need to worry about anything,” I said, placing my phone facedown on the table. “Once we’re wed, you will outrank Mother, and she won’t be able to say anything to you anymore.”

  “But until then, will she just try harder to break us up?” she asked.

  I touched her chin with my finger, lifting it up so we were eye to eye. “We love each other, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Then, nothing and no one, especially not Mother, will get in the way of our happiness.”

  “Okay,” she said, letting out a big breath. “It’s a big change. A good one, but a big one.”

  “I’m here for you. Every step of the way.”

  “Every step of the way,” she repeated. “But don’t you think that you should at least warn her that I’m coming? Even if you want to surprise her with the engagement?”

  “She knows you’re coming,” I said.

 
; “She does?”

  “She’s an intelligent woman. As much as she doesn’t want us together, she knows I’m coming back with you. When I want something, I get it.”

  “She knows more than that,” Sophia said. Her lips pulled down into a frown as she looked at the table next to us.

  I glanced in that direction. On the empty table next to us was a newspaper. The top read “The Dallas Post”. On the front page was a large color image of two people.

  Sophia grabbed the newspaper, and a small moan escaped her lips. “This is bad. I told you it wasn’t—no!”

  She wasn’t making any sense.

  “What is it?” I asked, reaching for the paper.

  She shoved it over to me and then shielded her face with her hands. Her eyes darted around the room, making me more confused than ever by her reaction.

  I opened up the front page and stared at the familiar faces of the two people in the photograph. Damn it. Sophia’s reaction suddenly made sense.

  The background of the photograph was dark, but our faces were lit up from the flash of the camera. It was from the night before. The photographer had captured exactly what he’d needed when he invaded our privacy. Gerard’s shop was behind us—the perfect photo op for him but not so much for us. The photograph showed Sophia grinning up at me and me gazing down at her. We were holding hands, and her left hand was held up between us. The ring was as clear as day, and there was no mistaking what it meant for the two of us. She almost looked like she was showing it off, but I could see the look of surprise in her eyes.

  I didn’t even remember the moment, but now, it was forever burned in my mind. It would be the same photograph that would send Mother into a terrible rage after discovering it. If she hadn’t discovered it already.

  “Fuck,” I muttered and glanced at my phone.

  “We should get out of here,” Sophia said, attempting to hide behind her coffee cup. Her new ring mocked me from her hand. This wasn’t how I wanted Mother to find out. Soon enough, everyone would know, and Mother would be furious from the way she had to find out.

  Unless she already knew. Was that why she was calling me nonstop this morning?

  I checked my phone, and there were seven missed calls from her. She hadn’t left a voicemail. She was probably saving her speech for when she got to speak with me directly.

  Glancing behind me, I checked to be sure there weren’t any other nosy reporters or photographers stalking us.

  A newspaper stand sat by the front door. If anyone walked in and noticed us, our little bubble would be shattered. The bubble already felt as if someone had poked a hole in it, and the air was slowly leaking out.

  I supposed the only shiny beacon of light was that Sophia had already agreed to marry me. We were in this for good, and no one—not even Mother—could ruin it for us.

  I had wanted to tell her myself, preferably alone so that Sophia wouldn’t be exposed to her initial shock and possible wrath, but we didn’t have that luxury anymore.

  Picking up our things, I saw Sophia shove the newspaper into her purse. On the way out, she left some money in the small cup near the newspapers, paying for the one she snagged. I had a feeling she didn’t want the paper for sentimental reasons. I doubted she was pleased at having her face blasted all over the news. No doubt it would be on the website soon if it wasn’t already.

  “Do you want me to purchase all of these?” I asked her.

  She glared at the stand. “For what reason?”

  “We could trash them so you don’t have to worry about anything,” I said.

  “No, I don’t want to support that filth,” she said with a curl in her lip.

  Being on the other side of reporting wasn’t fun, and she was about to get a rude awakening.

  18

  Sophia

  My heart felt as if it were going to burst from my chest. Talking with Matt only made it more real. He was as giddy as I was. I hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. Was this shit really happening?

  I knew that we would end up in the tabloids eventually, but not this soon. It felt like an invasion of privacy for my face to end up in a newspaper without my consent. I knew better than most that consent didn’t matter in a lot of situations. The article didn’t show any sign of libel. At least, not yet. That was why I purchased the paper, so I could take a closer look once we were out of the public eye.

  How did anyone know who or where Luke was? Mr. Fraser had sent me away to England to find the story. Did Mr. Fraser have someone tail me the moment I quit? Knowing Luke and I were involved, my old boss would know it was only a matter of time until I exposed what I’d been doing with the prince turned king. I didn’t think Mr. Fraser would stoop that low, but I had no idea what people did when they were desperate. He had tried to get the story on Luke for some time and eventually had sent me. What if he was in the hole with money and could use a story like this to boost papers?

  Even though Luke wasn’t well known in the States, people loved a good fairy tale. Luke plucking me out from the masses of women would have been lucrative fodder for any newspaper.

  “Over here,” Luke said as we exited the cafe.

  The sun shone brightly, not offering any cover for us to escape. If anyone had seen the paper that morning, they would recognize us. I wasn’t ready for people to recognize me at all.

  It was something I would have to get used to. Eventually, when I became Luke’s queen, the entire country would know what I looked like. Eventually, I would be dining with royals from other countries and appear in photos with them as well. Would I become a household name? Would people in Dallas remember me as just another queen in a foreign land or the Southern girl from America?

  The possibilities swam through my mind. I had to get to the bottom of it.

  Once we were safely inside of our Uber, I opened the newspaper. Since the photo was so big, the article was a few pages in, a desperate attempt to force readers to read through the whole paper to get to the meat of the story.

  “The New Royal Family,” the title read, and I gripped the paper tighter in my hands. I hadn’t been engaged for twenty-four hours yet, but Luke and I already had this ridiculous moniker.

  Glancing at the byline, I let out a string of curses, enough that the Uber driver’s ears started to redden.

  “What is it?” Luke asked.

  “That backstabbing bitch,” I said through gritted teeth. “Natalia wrote the article.”

  Luke shrugged. “Do I know her?”

  “No,” I said. “She worked at a nearby desk when I was at the Post. She wanted to know every single detail about me going overseas.”

  “Was she fishing for information?” Luke asked.

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “At that point, the article about you was still mine.” Reading through the article, there were several mentions of my past and a lot of information that I didn’t want public. I wondered if they would find Matt and interview him too. I knew Matt wouldn’t say anything, but he deserved a heads-up at least.

  After reading a bit about Luke and his father’s death, I put the paper down in my lap, unable to take in any more information. “Your mother is going to hate me even more than she already does.”

  Luke slipped the paper out from under my hands and folded it. He placed it on the other side of him. Taking my hand in his, he twined his fingers with mine. The ring on my finger pressed harder into my hand.

  “How are you so calm?” I asked him.

  “This is part of the job,” he said. “I didn’t quite expect it to go this way, but these things do happen. At least we weren’t caught doing other things.”

  I noticed a look from the driver at Luke’s remark.

  “It’s creepy and unnecessary. If they wanted an interview, they could have asked.”

  Luke laughed at that.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked him.

  “The tabloids never ask,” he said. “They do what they want and apologize later.”

  “Bu
t the Dallas Post is a reputable paper.”

  “They still need to sell papers to keep the lights on,” he said.

  “Never in my six years with them had I ever seen something like this before,” I said.

  “Well, you didn’t give them the story they wanted,” Luke said.

  He was right. Mr. Fraser wanted a certain story, and when I didn’t deliver and Luke’s father passed, there wasn’t a story. He had to fill the space somehow.

  I had never felt so happy that I left. If they were going to resort to intrusive stories like this, then I didn’t want to be a part of it. Reporting wasn’t ever going to be in my life again. Not that I minded. I supposed I enjoyed the job when a promotion was on the horizon, but taking a step back and meeting Luke had altered the way I thought about my life. Now, I could affect an actual change in others’ lives. With Luke ruling by my side, there was no end to the good we could do together.

  “If you don’t want to deal with things like this, I understand,” Luke said to me.

  “Who does?” I asked.

  “No one,” he said, turning my engagement ring around my finger. “Everything is going to be okay. I promise you that.”

  From his frown to the crinkles in the corner of his eyes, something was churning in his brain.

  “Luke, I still want to be with you,” I said. “I don’t want you to ever think otherwise. This is just disgusting to me, and I’m not sure how to feel about it. I don’t doubt us, but I wished this news would have come out differently.”

  Luke sighed and nodded.

  I dropped my head to his shoulder and squeezed his hand. I wasn’t sure how else to comfort him and let him know that I was going to be with him through it all.

  “Once they find another celebrity sex tape, I’m sure this news will be on the back burner,” he said.

  I snickered. “Sex tape? What are you, back in the 2000s? No one cares about those anymore. You’d be hardpressed to find a celeb without one.”