Tempted by the Prince

by Elizabeth Lennox

  “It’s not a bother, Rachel,” he told her softly.

  She looked up at him, saw the concern in his eyes and…something snapped inside of her. “I have to go,” she told him, blinking back tears of frustration and fear. “Please?”

  He sighed, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “Fine. But…call me, okay? Let me know how it goes.”

  She nodded stiffly, then turned away. Grabbing her purse, she hurried towards the door. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find out why they arrived unexpectedly.”

  Tarin watched her leave, frustration boiling in his gut. He felt powerless, which he hated. What the hell was going on? She’d been so happy this morning. But her family shows up and she’s suddenly tense and shy? What the hell?

  It was a mystery and he hated mysteries. They needed to be solved. So, why the hell was he standing here?

  Because he had yet another damn meeting, he realized as his aide stepped into Rachel’s office, pointedly checking his watch. Still, Tarin hesitated, looking out the door as if he could somehow see her again. But she was already out of sight.

  Damn it, they were so close! Between the two of them, they’d chosen the architectural firm they were going to hire to design the university center. There was a big event planned in a week to announce the project to the rest of the country. He didn’t want to do it without Rachel. She’d been instrumental in the planning process, offering suggestions and urging him to promote different building practices that, in the end, would make the university center easier to maintain and more energy efficient. And it was all because of Rachel! She had to be there for the announcement!

  She had to be there for him. He needed her in his life and couldn’t imagine not having her in his arms every night.

  So, what was it about her family that created this intense sensation of dread?

  Rachel hurried down the various hallways leading to the security office, not seeing the elaborate murals that had been created by some ancient artist centuries ago. Crossing her arms protectively over her stomach, she smiled through the administrative building security process, things she hadn’t done in over a month, because she’d been traveling with Tarin. Then, she’d basically moved in with him here at the palace. She still maintained the apartment down the street, but she hadn’t been there since she’d left on the two week trip across the world doing the architectural firm interviews.

  She should have known that this happiness couldn’t last. She wasn’t the kind of person who got a happy life! She was the kind of woman who lived in the shadows and…well, Denise was the kind of woman who got to go out and be happy.

  Her footsteps slowed as she neared the guard office. Why were they here? They hadn’t spoken to her in years and she hadn’t bothered to go home. Why? Because she hated how they treated her.

  After a childhood of being told she wasn’t good enough, she’d finally pulled together the courage to get away, to find a place where she felt good and others considered her work to be worthy. She’d done it! She’d struggled at first, but she’d done it!

  So, why were they here now? She didn’t want to go back to being that quiet, timid person. The shy, weak person who jumped at shadows. But her family had this strange power over her. Just one word and….

  Rachel stopped in the middle of the hallway. “No!” she said out loud, startling a passing staff member. “Sorry,” she whispered to the other person, who hurried away. “I won’t let them do this to me. Not again!”

  She reminded herself that she had choices. She was in control.

  With that in mind, she lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. “I can do this,” she told herself. With a self-deprecating shake of her head, she continued down the hallway. “How many people have to give themselves a pep talk prior to facing their family?” she muttered.

  Placing her hand on the door of the guard office, she paused, took a deep, steadying breath, then opened the door and stepped inside.

  Rachel took it all in with a quick glance. Her family. Her mother stood by the window, texting, but looking up to snap orders or criticism at her dejected, silent father who sat nearby. He never bothered to respond. The man simply accepted his wife’s nagging and…ignored her. And there was her sister, in all of her astounding glory. With a smile and a slight tilt of her head, Denise had charmed three of the palace guards, who were leaning over the counter, thoroughly entranced.

  It was a typical scene, one she’d witnessed so many times throughout her childhood.

  Moving deeper into the guard room, she made her presence known. “Hello everyone,” she called out, trying to appear cheerful even though she felt sick to her stomach.

  Six people turned to look at her and Rachel refused to cower. Not today, she told herself firmly.

  “Goodness, Rachel, dear. What in the world are you wearing?” Pamela Morris demanded, stuffing her cell phone into her leather purse. “I would have thought you’d learned to dress more professionally. Those hideous flowered dresses should all be in the trash!”

  Rachel steeled herself against her mother’s criticism. “My attire isn’t the issue today, Mother,” she snapped and felt a surge of power when her mother blinked. Rachel’s hands fisted at her sides and she felt a sense of pride when she ignored the impulse to clutch the material of her skirt. Lifting her chin, she forced her lips back to a smile. “How are you?”

  Her mother shrugged, obviously recovered from Rachel’s sharp reply. “Hot, darling! Take us to your apartment so that we can unpack. This godforsaken country is so miserably hot!”

  Rachel stared at her mother, shocked that she would be so…blatantly offensive. Turning to the guards, Rachel smiled weakly. “I apologize, she’s just…” she trailed off, realizing that she didn’t need to apologize for her mother’s bad behavior. “She’s just a horrible person,” she finished, then shrugged as if to say, “Family? What can you do?”

  Turning back to her family, she straightened her shoulders. “Right. So, what are you all doing here?”

  Pamela snorted. “Can’t a mother visit her daughter?”

  Rachel considered her words as well as the implications for a long moment. Then shook her head. “Not you.”

  Her sister laughed, then shifted into her “alpha dog” pose, as Rachel used to think of it. “Don’t be a drag, Rachel,” Denise purred, moving forward to embrace Rachel, who stood stiffly in her sister’s arms. “We’re here to see where you work and find out more about your life here. We haven’t seen you in what…? Three years? That’s an awfully long time to avoid us, don’t you think?”

  Rachel didn’t answer. Instead, she looked at her father. They had always been so similar, but Rachel couldn’t imagine living his life, being the object of pity and constant nagging. It was one of the reasons she’d escaped, not wanting to turn into him.

  Her gaze returned to her mother, eyebrows raised. “And you’re here to visit me…why?”

  “Because we miss you, of course,” her father spoke up.

  Rachel felt a crack in her armor. Could that be true? Had they even noticed she was gone? Probably not. Her mother ran an event planning company in Atlanta. Her father was the accountant and Denise had joined the family business right after she’d graduated from college.

  Realizing that she wasn’t going to get the truth out of them in front of an audience, she shifted again. “Right. Well, where are you staying?” she asked, then braced herself.

  “We’re staying with you, of course!” her sister announced with a ridiculing chuckle, as if that were the most obvious answer. “There’s plenty of space here, isn’t there?” she mocked, her eyes lifting as if she could see through the walls and ceiling of the palace security office.

  Rachel saw the guards stiffen but stepped forward. “I don’t live here at the palace,” she told her family honestly, even though she had been staying here, with Tarin, for the past few weeks. It had been nice, but then again, all good things must come to an end. “I live down the street in a small, two be
droom apartment.”

  Her mother and sister shared a horrified glance. “Seriously? You don’t rate a suite here at the palace?”

  Another chunk came out of her armor, but she fought against the pain. “The palace is the home of the royal family.”

  “Well, can’t you find us a place? Surely, they have guest rooms here.” Her mother grinned gleefully. “I’ve always wanted to stay in a palace.”

  Rachel’s fingers tightened, her nails digging into her palms. “You’ll need to get a hotel if you’re going to stay here in Izara,” she told them firmly. “But I suppose you can stay at my place for tonight. But, you’ll need to get a hotel tomorrow. There isn’t much space in my temporary apartment.”

  She took out her keys and waved to the guards. “Thank you so much for the call,” she said. They nodded professionally as Rachel walked straight through, out of the guard office and back into the late afternoon heat.

  Rachel heard a few sputters of surprise before her family members gathered their belongings and followed her. “Well, aren’t you going to call someone to carry our luggage?” her mother demanded.

  Rachel turned and looked at her family. Her mother had three large suitcases, her sister four. Her father, on the other hand, carried only a small bag and looked ready for whatever adventure was coming his way.

  “As I said, I don’t live here. I don’t have a staff of personnel to carry your luggage.” She turned and headed down the long sidewalk that went along the fence line. This area of the palace wasn’t landscaped, but it was still neat and tidy. Thankfully, it was functional and practical, planned to accommodate visiting dignitaries and palace guests.

  There was a rumbling of bags behind her as she strode down the sidewalk, along with a great deal of grumbling.

  “Rachel Morris, you get right back here and help us with our bags!” her mother shrieked. “How dare you just walk away like that! I taught you better, young lady!”

  Another crack, and this time, a chunk of her armor fell to the ground. Turning, she looked at her family, willing herself to ignore them just as they’d ignored her for so much of her childhood. But old habits came back to her and, at the familiar shrill tone, she turned back and grabbed the heaviest bag. Thankfully, it was a rolling bag, so it was relatively easy to pull behind her.

  “Where is this apartment of yours?” Denise demanded, hurrying to keep up. She was stumbling a bit with her bags, but somehow managed to teeter gracefully on her high heeled sandals.

  “It’s just….”

  Suddenly, a large, black SUV pulled up beside them and a driver got out. Rachel knew at once that Tarin must have dispatched a car and driver for her and she almost broke down in tears. He was such a wonderful man, she thought.

  “Ma’am,” the driver greeted Rachel. “I’m here to assist your family however I can.”

  Pamela’s furious features smoothed into an elegant smile. But only when she turned towards the driver. When she turned to Rachel, the smile vanished. “There now, was that so hard?” her mother chided, glaring at Rachel. “I swear, Rachel!”

  Rachel politely stepped back on the curb as the driver hurried around to the back. The driver loaded the suitcases into the back of the truck, but despite his careful attention, Pamela still snapped at the man, ridiculing his efforts.

  “Mother! Stop it! The man is doing a good job!”

  Pamela turned around and Rachel gulped. Stalking towards her, Pamela pointed a finger in Rachel’s face. “Don’t you ever speak to me like that again! I will not be humiliated in front of servants and you will do well to treat me with the respect I deserve, young lady!”

  With that, she huffed and stepped into the front seat of the SUV, and slammed the door shut.

  Her father shuffled closer, shaking his head. “You know how she can be,” he murmured. “Remember? We talked about just letting her do her thing?”

  Rachel turned to look at her father, stunned by how he’d changed over the past three years. His hair was almost completely grey and there were significant wrinkles around his eyes. His shoulders were more slumped than she remembered and he looked defeated.

  “I moved to Izara in order to get away from all of this negativity, Dad.”

  He sighed, his shoulders drooping even further. “Yeah, I know honey. But your mother needs help with her business. That’s why we’re here.”

  Rachel felt rage rising into her throat, choking her. Go back? To that life? Never!

  “I won’t go back,” she told him firmly. “I’m happy and needed here.”

  He nodded, squinting against the harsh sunlight. “Well, just listen to her, okay?”

  With that, he stepped into the back of the SUV and tugged the door closed. Rachel stared at the vehicle, wishing that she were somewhere else. Anywhere else! With a sigh, she walked around to the other side of the vehicle and slipped in beside Denise.

  “About time!” her sister huffed, peering at her reflection in a small mirror. “This heat is ruining my makeup.”

  The driver pulled up outside of the apartment building, leapt out and, before her mother could start complaining, piled the luggage on the sidewalk.

  “Thank you,” Rachel said to the driver who politely nodded to her, eyed her mother and sister warily, then jumped back into the SUV and sped away, tires squealing.

  “Goodness!” her mother snapped, fanning away smoke from the tires. “Rachel, you need to report that man. That’s just dangerous driving.”

  Rachel sighed as she pulled the keys out of her purse. She hadn’t been here in several weeks, so she wasn’t sure she remembered what the place looked like. It was probably covered in dust by now. Had she even made her bed? She didn’t remember much after Tarin had shown up with the news that they were traveling to Paris.

  That seemed like a lifetime ago, she thought wistfully as she led them inside. The elevator ride to her floor was too short and, with dread, Rachel unlocked the apartment door, then stepped back to let everyone inside.

  “Goodness, this is tiny!” Her mother shook her head disparagingly. “Rachel, I thought you were doing well. But obviously, if this apartment is any indication, you can’t be making much money.”

  Rachel didn’t mention that the apartment wasn’t hers or that her real apartment was actually smaller than this one. She wasn’t home much due to her long hours, so she’d never felt the need to have a large apartment. Rachel preferred to put most of her money into savings and investment accounts instead.

  “We’ll take the bedrooms,” Pamela announced to Rachel. “You can sleep on the couch.”

  Rachel opened her mouth to argue, but her mother had already vanished into the master bedroom and shut the door while Denise had disappeared into the second bedroom.

  Rachel stood there in the living area, stunned and furious. “How long are you staying?” she asked of her father, who had already taken up his normal position on the couch with the remote in one hand. That’s how he survived, she realized. Just sitting in front of the television and ignoring everything as his life slipped by.

  He glanced over at her, resignation in his eyes. “That all depends on you, honey.”

  Rachel huffed a bit, then turned around. “I have to get back to work,” she announced. “Here are the keys, so you can get in and out of the apartment.” She dropped the keys onto the kitchen counter. “If you need food,” she started to say she’d stop by the grocery store after work, but then her gaze landed on the two closed doors. “If you need food, there’s a grocery store around the corner.”

  And with that, she left, feeling strong and proud. She could do this! As Rachel walked back up to the palace, ignoring the afternoon heat beating down on her, she felt power surge through her. She was good at her job, Rachel reminded herself. No way was she going to let her mother and sister make her feel small and useless again. No way!

  Chapter 13

  After five days of living with her family, Rachel was at her breaking point. She felt small and insignificant. She
was exhausted from sleeping on the uncomfortable couch and she was losing the battle against her mother’s guilt trips about coming back to Georgia to help with the business.

  Tarin walked into her office the following Friday and she ached to feel his arms around her. But she’d kept away from him because her family was so toxic. Illogical as she knew it was, she feared contaminating him.

  “What’s going on, Rachel?” he asked gently.

  Rachel sniffed and looked out the window, giving in to the inevitable. “I have to go back to Atlanta and help my family,” she said, her heart breaking with every word.

  Tarin stared at her, his heart aching for her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her, but her body language over the past week had screamed ‘Hands off’!

  “Why?” he asked, wanting to yell at her, but knowing that he had be gentle. He’d received word from several sources about the way her family treated her and he couldn’t do the same thing. “You have a job here. One that you’re amazing at and you love.”

  She sniffed back a sob and his heart lurched at the thought of her tears. “Because they…need me.”

  He sat down in the chair beside her desk, leaning his elbows on his knees. “But I need you. Here.”

  She shook her head and stared blankly down at the pages in front of her. Brushing her curls off her forehead, she sniffed, struggling to pull herself back together.

  For a long moment, he watched as she closed her eyes. But when those green eyes opened again, she was all business.

  “The party tonight is all taken care of. The orchestra is setting up now. I’ve been over the menu one last time with the chef and the food is delicious.” She blinked, still fighting the tears. “Everything is set up and ready. Also, the dignitaries have arrived.”

  “And your family? Are they coming as well?”

  “No!” she yelped, shaking her head. “No, you don’t want them there. I’ll just…I’m leaving with them on Monday, so you won’t have to worry about them anymore.”