Page 18 of A Ring to Claim Her Crown
His mind balked at the idea of leaving without finishing what he’d started, without proving to her that their memories were not exaggerated. Maybe then he would feel free of whatever hold over him their connection had. He had come to Arqaleta to make a business deal, and that had not changed. But he refused to leave things the way they had been left fourteen years ago. It was his fault that she was being forced to choose from a ridiculous selection of thoroughly unsuitable potential husbands.
He could never have her himself; he knew that. He knew that he would never be the man that she chose. He knew that their lives were too different and utterly incompatible. But he was just selfish enough not to care right now. Not after he’d been moments away from burying himself deep inside the woman he’d chased from his dreams for years. Not when he’d seen how badly she still wanted him too.
A plan slowly formed in his mind, a perfect way for them both to have closure and for him to give her what she needed. He would have to ensure that he played his cards just right...and maybe this trip wouldn’t have been completely in vain.
CHAPTER SIX
THECHARITYAUCTIONwas little more than a glorified gala dinner, and an excuse for the kingdom’s wealthiest and most famous individuals to dress up and be seen. The palace’s large greenhouse had been arranged into an enchanted forest, with invitees taking part in an Arqaletan colour theme for their outfit choices. So far, Minerva had spotted at least seven gowns covered in bows and arrows, as well as a handful of unfortunate banana-yellow tuxedos that seemed to be aiming for the colours of their national flag.
Everyone watched one another in the way that was typical for these events, where the aim was simply to be on display. There was the added bonus of being able to flaunt one’s wealth in the form of bids, but for most part it was the kind of pageantry through which Minerva had to grit her teeth.
This was the first time she had been in charge of selecting the various organisations that would benefit, a fact that made the opening speeches and endless greetings slightly more tolerable. She had insisted that the founders and beneficiaries of each charity be present and offered the chance to speak if they so wished. Everything had been planned in the weeks beforehand; perhaps that was why her complete lack of focus hadn’t impeded the plans too much.
Her gown for the evening had been designed and hand-made here in the capital by one of their most famous up-and-coming couturiers. It was an off-the-shoulder confection of white silk and delicate blue beading that accentuated her waist and fell to the floor in extravagant waves. It was a gown made for movement, and it had taken most of her control not to twirl herself out on the dance floor as she had as a young girl. Her mother had beamed at her upon first glance, with a genuine look of surprise that there had been no complaints from her only daughter about the matching sapphire tiara and heavy necklace she was displaying as part of tonight’s ensemble.
Truthfully, Minerva had hardly been aware of much of the past hour since returning to the palace. She’d nodded and smiled as her team had readied her, and discussed the details of the auction portion of the event, but mentally she’d replayed every salacious moment of the events by the lake.
Even her mother had commented on her distraction, and Minerva had tried to make an effort to pull her focus back to the present. She tried to remind herself how inappropriate today had been. How nothing good could ever come of it, of them together. But tell that to her rioting libido.
She had gone on a few dates in college, experimenting like most young people did. But, as a young royal, all her relationships had to remain secret, or else risk being on the front page of every tabloid. Secrecy, while temporarily exciting, had always ended up being a real mood-killer at some point for the people she had been attracted to. Pretty soon, she had stopped even trying to date, allowing her archery career to take up most of her time, and had returned to her duties in Arqaleta once she had graduated. No one had got under her skin the way he had.
Perhaps no one ever would.
She entered the grand ballroom, spied him standing on the opposite side of the room and the knot in her stomach only tightened further. She hesitated, knowing that ignoring him would be immature, but she truly didn’t think she could be face to face with him in that moment without losing her composure completely.
He’d said he sought closure for them both but she hadn’t had any need for it until he’d reappeared in her life like a ticking time-bomb. She had not thought of him; she had trained herself not even to think of him most of the time.
But as she crossed the room towards him, his eyes tracking her every movement with his usual leonine intensity, she felt something much more than discomfort building within her. She was excited. Seeing him here, meeting his eyes and knowing what they had almost done mere hours before... The dark thrill of it seemed to sizzle along her veins, filling her with the confidence to meet his gaze without any guile.
His eyes narrowed upon her, his nostrils flaring with awareness, and for a moment it was only them in the bustling crowd of well-dressed guests. Another moment in time called to her from the recesses of her mind, another evening of dancing and revelry in this very greenhouse that had first begun their short-lived affair. An affair that had ended with her in tears and him banished. She closed her eyes against the onslaught, opening them to find him moving towards her in the crowd, a look of intent upon his face.
Her anxiety piqued, panic climbing her throat as she tried not to see the parallels between that night and this one. She couldn’t speak to him, not tonight. She was here to secure her future, not rehash a past she’d long buried and grown past. Did he believe her too proper to cause a public scene? Maybe she should show him exactly how much she had changed.
It turned out she didn’t have that chance, because she was pulled away by the event team before Liro had even reached the middle of the dance floor. Her presence was needed on stage to prepare for her hosting duties while the announcements were made and the guests were seated in rows.
A string quartet began the evening’s entertainment, and Minerva tried to enjoy the glowing music. But her eyes were constantly drawn to the man seated at the very edge of the front row, his attention firmly placed upon her.
The first items of the night were a selection of beautiful traditional Arqaletan paintings and statues. The bidding was healthy, but not a war by any means, and the items were sold off with relative ease. Minerva took turns with the chief auctioneer in announcing each lot, and even began to have genuine fun in slamming the gavel down, earning laughter each time.
Liro did not find any of this amusing, it seemed. His gaze remained serious and pensive as he surveyed the stage from his perch, his wide shoulders making him appear so much larger than the others.
When the final lot of the evening had been announced and sold off in quick succession, Minerva breathed a sigh of relief, hoping to make a quick exit to regroup before her inevitable showdown. She smiled and made to leave the stage, only to be stopped by the curator, who gestured to where her mother had stood from her seat, microphone in hand.
‘There is one final surprise for this evening, a very special lot offered up personally by my daughter in honour of my birthday.’
Bea, seated in the front row alongside her elderly parents, met Minerva’s gaze in confusion. Minerva shrugged, communicating with her eyes: I have absolutely no idea.
Queen Uberta continued, ‘My daughter is excited, ladies and gentlemen, for tonight she will be auctioning off none other than a date with herself. For the highest bidder, you can have dinner and startling conversation with the Crown Princess Minerva of Arqaleta.’
Movement and chatter began immediately, the auctioneer smirking as he took control of the proceedings and guided Minerva to take a seat under a spotlight in the centre of the stage. Training and experience meant that her smile was relaxed and her posture didn’t give away the extent of her unease. She looked down to find Liro’s seat empty, her eyes darting to each side of the room in search of him, but he was nowhere to be found.
The bidding began and was instantly off to a quick start as John, Jean-Claude and Prince Lorenz calmly raised their paddles one after another without any sign of surprise that Minerva was the lot in question. Had they somehow known about this particular portion of the auction in advance? Was that why Liro had disappeared? The thought that he had chosennowto abandon her to her matchmaking duty, as she’d ordered him to, was suddenly utterly despairing.
Minerva looked to her mother, silently begging her to announce that this was a practical joke. Sadly, it was not, and soon the bidding began to intensify, Jean-Claude scowling as he bowed out, leaving only her other two suitors to compete. She wondered what on earth kind of dinner date she would be forced to endure.
Likely it would be Lorenz, with his much deeper pockets, but something about the prince still didn’t feel quite right. None of them did, though she didn’t wish to break her mother’s heart by saying such a thing. She had made a promise to select one of these men as her future husband by the end of the week and she did not break her promises—most especially, not to her mother.
Prince Lorenz called out another bid, doubling his previous one and leaving the other men to stare at him in stern silence. A moment passed, then another, and Minerva gulped, resigning herself to the idea that she would be back to discussing performance techniques in college sports again some time very soon.
