parents all believed it and it had got him off the hook of so many responsibilities, but Jeena had seen past that.
He had been so in love with her. He’d wanted to marry her, even though he had always been afraid and not interested in marriage because he’d felt it would tie him down, just like his royal duty.
And he hadn’t wanted to drag Jeena into a life of protocol.
She had been free. Which was why he’d wanted her.
Jeena had left him. Left him without a word, and it was because of her leaving that he’d gone to that party to drown his sorrows and then called his brother Ali to get him.
And that had cost Ali his life, because after she’d left, Maazin had decided to take the bad boy road everyone thought he traveled. Ali came to sweep his indiscretions under the rug and died trying to cover up his mistakes.
It had destroyed him when Jeena had left. It was his own fault, though, because he knew he’d driven her away. He didn’t deserve her and he certainly didn’t deserve anything now. He knew that.
“Maa... Your Highness.” And she curtseyed.
He was angry that she had almost addressed him with familiarity, like he wanted, but had then changed it to a formal address and curtseyed in deference to his station, which he hated.
Were they such strangers?
Yes. They were now. She’d left. He’d never left Kalyana. He’d never left in the dead of night, not telling anyone where he was going. And when he’d tried to find her there’d been no trace of her. It was as if her whole life in Kalyana had been erased.
She’d cost him so much.
You were the selfish one. She cost you nothing.
“I’m surprised that you’ve returned to the country you abandoned with such ease,” he snapped.
Her expression hardened. “My apologies, Your Highness. I’m the lead surgeon on this relief mission. I’m representing Canada and I’m here to deliver your supplies and lend my services to your country.” She turned on her heel and walked away.
She was a doctor?
Maazin was shocked, but as she stormed away he couldn’t help but smile to himself. She still had that spirit he’d admired in her.
That fire.
That had been hidden under the surface, something she’d tried so hard to control, but he’d known what a strong woman had been under that demure exterior.
It’s what he’d loved so much about her then.
Now, to see her standing her ground, it surprised him, but pleasantly so.
It woke up a piece of him he’d thought was long gone and as he watched her walk away, giving out orders, he knew that working with her would be a challenge.
One he hadn’t expected.
JEENA DIDN’T KNOW what she had been expecting. She knew one thing, she hadn’t planned on seeing him. Actually, she hadn’t expected to see him at all. What was a prince of Kalyana doing at the airport, collecting medical supplies?
Not your concern.
And she had to keep telling herself that.
She was stronger now. She could handle seeing Maazin.
Can you?
She’d changed, but had she really expected a bad boy rebel prince to have changed in the last ten years?
No. Well, maybe? One could hope. Other than his engagement to Lady Meleena, Maazin hadn’t really been in the papers. Perhaps he had changed? She’d always wondered if that image he’d projected before she’d met him had been an act. She knew one thing was for sure, his appearance hadn’t changed at all.
It was like time hadn’t even touched him at all.
When she’d seen him there, she couldn’t believe her eyes. It was like all those years ago when he had knelt down in front of her on the polo field and stopped her from embarrassing herself in front of a social class that she had not been comfortable being around at all.
His ebony hair was shorter than it had been. Gone were the long curls that had framed his face when they’d first met and he was now clean shaven. He’d lost the neatly trimmed beard she’d loved so much. His skin was deep, lustrous gold and warmed by the heat and sun from Kalyana. And he’d lost some of that baby fat that came with youth, but those green-gray eyes were still the same as they’d bored deep into hers, totally riveting her to the spot.
Making her quiver with desire. Even after all these years apart her body still reacted to him. She remembered the feeling of those strong hands on her, the taste of his lips as he’d brushed kisses lightly on hers.
How safe he’d made her feel when his arms had been wrapped around her.
He turned his back on you and Syman, remember...?
“He knows,” Meleena said in a scathing tone.
“He knows?” Jeena asked, stunned.
“Yes.”
“How do you know that he knows?”
Meleena rolled her eyes. “My father is very close to the royal family. That’s how I know. Prince Maazin can’t commit to you.”
“I don’t believe that.”
Meleena fished out a check and held it out to her. “Here. Compensation for your...situation.”
It was like a slap in the face and her heart clenched as she stared at it.
This was all she was worth?
The fact he knew about her pregnancy and had turned his back on her made her firm her resolve. She wouldn’t be duped again by anyone.
She was no longer that foolish innocent who could be swept off her feet by a dashing Prince Charming.
He hadn’t been there when her family had sold off everything to start a new life in Canada.
Neither had he been there when Syman was born.
Syman, who had those same eyes as his father.
Syman.
Her heart sank. He always was curious about his father and as he got older she knew it was something she would not be able to keep from him. Not when he could go online and look Maazin up.
He’d learn his father was a prince and a playboy. How his father had turned his back on her. His father’s whole private romantic life had been splashed across tabloids around the world. The only romance not there and not known was hers. Lady Meleena’s parents had paid people off to keep that secret.
“Dr. Harrak!”
She turned and saw Maazin coming toward her and her heart skipped a beat again.
Stand firm.
She crossed her arms and narrowed her resolve. How many people had tried to push her around when she’d been a resident and learning to become a surgeon because she was short at only five feet four? Too many and Jeena had had to rise above all of that and make sure that her voice had been heard above the others in a competitive medical program.
And on top of all of that she’d raised Syman.
She was stronger than some spoiled and pampered prince who was coddled by parents