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 who gave him everything and ruled a country.
She could handle him. She wasn’t going to let a prince sweep her off her feet again. She didn’t need saving or a knight in shining armor.
And she wasn’t going to be sent back to Canada because he and his fiancée were uncomfortable with her presence in Kalyana.
“I have every right to be here,” she snapped when Maazin caught up with her.
“What?” he asked, frowning.
“I have a visa and clearance from the consulate to represent Canada and assist in this humanitarian and relief aid effort. Kalyana may not be my home any longer...”
“I’m aware of that,” he answered stiffly. “What I came over to say was sorry. I’m sorry for embarrassing you like that.”
Jeena was shocked, but she didn’t let him know that. That was different. The Maazin she remembered had been a bit arrogant with people he’d felt deserved it, but he had always been kind and gentle to her. She’d often wondered why he hadn’t shown that side of himself to the public.
Of course he’d turned his back on her. She wasn’t going to be fooled again.
It had been a painful lesson to learn that she didn’t need a prince to come and save her and that she was more than capable of saving herself.
“No apology needed, Your Highness. I forgot myself for a moment, you are absolutely right, I left Kalyana for another country, because it was right for me. Now I’m here on behalf of Canada. I’m home now and I’m here to help.” She curtseyed again.
“Jeena, stop that.” He was annoyed. She remembered how much he hated protocol. She knew she was getting to him.
Good.
“Stop what, Your Highness?”
“Curtseying and calling me Your Highness. Jeena, we know each other intimately.”
“That’s Dr. Harrak to you, Your Highness.” She crossed her arms and leaned forward. “Perhaps we knew each other once, but a lot has changed. I prefer the formality, Your Highness.”
His eyes narrowed. “Fine.”
She nodded and felt a bit of satisfaction
