steeling a breath. Nancy Wolcott had knocked Lilah into next year without even trying. Carlos, of course, hadnât said a word about it.
And theyâd been dating for weeks, not days, not a onetime outing over coffee. But a relationship that needed a freaking press release.
Lilah bit back bile. âI hadnât heard.â
âI wanted to keep it quiet, too. I know he has a reputation for keeping relationships light but I think this might be headed somewhere.â Nancy laughed nervously, seemingly oblivious to the fact she wasgushing. âPerhaps he kept his distance before, back when he had to maintain his royal background. But now that everythingâs out in the open about his Medina name, heâs free to pursue anyone he wants.â
Hearing the infatuation in Nancyâs voice, Lilah wanted to hate her, to dismiss her like the royalty groupies whoâd come out of the woodwork lately. She longed to find fault in someone whoâd captured Carlosâs interest when a night of sex with her hadnât moved him in even a passing way.
And yet she couldnât be catty. Nancy didnât know about that night with Carlos. No one did.
Furthermore, of every unattached female on staff, this one seemed least likely to be a gold digger or fame seeker. As a part of her job, Lilah knew the history of each employee. Nancy Wolcott was a nice person who very obviously had stars in her eyes over the new man in her life. Who could blame her?
Perhaps a woman who already had Carlosâs child swimming around in utero.
A cold ache gelling inside her, Lilah tuned in to the rest of Nancyâs lovelorn ramblings.
âI know Iâm probably jumping the gun here, but heâs such a gorgeous, moody man. A woman canât help but want to touch those inner depths.â Nancy pressed a hand to her heart, her eyes fluttering closed as she inhaled.
Lilah wanted to give the woman a good swift kick in her unrealistic expectations about Carlos Medina. Even when heâd dated in the past, sheâd seen how emotionally detached the man could be, something that hadnât changed one bit since the whole âson of a deposed monarchâ revelation.
Not that she was surprised. There was no such thingas a fairy-tale ending. Libraries labeled it fiction for a reason. Sheâd seen firsthand with her parents how quickly love soured, how easy it was for a woman to turn into a pathetic moony-eyed doormat.
Her father had used his job as a Hollywood agent to seduce countless wannabe starlets. To this day his wifeâLilahâs motherâdid her level best to ignore the indiscretions that messed with her perception of happily ever after with her hunky, rich dream man. On occasion, the bimbo of the month set her eyes on a ring or got angry when the contracts didnât flow in and would confront the Mrs., forcing her to face her husbandâs infidelities.
A fight would ensue. Tears would flow. He would offer up jewelry or a romantic getaway to âreconnectâ and all would be forgiven until the next time when they repeated the same dysfunctional cycle all over againâleaving Lilah with two drawers jam-packed full of tourist T-shirts brought home by her lovey-dovey parents. In fact, her parents were on one of their make-up cruises now, and once they returned she would have to tell them about the baby.
About Carlos?
Listening to Nancy detail her evening with Carlos at the symphony, Lilah had to accept that the woman wasnât blowing anything out of proportion. He really had asked her out on honest-to-God dates. Not that Lilah had entertained dreams of such with him. But damn it, they had slept together. They had been friends before that. And while he wasnât the warm fuzzy kind, she deserved better from him than the way heâd treated her since their one-night stand.
She definitely deserved better than what sheâd experienced in his office a few short minutes ago.
Nancy