His Princess in the Making Read Online Free PDF Page A

kicked off her shoes and curled up with a sigh. “I love this room. I always have. What’s that you’re reading?”
    Because Jazmine didn’t pry, Lia wanted to tell her. “What’s wrong with me? Why does everyone treat me like a child in need of protection?”
    Jazmine’s brows lifted, and Lia laughed, feeling weirdly relieved that her friend chose to laugh at her rather than cover for her. “Okay, everyone but you.”
    Jazmine shrugged. “I think it’s a man thing. Men like to believe they’re in control, and they hate change.”
    “Oh, right,” Lia mocked, the fury back. “That explains what he did? He might have been in control, but it was a change from his normal behaviour all right.”
    Jazmine grinned. “You seemed to like it, from what I could see.”
    “All right, so I liked it,” she snapped, surprising even herself with the need to blurt it all out. “I’m almost twenty-seven years old and today was the first time a man kissed me! I wanted to be a woman for once. What’s so wrong with that?”
    Jazmine gaped—literally. “You’ve never been kissed before today?”
    Her blush grew deeper. “Do you mind? It was humiliating enough to say once.”
    “Of course it was. I’m sorry, Lia.” Jazmine leaned over and hugged her. “But you’re so beautiful. Men should be lining up to kiss you.”
    The words resonated in her soul. Beautiful… Someone outside the direct family had actually said it to her: You’re so beautiful.
    For years she’d felt abnormal. She’d never even been asked on a date in her life. Sometimes she thought a man seemed interested—one or two had asked for her number—but whennothing had come of it she’d felt confused and ashamed, wondering what was wrong with her.
    Even now, with a title and fifty-million euros, Theo Angelis had to arrange her marriage because she couldn’t find a man of her own. Though he’d arranged Charlie and Jazmine’s marriage, it was obvious by the way they could barely keep their eyes and hands off each other that their marriage would be…normal. But while she’d been willing to think about marrying Max at first, she’d soon realised that he was like every other man she knew: he saw her as a friend, a sister, someone to be kind to, to protect.
    “Well, they’re not,” she answered Jazmine, curt and cold, but she couldn’t help it. “I’m twenty-six years old, and no man has ever touched me.”
    “Until today,” Jazmine replied softly, with meaning.
    Without warning, Lia felt choking tears rush to her eyes. She’d acted like the sixteen-year-old with a hopeless crush on her best friend she’d once been, instead of the princess she must be. She’d had her dream for a moment, and she’d paid for it. With his next words, the dream had quietly fallen in splintered fragments at her feet.
    No one knows how to care for her and cherish her as I do.
    It was all about the past. Her best friend wanted to look after her.
    “Yes,” she agreed, with a bitterness she couldn’t hide. “Until today.”
    Jazmine stared at her, and seemed about to say something. Then the door opened, and Lady Eleni came in, looking unusually harried. “Princess Jazmine! Princess Giulia!”
    They jumped out of their chairs and strode round the bookshelf that hid them from view. “Yes, Eleni, what is it?” Jazmine asked, cool and in control.
    Lia wished she had the knack of that.
    “You’re wanted in the press room, Your Highnesses,” Lady Eleni said in a rush. “Lord Orakis is causing more troublewhile the King is ill. The King wishes you both to handle this before the news reaches Prince Kyriacos.”
    “Of course, we’ll come now.” Jazmine took Lia’s hand and they headed down together—but they both knew the time had come. They knew what Orakis wanted: power. And with his growing base of support he knew he could gain it legitimately through marriage to a princess.
    And with Charlie here to marry Jazmine, there was only one single princess