Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 165618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 662(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 662(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
But by that time, I was raring to get out there and make my mark.
Now, in its place was an even more modern, streamlined design made up entirely of whites and creams, this included the floors and walls.
As such, the cavernous first floor that was all open plan held a variety of seating areas with armless couches and chairs and hovering tables and drone lamps.
Dad teased Mom incessantly about how he couldn’t relax and watch a screen with somewhere to rest his head.
Mom then teased Dad back about how he always had a headrest, and she had close proximity to play with his hair.
Yes, this meant his headrest was her lap.
Yes, this was cute.
Yes, since they were my parents, it was also gross.
And yes, in that moment, it served to further infuriate me because Dad got to fall in love.
Dad got to pick the being he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
I did not.
Hence my very recently arranged marriage to King Tanyn of Sky’s Edge, which segued into me carrying a grudge that might last forever, and obviously further led to me being late to this meeting, which was to discuss my arranged marriage to King Tanyn.
I was seeing someone.
Did that matter to Dad?
No.
Of course, things with Bash were very new. We were only seven weeks into it. I didn’t know if he was the one.
But I knew I liked him. He was interesting. He was handsome. We shared the same interests. I liked watching when I made him laugh. He was good in bed. He had a decent pedigree (a prerequisite for Dad, not me). He made good money (also a prerequisite for Dad, and not me—I could make my own money…and did, not to mention, I was the sole heir of the Truelock fortune).
That said, Bash was no king.
Ugh.
I ascended the gleaming cream steps to the second floor, walked down the hall and heard the murmuring of voices coming from Dad’s study before I hit the open door.
When I did, I saw Dad sitting behind his desk, Mom sitting in one of the chairs in front of it…
And King Tanyn standing at the window behind Dad, but off to the side.
Ambush, gods damn it.
All of their attention shifted to me when I appeared in the doorframe.
Mostly (all right, totally), my attention was on Tanyn.
Honestly, why did the male have to be so farging gorgeous?
That healthy, thick dark hair. That lean, tall body. His strong jaw, straight nose, heavy brow.
Those electric blue eyes.
I didn’t want to, but all I could think of was the kiss he’d laid on me after the troll attack at the Midnight Masque. This he did after I’d only just met him. This he did before he told me to get rid of Bash and he’d be in touch. His “in touch” meaning he was going to contact my father, not me, to negotiate for my hand, and he would do that without my knowledge, until Dad told me the arrangement had been made.
Thankful for that last thought, which meant I glowered at him before I looked at Dad.
“I thought this was a family meeting,” I noted.
“As the king will be wed into this family, it is,” he replied, and I saw the warning sign of the streak of red lightning flash first through one of my father’s dark eyes, then the other, before he said, “You’re inexcusably late.”
I strolled in. “I have a job, Dad.”
“And I requested this meeting three days ago, specifically after working hours so this very thing wouldn’t occur, and thus you couldn’t use that excuse. You have an assistant. She put it on your calendar. So you should have arranged your day so you could arrive at this meeting promptly,” Dad returned as I sat down in the chair next to Mom’s.
“Heya, honey,” Mom whispered.
I glanced at her. “Hey, Mom.”
Dad regained my attention when he kept lecturing me. “When you’re queen of an entire realm, you cannot ask important dignitaries to wait while you make certain your lip stain is just right.”
At these words, I heard Mom’s sharp intake of breath, and my back shot straight.
“And you didn’t curtsy to His Majesty when you entered this room,” Dad stated. “That’s an indefensible breach of protocol.”
“I’m in my childhood home,” I retorted.
“He’s king of a realm, Catla,” Dad clipped. “And don’t think with a lifetime of us putting up with your antics we don’t know you purposefully made all three of us wait twenty minutes for your arrival.”
“Well, first, I didn’t know Tanyn would be here,” I defended. “And second, you and Mom are at home. You work from this office frequently. You both have things you can do. It isn’t like—”
“Your inattentiveness to anyone’s needs but your own has got to stop,” Dad ground out, unfairly might I add.