When she returned the phone, Luna knew what she had to do. She’d messed up. Tasim had sent her several messages over the past two months. But Luna had ignored them. He had reached out. Now she had to hope, no pray, that she still had a chance.
“When do we leave?” she asked.
Ella’s grin was huge. “Elon and I leave this Friday. But what about if you get on a flight tonight?” She suggested. “I can send a message to Tasim, letting him know that you have something important to discuss with him.”
Luna debated for all of three seconds. “Call him,” she decided, standing up and walking purposefully out of her office. Out in the hallway, she didn’t walk. She ran! Startled, her assistant jogged alongside her. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Get me to the airport!” she gasped, sobbing as the horror of what she’d done washed over her. “I need to see Tasim. Call him.” She burst into her room. “No! Don’t call him. Not yet. We can call him when I land.”
“Your Highness,” her assistant stammered, “we need to go through the proper channels. We need to get your security team on board. They need to make arrangements.”
Luna closed her eyes, but the tears continued to fall. “I know! Just…do what you can! I need to be in the air as soon as possible!”
Several hours later, Luna paced the length of the plane, wringing her hands. The plane was scheduled to land in twenty minutes. Her guards had called ahead, asking for permission to land, which had been granted. The pilot had been asked who was on board, and they’d answered honestly. But that didn’t mean that Tasim would be happy to see her.
She’d messed up. Completely! She’d taken an overheard conversation and entirely misinterpreted Tasim’s intentions.
Or had she? Was Luna putting herself into an awkward situation? What if the general had been talking about her and not Peter, the dog? What if Tasim really had tried to charm her in order to ease the tension between them? What if…?
“Your Highness, we’re cleared for landing,” the flight attendant announced.
Luna nodded and, reluctantly, sat down and buckled herself in. “This is it,” she whispered to herself, unaware of her white-knuckle grip on the arms of the seat.
By the time the plane landed and taxied to a stop, the stairs pushed up to the door and the all-clear given from her security team to exit, Luna was a mass of nervous energy.
She should have waited, she thought as she picked up her purse with trembling fingers. She should have called Tasim and asked him about the conversation. She should have waited and come on the official visit with Elon and Ella. Yes, that would have been much less awkward!
Instead, she’d stupidly flown out here in a fit of insanity to ask him if…what? What was she going to ask Tasim? If he loved her? Of course he didn’t love her! They hadn’t had enough time for love!
So, why was her heart jackhammering against her ribs? Why did she feel like her veins were filled with champagne?
“Here goes nothing!” She squared her shoulders and stepped purposefully around the corner of the plane’s cabin and…!
He was there! Tasim was standing at the bottom of the stairs! Good grief, the man looked handsome!
Slowly, she descended the stairs, hoping that he couldn’t tell how nervous she was. When she reached the tarmac, Luna found she couldn’t take her eyes from him. Had he been this tall two months ago? Surely not!
“Luna!” he groaned, and pulled her into his arms. “Damn, you look beautiful!”
Luna sobbed, burying her face against his neck. “Did you charm me for political expediency?” she demanded, blurting out the question she needed answered the most.
Tasim pulled back, peering into her eyes. “What?”
Luna wiped her tears away, glancing nervously at the guards surrounding them. Both her team as well as his stood at attention, all looking outward instead of in at them.
“Luna, what did you say?”
Blinking, she wiped impatiently at the tears streaming down her cheeks. “Did you….” she stammered for a moment, and tried again, “Did you charm me for political expediency?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer. “I know that I was horrible at first. But it wasn’t because I didn’t like Ella. I liked her. A lot! In fact, I love her like a sister now. And I wasn’t angry that she was marrying my brother. I was sad that my brother and I wouldn’t be the team that we used to be. But I know that he loves Ella so much and I’m so happy for them both. But I just–”
His lips brushed against hers, silencing her stream of words. When he lifted his head, his hands were still on her waist, holding her still. “You thought I’d tricked you that weekend.” He pulled her close, holding her to his chest. “I didn’t trick you, Luna. I fell in love with you!” His arms tightened and his fingers dove into her hair. “I wasn’t a fan at first. I thought you were a spoiled brat. But watching you, I also knew that I wanted you.” He sighed, his breath blowing wisps of her hair. “I couldn’t believe how much I wanted you.”
She sniffed, feeling better, but not completely. “Just wanted me?”
He laughed, pulling back so that he could look into her eyes. “That’s what I told myself. Just lust.” He shook his head. “But it was a lie. I knew over ice cream.” He took her hands in his. “So, you thought that I was just charming you that weekend.”
“Well, I guess.”
“What made you think that? What did I do?”
Luna’s tears welled up again, the pain of those overheard words washing over her. “You didn’t do anything. I was just…” she sighed, her
