Chapter 23
Ann blinked, relieved that he couldn’t see her face. But he was right. She realized now that she loved this man. She’d been so angry and hurt by that awful note he…hadn’t sent her.
Lifting her head from her favorite spot on his chest, she licked her lips and tried to understand. “You really didn’t send me a note suggesting that you wanted to share me with your friends?”
His hands moved to cradle her face and those dark eyes of his were filled with sincerity. “I never sent a note like that, Ann. Think about five years ago. Did I ever say anything that would indicate that I would be willing to share you with anyone, let alone another man?”
“No,” she whispered, choking back a sob. “I’m so sorry! I should have known that you wouldn’t send a message like that! I should have called you and demanded to know what the hell the note meant!” The tears flowed freely now as she started to make sense of that time in their past. “I should have realized that you’d never say that. And then you would have been with me during our son’s birth. You would have held him as a baby.” She leaned her forehead against his chest. “I’m so sorry! I should have known.”
“Ann!” he said, his voice firm. “I shouldn’t have trusted someone that I’d already realized wasn’t trustworthy.” He kissed her again then pulled her close. “I asked Gary to deliver the note to you.” He sighed, shaking his head as all the puzzle pieces fell into place. “I knew something was off with Gary while we were in college. He was a liar and not even good at it. And there’s just something about the guy. He’s good at convincing people to do what he wants.” He sighed. “Now that you’ve told me what happened, why you pulled away from me, I think I’m going to have to destroy him.”
Ann laughed, but it was a sad little hiccup. “That would be nice. He kept us apart for years, why not make his life a living hell in return?”
He grinned down at her as a knock sounded on the door.
Ann chuckled and wiped at her tears. “That’s going to be Archer. He usually storms into my bedroom as soon as he wakes up.”
“Let’s go have breakfast with the little guy.”
Ann put a hand on his forearm, stalling him. “Do you mean it?” Ann’s blue eyes looked into his darker ones. “What you asked? Earlier?”
Tazim moved back and, ignoring another impatient knock, took her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. When he lifted his head, they were both breathing heavily. “Yes, I meant it. I want to marry you. I’ve wanted to marry you for five damn years. You were never far from my mind!”
“I love you too!”
“And you’ll marry me?’
“Yes!” she replied, nodding to emphasize her answer.
Another knock on the door interrupted their next kiss, but Ann laughed, still wiping tears although they were tears of happiness.
“Come in!” Tazim called out, without releasing her. She started to wiggle out of his arms, but Tazim looked down at her with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Archer is going to see us touching each other a lot. He might as well start getting used to it now.”
He had a point, so Ann stood still while the door was opened by one of Tazim’s guards. As soon as the opening was wide enough, Archer sprinted in, still in his Superman pajamas, his dark hair tousled from sleep. He was making a beeline for his mother when he came to a skidding halt, his big, brown eyes moving between his two parents.
“Why are you both here?” he asked, his pudgy fingers curling into fists by his side.
Tazim released Ann’s waist and squatted down so that he was at eye level with his son. “I am going to marry your mother. Do you think that would be okay?”
Archer considered that for a moment, then he took a step closer. “Does this mean we will move to Androa?” he asked, mispronouncing the name of Tazim’s country.
“Androna,” Tazim corrected. “And yes. This means that we are all moving to my country.”
Archer’s mind was still racing. Finally, with a look in his eyes that made both of them wary, he asked, “If I let you marry my mom, will you let me have a dog?”
Ann snorted with laughter, then slapped a hand over her mouth. Tazim turned his head to frown up at her, but then focused on his son. “If you get a dog, do you think that you will take good care of it?”
Archer nodded so hard that his hair flopped around with the enthusiasm of his answer.
“Then it’s a deal!” Tazim said, extending his hand to shake his son’s.
Ann thought it was an excellent first lesson at negotiations and she was intensely proud that her son, who she knew wanted to live in Androna. But her little man had kept back his agreement until he had something that he wanted.
“Can we have eggs bandit?” Archer asked.
“We can definitely have eggs benedict ,” Ann corrected, ruffling his hair.
Then his head tilted and his eyes narrowed. “Why are you wearing a dress for breakfast?”
Ann couldn’t hold back her laughter. There were pros and cons to having a brilliant son. “I need to hurry home and change clothes, don’t I?”
“Maybe we could go shopping for new clothes this afternoon,” Tazim offered. He looked at his guards, then shook his head. “Or even better, perhaps the clothes could come to you.” He took Ann’s hand and kissed her fingers again. “I would like to introduce you to my bodyguards. This is only half of the team. The rest are on their way.”
“Oh, that would be lovely,” she replied and stepped forward, trying to look composed in her bare feet and cocktail dress.
Tazim asked his personal aide to call up the hotel kitchen and have a breakfast buffet sent up, complete with eggs benedict and enough food to feed his entire security team. “We’re going to have a brainstorming meeting,” he told everyone as they congregated in the great room of the penthouse.
Thirty minutes later, Ann had changed into a pair of leggings and a slouchy, cashmere sweater complete with the sexiest lingerie she’d ever seen. She wore butter soft leather boots, and Archer wore a new pair of jeans and a blue sweater.
When Tazim introduced Archer to his team of bodyguards, Archer shook their hands, trying to imitate his father. He did it in such an adorable way, even glancing at his father’s movements to ensure that he was greeting each person with an appropriate expression, that every one of the guards was hooked immediately.
The lead security guard, named Devin, took Archer’s hand and bowed. “It is an honor to meet you, Prince Archer el Butrim. If there is anything you need, Your Highness, we are here to serve you.”
Ann was startled by her tiny, adorable, highly intelligent son being called a prince. She glanced over at Tazim, needing him to correct the guard. But Tazim merely nodded his approval.
That’s when she realized that her son truly was a prince. Archer was a prince! A freaking prince!
Archer seemed to be pretty proud of himself as well and turned, his chest puffed up. He looked to Tazim, trying to walk like his father and Ann nearly burst into tears at how adorable he was. She hadn’t realized how much Archer wanted a male role model in his life. And with Tazim, her little son was getting the best!
“Great!” Tazim called out, clapping his hands. “Now that everyone has some food and coffee, let’s discuss our mission.” He explained what had happened to the message he’d entrusted Gary to deliver. “So, now that I know that Gary Liptiz messed with my life and kept Ann and I apart,” he explained, putting a hand on Archer’s shoulder, “we’re going to find a way to repay his insult.” He turned to Ann. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about Cindy the morning you were shot. Tell the team what she asked you.”
Ann leaned forward, resting her elbows on the shiny dining room table. “Cindy Liptiz asked me if the woman, I don’t remember her name, who came out of the barn on the day I was speaking with Tara and Kaia had anything in her hands, if she was trying to give me or tell me something.”
Tazim’s eye narrowed. “That means that Cindy Liptiz is aware that Ethan Howell had information. I suspect that he had blackmail material on several important people, and that’s how he kept his activities a secret.” He turned to Ann. “Last night, Ann and I were dining with the governor and the subject came up again. Gary seemed to be especially interested in the possibility of the woman from the barn handing something to Ann.”
Devin’s features shifted to eager understanding. “You think that Howell has some dirt on the governor.”
Tazim nodded and the rest of the security team straightened up. “That’s exactly what I suspect. You are my security team, and you’re not law enforcement officers here in the states.” He looked towards two of the men. “Although, you two are former law enforcement, correct?”
The two guards, Mike and Anthony, straightened and nodded. “Yes. We know how an investigation works and even better,” Mike grinned at Anthony, “we still have contacts within our units. We can get them to check the computer systems and find out what they know.”
Devin turned to the other guards. “The rest of you, brainstorm ideas on how you can get additional information.” He grinned, but there was no humor in his expression. “Remember, we don’t need a search warrant to get information, but whatever you find out, make sure that it can eventually be turned over to the legal authorities.”
Tazim turned to Devin. “We’ll remain here so that your team doesn’t need to worry about guarding us. We’ll watch movies and bring in entertainment.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” he replied, answering for the team. “I’ll report back to you in four hours with an update.”