The Lost Princes of Ambria 06 - Taming the Lost Prince Read Free Page A

Pellea’s public parlor while she flitted about and generally let Max know he was on thin ice with her. Kayla watched, but hardly listened. She knew the queen was crazy about him and was just trying to convince him to behave.
    At the same time, she herself was a bit impatient with all this. She felt as though every nerve ending was vibrating right now. There were so many things to take care of, so much to consider. Max was back and she had to figure out how to fit him into her life again. She had a thousand questions for him. There was so much she wanted to know, so much they’d missed. So much they needed to discuss.
    For instance, had he come close to marrying anyone in the last two years? Was there someone out there? She was hoping there was, but the signs weren’t good. If he had someone serious in his life, she could move on without any lingering doubts. Couldn’t she?
    The funny thing was, she couldn’t imagine him married. He didn’t have a married way about him. His beautiful eyes had a look that said he was always searching for something and not very satisfied with what he’d found. You had a sense that there was something missing in his life, but he wasn’t sure what it was and he knew he hadn’t seen it yet. Just seeing that in him scared her.
    But the queen seemed to have no forbearance left for all that. She knew what she wanted from Max and she wanted it now.
    “The first thing we’re going to do is get you into some decent clothes,” she said, rummaging through her closet.
    “What? You don’t like my style?” He said it in a tone that might have seemed insolent if he hadn’t paired his words with a look of pure innocence that caught Pellea by surprise, making her laugh.
    “Now I see what the problem is,” she told him, shaking her head. “You just don’t know any better. You need to learn a thing or two about being a prince, don’t you?”
    “If you insist.” His mouth twisted but he bent forward in a sweeping bow. “Anything for you, my beautiful queen.”
    Despite everything, Pellea colored slightly, then glanced Kayla’s way. “You’ve got to admit, the boy’s a charmer,” she said out of the side of her mouth. “I think he’s a diamond in the rough, too. We’ll see what we can make of him.” She smirked. “Heat and pressure. That’s how you get perfect diamonds. Are you game?”
    He didn’t answer but she’d already turned away and was hunting through a closet again, muttering about sizes and ruffled shirts.
    He looked at Kayla and shrugged, as though to say, “They’ve got me this time,” and she smiled at him, her heart full of affection for all he’d meant to her in the past. She wasn’t sure what the future would bring. But things were never dull when Max was around.
    Her smile faded as she remembered that there was something more lasting than memories between them, something more precious than life itself. And that was when she decided it was time for her to go.
    “Your Majesty, if you don’t need of me here …”
    Pellea poked her head back out of the closet. “Go ahead, Kayla,” she said. “I know you’ve got work to do. I won’t keep you.”
    “Thank you,” Kayla said, then she turned and gave Max a stern look. “You will be good, won’t you?”
    “At what?” he teased with a lopsided smile.
    She glared at him. “The guard is outside so don’t think you can get away with anything,” she murmured to him out of Pellea’s hearing.
    He gave her a “Who? Me?” look. She shook her head and started for the door. “Have a lovely time at the ball,” she said over her shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll be the star.”
    And she was out the door before he had a chance to say or do anything else.
    She hurried back to the office, hoping to get some work done that she’d neglected while she was off chasing princes. It had been a hectic week. Pellea had sent her to represent the DeAngelis royal family at a financial conference in Paris. She’d hated