She picked up the phone and called down to the front desk.
“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked.
“Yes. I need a taxi for the airport. Can someone at the front desk take care of that for me?”
“Absolutely, Miss Rogers. We’ll get right on it.”
Thirty minute later, she ducked into a cab.
“Sovalon International Airport?” the driver asked.
“Yes,” she said, trying hard to ignore the twinge of regret she felt. From the backseat, she glanced into the rearview and watched her hotel fade as they drove farther out of the city.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed, jarring her from her thoughts.
“Hello, this is Kyra.”
“Hey, Kyra, it’s Neil Bryan.”
Neil was a fellow member on the board for the women’s shelter.
“Hi, Neil. What can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to share the latest good news,” he said, sounding cheerful. “A significant financial contribution has been made to the project. It’s enough to not only complete everything on the desired timeline, but we can even upgrade some of the plans.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
At least she could return home feeling like she’d succeeded in doing a great job on the project.
“Yeah, and it’s all thanks to Prince Marcus,” Neil said with a snort. “Who’d have thought he would have been such a valuable addition to the board, huh?”
Thanks to who? “Sorry, Neil, could you repeat that?”
“Apparently the playboy prince made quite the impression on our generous investor,” Neil said. “We already knew he’d agreed to make the contribution—he got the ball rolling on that after his night out with the prince. But today, the actual payment came through, and it was even more than the amount he’d initially promised. He included a message saying the additional funds were as thanks to Marcus for showing him the town.”
Kyra shook her head, wondering what exactly Marcus had done to leave such an impression.
“Except, rumor has it that Marcus isn’t quite the party animal the media makes him out to be,” Neil continued.
“What do you mean?” she asked, her attention fully piqued.
“Apparently, the investor commented that the prince didn’t really live up to his reputation of debauchery,” Neil said. “Glasgow is quite the womanizer, I guess, but when they went out, Prince Marcus wasn’t hitting on women. But it all worked out, because Glasgow said he was impressed by the prince’s professionalism, said it made him feel safe handing over his money.”
Kyra was quiet for a long second, then thanked Neil for calling her with the good news.
She hung up the phone feeling like a fool, and as the taxi neared the airport, Kyra’s thoughts spun circles in her head. Had she made the right decision in pushing Marcus away?
She was still angry that he’d lied, making her think he was turning in for the night when he’d actually been heading out clubbing. And she was still upset with the way the story had been spun by the media. But the second part wasn’t really Marcus’s fault, and the first part…was it really so unforgiveable? If she made it clear that honesty was crucial to her in a relationship, did she trust him to never make that mistake again?
She did, she realized. She trusted him—and she cared for him, in spite of herself.
But what was she supposed to do about that now?
Marcus’s driver was waiting for him outside the Center for Social Welfare. It had been a grueling day of meetings with the financial directors and advisors for the women’s shelter project, and he was beat. All he wanted was to go home and chill. The minute he got into the Bentley, he sank into the comfortable leather seats and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, his phone rang.
“This is Marcus,” he said, wondering what fire he was going to have to put out now. Discussions about budget had been brutal today, and he wasn’t in the mood for more of the same.
“Marcus, it’s Edward.”
Thank God. It was just his brother.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing pressing,” Edward said. “I’ve been reviewing the plans that you and Kyra put together for the estate, and I just wanted to tell you I’m damn impressed with your work. I’m proud of you, brother.”
Marcus smiled sheepishly. He wasn’t sure anyone in his family had every said those words before.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“You and Kyra really pulled off a job well done, I’ll tell you that. You make a good team.”
Marcus was silent. He appreciated his brother’s support, but he couldn’t go there. The memory of her telling him to leave was still too raw.
“You know,” Edward continued, “relationships like that are hard to come by, professional or otherwise.”
Hard to hold onto as well, apparently.
“Thanks for calling, Edward,” Marcus said. “It’s nice to get positive feedback, and hearing it come from you really means a lot.”
Marcus said goodbye to his brother and hung up the phone, but Edward’s words and veiled message wouldn’t leave him be. He and Kyra had really clicked. They were a good team, and they would make great parents. Sure, relationships took work, but everything that was worth anything took work.
He was willing to work to maintain their relationship, but she’d given up. She’d pushed him away.
But had he given up too easily? He could have fought a little harder to make her give him another chance. He’d always felt unstoppable when he was with her, so why was he letting anything stop him now?
“Roland,” he said to his driver, “turn around please. Head to Hotel Sovalon.”
He had to make Kyra see what he saw. What Edward saw. The two of them could have a future together if she’d just give him a chance.
When Roland pulled up to the hotel, Edward didn’t wait for the car to be in park before he hopped out. The exhaustion from a long day dissipated, and he was energized with the hope of working things out with Kyra and moving forward together. She was the only woman he’d ever really felt a strong bond with. It was as if she were meant just for him, and he was not going to let that get away.
He hurried into the elevator and pressed the button for the seventh floor, his whole body buzzing with anticipation. The minute the doors opened, he pushed through and raced down the hallway to Kyra’s room.
“Kyra,” he called, rapping firmly on the door. “Kyra, please let me in. We need to talk.”
She didn’t answer him, so he continued to knock on the door. “Kyra—”
The door opened, and a woman in a housekeeping uniform stood in front of him.
“Where’s Kyra?” he asked, confused.
The housekeeper stared at Marcus with awe in her eyes.
“Are you Prince Marcus?” she asked, her voice betraying that she was clearly a fan.
He didn’t have time for this.
“Have you seen the woman who’s staying in this room?” he asked.
She blushed and shook her head. “No” she said. “Whoever was staying in this room checked out this morning.”
Checked out? But where could she have gone?
“Thanks,” he muttered to the googly-eyed young woman and scurried back downstairs to the lobby.