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Maylee hadn’t returned with his ceremonial jacket, and she was nowhere to be found Annoyed and tense, he’d snapped at his mother’s equerry until the man located the suit, which had been dropped off with one of the drivers Maylee had vanished, and Griffin felt a nagging bit of worry She one back to the hotel He hoped she was all right The thought of that sunny s of syet her some chicken noodle soup on the way home, he decided, and sent the order downstairs to the palace kitchens

By the tiraphs and public appearances were done, Griffin felt wrung out and exhausted He didn’t care about hang sx with Maylee that night She was sick, and he was tired He sile his fingers in those glorious curls and tell her all about the brutality of his day Listen to her sweet, drawling voice as she coainst her delicious, curvy body

His dick decided that it cared about having sex, though Just a little He adjusted his pants surreptitiously in the back of the sedan, eyeing the bagged container of chicken noodle soup on the floorboard that the kitchens had prepared for his ride ho out frorab it

When he realized it was a used tissue, he nearly dropped it in disgust, but the black smears on it ave a funny clench and he lifted the Kleenex so the driver could see it "What is this?"

The azed in the rearview h "No, what is it doing in the back of my sedan?"

"The madam must have dropped it before she headed to the airport, my lord"

He stilled "Airport?"

"Yes, ritted his teeth For once, he hated the rules that the well-trained staff of the monarchy followed, especially the "do not converse with the family"

"Why did you drive my assistant to the airport?"

"She insisted, ? Was everything all right?"

"I don’t know, aze in the rearview s in the car and I wasn’t sure what to do with them They’re in the trunk"

"I want to see them"

They pulled up to the back of the hotel and Griffin hopped out, clenching the wad of tissue in his hand "Open the trunk," he de to take his sweet ti

A moment later, he heard the pop of the trunk release, and Griffin opened it, looking inside Maylee’s fascinator was there, and the sight made his heart stop in his chest out of fear What on earth rong? What made her cry and take off her hat and abandon him today? She was his assistant, damn it

He picked her hat up, as well as a newspaper Underneath the newspaper, there was a box of condoone through with her flirty words and picked up the condoed?

The driver ca out his bag with the containers of chicken noodle soup Hea woman’s feathery hat, a newspaper, and a box of condoms, but he took the soup froo to the airport?"

"She didn’t say, my lord" This time, there was a hint of reproach in the man’s face, as if it were Griffin’s fault

And that irritated him "Thank you," Griffin said abruptly He turned and stalked into the hotel

When he passed the security guard posted at the elevator to his floor, he asked the man, "Did my assistant co the front desk--"

"No" He tried to raise a hand to stop thethe box of condoms Hell, he probably looked like an idiot "Thank you"

Griffin tossed his assorted parcels when he got back to his roo door Maylee’s roo still in place, bags of souvenirs at the bottom of her closet He picked up her suitcase and opened it It was e filled with hotel soaps and shas behind He didn’t understand She’d left hi

Had a family member died? Was that why she’d been in such a hurry? Concern for her shook through hiht of his soft, sweet Maylee devastated at the death of her ood, kind heart It would crush her

He ies Nothing Perhaps she’d been too upset to leave one Griffin pulled out his cellphone and checked it twice, then tried leaving hi

Then, he dialed the front desk "I want a driver here in theof the reproachful look the chauffeur had given his in the ht out in the et all that?"

"I’s packed--"

"Just do it," he snapped, and hung up Great, noas feeling s hian to shove clothes into it He stopped when he’d only h his jackets and there was no more room in his suitcase He only had two o How the devil had Kip s?

Frustrated, he sat down on the edge of the bed and raked a hand through his hair It was slicked doith gel as his usual style--Maylee had protested it thisbut he’d insisted, since he didn’t want to draw attention to hiht in it Damn it, he didn’t even like his own hair anyain so he didn’t look like an idiot

As he stared ahead, coaze fell on the newspaper He’d picked it up without giving it a second thought since Maylee had left it in the car, and he’d just now noticed that the pages seemed to be curled and left open at a particular spot

Griffin picked up the newspaper and flipped pages It fell open to the e splash was full of pictures of him Him with Maylee, him with that blasted Saxe-Gallia princess

Lord Verdi sows some wild oats with one of his American mistresses

Dried tear-stains rumpled the paper, and Griffin suddenly knehy his assistant had abandoned hiht back to New York was inter Griffin spent most of it on phone calls First were the cancellations of the rest of his Bellissime appointments He was scheduled to stay in the country for at least another week, and had to make his excuses to everyone, e his travel hos that seeed to keep it all straight? He found her Post-it notes stuck to his laptop, and grew frustrated all over again

She hadn’t trusted hihtest That irritated him and wounded his pride He’d been at her side every o philandering about on her? Hadn’t he let her wear his fae that was?