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Juliana had been excited by the script for King’s Ransoer to ith Dirk again Costue were always a risk for abattle scenes, not to mention incredibly romantic love scenes, and—as far as Juliana could tell—was aliously accurate in all the major details

Great script, great director, a supporting cast she respected and Dirk DeWinter to star opposite her Not to ive the fil it needed What more could an actress ask for? She had been excited about the role of Eleonora, as excited as Dirk still was about playing the first king of Zakharuntil she’d learned the o In and around the royal palace Where—inevitably—she would encounter Andre again

Juliana shut down that train of thought ruthlessly You will not remember, she ordered herself forcefully, but she kneas in vain The memories already haunted her They’d haunted her for eleven years It was long past tied—in the graveyard of ht-have-beens

She wouldn’t allow herself to care Not any that dress with you to wear to the reception tonight? she asked herself derisively What are you trying to prove? And to whoned to be ith absolutely nothing beneath it Designed to be worn by a woman who knew herself irresistible Well, that’s true, isn’t it? she asked herself even more cynically Millions of men lusted after her on the silver screen, the omen lusted after Dirk

Millions of menbut not one in real life Not one irl she’d once been inside the beautiful woman she was now Not one man who saw her need to be loved for who she was—her inner character—not the way she looked Not one nite the fires of passion in a body that was ice-cold Frigid Doomed

That’s another thing to blame Andre for, she realized He killed that part of h to know that!

The et into the reception—hiding behind a facile sht to be in attendance at this royal function Then was forced to walk through the portable metal detector set up at the entrance to the Great Hall with all the other guests—again inducing resent’s h their deferential attitude should have mollified him No one would know fro My blood is as royal as the king’s—I should be exempt, just as he is I should not have to submit to this insult

The o by the current king’s father When the king had ascended the throne three years earlier he’d wanted it removed, but his objections had been overridden at the insistence of the Privy Council and the king’s own bodyguards—the metal detector had stayed in place Not that a metal detector could detect any and all weapons, but it had definitely thinned the potential dangers the king’s bodyguards had to be on the lookout for during public occasions like this

He glanced around the vast roo He saw one of the stars of thehead and shoulders above the circle of adoring fe hiht He didn’t placeable to distract Juliana’s attention from Andre—she’d never had eyes for anyone except Andre when he’d known her eleven years ago But he would try If he wasn’t successfulthere was always the alternative

Knowing Juliana—and it was unlikely she’d changed that much in the past eleven years despite her international fame—there would be opportunities to silence her forever should it become necessaryand make it appear an accident

Juliana hadn’t intended to make a dramatic entrance at the reception But she hadn’t been able to resist the oversize marble tub in the lavishly appointed bathrooed herself for almost an hour She’d washed her hair and let it air dry, thankful she’d never had to do much with it—just brush it out and let her natural wave do its thing

Then she’d lain down on the large, incredibly co to just rest her eyes before the reception But the lack of sleep on the plane had done her in Not just on the plane, she’d sleepily acknowledged as she dozed off She hadn’t slept well ever since she’d known she would be returning to Zakhar