Royals Saga 3 Crown Me by Geneva Lee

horrified as you like. In the end you’ll be glad I’m so good at what I do.”
    I swallowed against the lump in my throat.
    “I suppose it’s easy to judge when you don’t have to know the details,” she purred.
    “What are you going to do to him?” I whispered.
    “Don’t trouble yourself,” she said dismissively. “I’ll do my job. You’ll walk down the aisle, and everyone lives happily ever after.”
    “Everyone lives, huh?” I laughed dully.
    “As far as you are concerned.” Her finger traced the rim of her wine glass. “Now ask me what you really want to know.”
    “I’m not sure I follow.” The dread creeping across my skin suggested otherwise. But after the shock of what I’d just learned, I wasn’t positive I could handle any more.
    “You’re a smart girl, Clara. Don’t play dumb,” she said, an edge of distaste coloring her words.
    “What is your relationship with Alexander?” Finally, I had asked the question I wasn’t sure I wanted answered.
    “I have no relationship with Alexander,” she assured me, tacking on, “anymore.”
    “We’re strong women. Lies don’t become us.”
    “I’m not lying. And once again you’re asking the wrong question.”
    I didn’t have to search for the right one. “What were you to him?”
    “Now we’re getting to it.” A delighted smirk played over her stunning features. “Alexander assured me that you knew. Was he lying?”
    My eyes shut and I inhaled deeply before answering. “He told me that you had a relationship. You’re his ex-girlfriend.”
    “I know Alexander isn’t sentimental enough to call me his girlfriend, even in the past tense.” She raised an eyebrow.
    “I believe I called you an ex-girlfriend,” I clarified.
    “And he didn’t correct you?” she asked. “Interesting.”
    “I don’t have time for this.” I stood shakily and nodded to her. My body was already preparing for the confrontation I knew was coming. My issue wasn’t with Georgia Kincaid. It was with the man I was about to marry.
    She held up her hand. “Please sit.”
    I considered it for a moment before returning to my chair. Whatever was brewing inside of me would keep. Of that much, I was certain.
    “I had hoped to run into you,” she admitted. “I thought a little girl talk was in order.”
    “Is that what we’re calling this?” I asked. “You didn’t strike me as a woman who played games.”
    “Then you’ve misread me. I love games. Almost as much as I love to play .” She left the final word hanging in the air.
    My hand flew to my mouth as I swallowed back a rush of stomach acid. I didn’t need her to explain what that meant.
    “You?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around the idea.
    “I know.” She licked her lower lip, making her red lipstick glisten. “I don’t seem like a submissive. But then again, neither do you, my dear.”
    “That’s because I’m not,” I bit out.
    “I do remember Alexander saying he wasn’t in the lifestyle,” she recalled. “Or at least claiming he wasn’t. But I’m not stupid. Everything about a man like Alexander craves dominance. He was born to it. The most natural Dominant I’ve ever met, actually.”
    “Enough,” I cried, drawing the attention of a few surrounding tables.
    Georgia shot me a look and mouthed one word. Discretion.
    “You’re advising me to be discreet?” I could have laughed if I didn’t feel so sick.
    “I prize discretion over all things. You are one of only a few people who know about my former relationship to your fiancé.” Her hands folded together. “That is why I was assigned to handle your problem.”
    “I don’t want you to handle it.”
    “Don’t let your emotions get in the way,” she advised me. “As I said, I am discreet. I’m surprised you even noticed me here today, but then again maybe I’m not.”
    “Why?” I asked.
    “You’ve wanted answers from me since the moment we met. You were looking for me, Clara. You just didn’t know it.”