Heidi Betts – At His Majesty's Convenience / Her Little Secret, His Hidden Heir: At His Majesty's Convenience (страница 15)

Andi let out a cry of sheer joy. She’d finally cracked the password on her computer. A cryptic penciled list in the drawer seemed like a meaningless string of words—until she started typing them in one by one.

Queen had proved to be the key that unlocked her hard drive, and possibly her whole life. Funny! She must have picked it because she knew she soon would be queen.

That thought stopped her cold for a second. Queen Andi. Didn’t quite sound right. Still, she’d get used to it. And maybe Andi was short for a more majestic name, like Andromeda or something.

Her heart raced as the computer opened her account and laid a screen full of icons out before her. Yikes. So many different files, some with the names of countries, some of companies. She didn’t know where to start. A sound issued from the machine, and she noticed that the email icon announced the presence of fifty-three messages. She clicked on it with a growing sense of anticipation, and scrolled back to the last one she had opened. Eticket confirmation.

Frowning, she opened the email, which revealed an itinerary for Andi Louise Blake—apparently she wasn’t really named Andromeda—to travel from Munich to New York. The date listed was … yesterday.

Her blood slowed in her veins and her breathing grew shallow.

Obviously she hadn’t gone on the trip, and if it was a business-related one, surely Jake would have mentioned it. Munich—the nearest international airport, perhaps?—to New York, where she used to live …

She had been planning to leave.

Head spinning, she sat back in her chair. Why would she leave, if she was in love and about to get engaged?

She should just ask Jake about this. Why get all worked up when it could be a business trip that just got canceled at the last moment, maybe due to her loss of memory, or their engagement?

Andi glanced down at her ring with a growing sense of unease. She never had figured out why her clothes were creased as if they’d been packed. She must have changed her mind and unpacked at some point, but when? And why did Jake not know about her plans to take off?

Had she issued an ultimatum and forced him into proposing to her?

She swallowed, then started to chew on a nail. Her stomach curled up into a tight ball. Maybe she should see what else was going on in her email before she spoke to Jake.

It was hard to read with so much nervous energy leaping through her system. Her eyes kept jumping around on the screen. Most of the emails were business related—responses to invitations, scheduling questions, orders for supplies and that kind of thing.

Then one titled What’s going on? from a Lizzie Blake caught her eye. Blake—the same last name as her. What was going on? She clicked on it with her heart in her mouth.

Andi, I know you told me not to email personal stuff to this account, but I’ve tried calling you and you won’t call back. We saw a news story on TV yesterday saying that you’re going to marry Jake Mondragon, your boss. Is this true? How come you didn’t tell us? I thought you were getting ready to quit from the way you’ve been talking lately. Mom is pretty upset that you’d keep something like this from us. I remember you saying years ago that your boss was hot, but you never mentioned dating him, let alone getting engaged. Anyway, get in touch ASAP and let me know if I need to find a dress for a royal wedding. XX Sis.

Andi sat back, blinking. She had a sister called Lizzie. Who knew absolutely nothing about her relationship to Jake. And who’d been calling her but not getting through. She must have another phone somewhere that she used for personal calls.

She scanned the rest of the emails, but nothing else looked truly personal.

Where would she keep another phone? Brain ticking fast, she hurried back to her bedroom, glad she didn’t run into anyone in the hallway—especially Jake.

A pang of guilt and hurt stung her heart. She was avoiding him. Only this morning they’d lain in each others arms and she’d enjoyed such contentment and bliss that she hadn’t even minded about her memory being gone.

Now she was racked with suspicion and doubt. She locked her bedroom door behind her and started to go through the closet and drawers again. Finally, in the pocket of a black pair of pants she found a small silver phone. The pants showed signs of being recently worn—slightly creased across the hips and behind the knees—so maybe she had them on just before she lost her memory.

She flipped the phone open and pulled up recent messages. There were three from Lizzie and one from her mom, who sounded noticeably upset. Her voice, with its hint of tears, struck a sharp and painful chord deep inside her. On instinct Andi hit the button to dial the number.

“Andi!”

“Mom?” Her voice shook slightly. “Is it really you?”

“Of course it’s me. Who else would be answering my phone?” A bright laugh rang in her ear. “What the heck is going on over there?”

Andi drew in a steadying breath. “I don’t really know, to be honest. I lost my memory.”

“What?”

“Jake found me dancing around outside and I couldn’t remember anything at all. I didn’t even remember you or Lizzie until I saw her email and found the messages on my phone.”

“Oh, my gosh, that sounds terrifying. Are you okay?”

“More or less. It’s been strange and kind of scary, but I’m not sick or injured or anything.”

“That’s a blessing. Has your memory come back?”

Andi blinked. A blurry vision of a face—an energetic woman with short light brown hair and bright blue eyes filled her brain. “I think it’s coming back right now. Do you have blue eyes?”

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