Ruby's Secret

CHAPTER 7

Ruby St. Clair's POV

We travelled in a painful silence until we arrived at the pricey Manhattan restaurant. The snow on the sidewalk was heavy. But the heavy chill outside couldn't be more wintry than inside Roman Vasquez's Ferrari.

He tossed the key to the waiting valet and helped me to slide out of the car. I pulled my coat tighter to my body and my leather gloves to keep my hands warm from such weather. Roman kept my hand laced with his as we went inside the restaurant, stating his possession. Not that I was his possession.

I ignored the curious look from the diner inside the restaurant. The maître d' led us to one of the best tables inside. A well-trained waiter gave us the menu and left for some privacy. It's been a while since I dined with such a restaurant.

"Ruby?" A masculine voice drawled my name. "How are you? It's been a long time."

I felt myself grinning at the tall ruthlessly handsome man who moved closer to our table. I ignored the dark look from the man sat across from me. "Your Highness." I greeted the man with a smile. "How did you know it was me not my twin?"

The man with a harsh face and uncanny cobalt blue-eyes smiled mockingly. He was devastatingly handsome as ever that every woman in the restaurant following him with their eyes. "The winter outside couldn't be colder than the glare she'll send to me at fifty paces."

I felt my lips twitching with a smile. He was the only man I knew that would consider my twin as a cold woman. "I get that you and my twin sister still can't get along, Your Highness?"

"Wave the formal address, Ruby. We're old friends, aren't we?" Cobalt blue-eyes smiled down at me that belied secrets in their depth. "But as for me and the ice princess our 'friendly relationship' got worsened in the past years, I fear."

I smiled at the way he describe his connection with my twin 'friendly'. Because nothing was pleasant the way they treated each other. Everyone in New York City knew that there's no love lost between the two of them.

It was common knowledge that Emerald St. Clair—the world's renowned supermodel had been the adversary of the powerful prince Khalil Al-Farsi—the crown prince of the rich country of Saqr. Their harsh verbal exchange rose many eyebrows on many occasions.

A light coughed brought my attention to the glowering man in front of me. "Roman," I introduced casually with a slight smile. "I believe you haven't met my good friend, Sheikh Khalil Al-Farsi. Khalil, this is Roman—"

"Her husband," Roman announced arrogantly. I gaped at him while the prince look momentarily stunned before he schooled his features again to be unreadable.

"How do you do?" Sheikh Khalil offered his hand to Roman. "I believe that congratulation was in order then? Forgive me for intruding. It's just been a while since I saw Ruby."

"Yes. Thank you." Roman took his hand and shook it briefly. Thank goodness, I was half expecting that he would ignore it. Because this man was known for being rude whenever he wants.

"Are you alone, Khalil?" I asked the desert prince. "Why don't you join us?"

The prince shook his dark head and gesture to the table with a dark-haired woman who was waiting patiently for him. "I have a company, Ruby. Maybe next time we can have lunch together. And send my regards to the ice princess when you see her. I might seek for her gruesome company in the following weeks of my staying in New York. I think I need a good argument with her."

Leave it to this handsome prince and Emerald that even though they hated each other's gut they moved in the same circle in the society, they shared the same friends. And the chance that they bumped in with each other at parties was very high.