Read Online A Royal's Love (Unit Matched #1) by Mary Smith - Free Book Online

thought it was going to be you. Actually, when I saw you at the bank and you said it was your birthday, I texted him and told him. We all thought it was going to be you and him.”
    My mouth dropped a bit. Oliver? I mean he was good looking and a sweet guy, but we had nothing in common at all. “May I ask a question? It’s kind of personal.”
    “Sure.”
    “What did you think when you came to my house that night?” I closed my mouth tight after asking because I hoped he would answer it.
    “I didn’t think anything, actually. When Mom and Dad told me that they were going over to your house, I assumed it was to say ‘Happy Birthday’. I mean our mothers are Paired, and our dads do a lot of business together. It didn’t seem out of the ordinary. What did you think?”
    “Nothing until we sat down. I thought that was a little strange.”
    There was a moment of silence between us before I got the nerve to ask him. “What was your first thought? When Dad said we were Matched?”
    He didn’t say anything at first and then he pulled into a parking garage. When he parked and shut off the car, he sat there boring a hole through the steering wheel.
    “I don’t know what I thought.” He laid his head back on the headrest. “See, when I turned of age, I had it all planned to leave and not come back. But,” he paused closing his eyes. “Mom begged me not to. I’m my father’s only son. It’s his dream for me to take over the business that he created, and at the time, I didn’t want that. So, I asked if I had been Matched and she said I was. I told her that I didn’t want to be, and she said if I stayed, she would see if I could be unmatched.” He opened his eyes turning his head toward me. His blue eyes were sad.
    “So, did she try? Did she talk to my parents?” I could hear the cracking in my voice.
    “No, she told me the other night that she didn’t because she thought that I would eventually change my mind.” He faced forward. “What about you? Why did you stay?”
    I blinked the tears away trying to keep my emotions in check thinking about my reasons. “My parents. I’m their only child and leaving would be hard on them. On top of that, there’s no one to carry on our bloodline. Who would control Unit after my parents? And I won’t lie; I was curious about my Matched, but at the same time I didn’t know if I wanted to be.”
    He nodded understanding my dilemma. “Why is leaving important to you?”
    “I wanted to see if I could do it on my own, and I want to see the world. It would be hard for me to do if I remained in Unit.”
    “Why is traveling so important to you?”
    “I’ve always wanted to. I mean,” I sighed. I wanted to open up to him, but I didn’t want to tell him everything, either. “I want to see what’s outside Unit. I know there’s more than just this.” I waved my hand at the nothing I felt in front of me. “I want to explore. Maybe even met others from different clans?”
    Thaddeus doesn’t say anything. He only gets out of the car comes around and opens my door. I wasn’t sure where we were, so I waited for Thaddeus to take the lead.
    Then…it…happened.
    I felt it before I realize that it was happening. His fingers touched the back of my knuckles and then laced with mine. I didn’t know how to act at first as he began to head towards the elevators.
    I was holding hands with a guy.
    With Thaddeus Edwards.
    With my Matched.
    Thaddeus was acting like it wasn’t a big deal as the elevator passed each floor until we reached the one we wanted. When the doors opened, we were in a large mall. It towered several floors up and there were even lower levels.
    “Oh wow.” I gulped looking around me.
    Thaddeus chuckled. “Figured you would like it here.”
    “Did you laugh ?”
    “Maybe.” He winked, then rubbed his thumb over my knuckles, causing my heart to race faster. “Come on, I have the perfect store for you.”
    We go to the left and head towards the end of the