The women paused in their fussing.
“Love isn’t always enough.”
Princess Catharine nodded. “I can understand that. Truly, I do. Now tell us what else doyouneed?”
“Acceptance. Trust. Support.”
“You’ll get those from me.”
They all jumped at the sound of Ethan’s voice.
He stepped towards her, stopping a few feet away. “I accept you, I do trust you, and I’ll support you in whatever you do. I was an asshole three months ago, but I’ve learned my lesson. I know you don’t have a reason to trust me, but I’ll prove to you that you can. I know that could take time, but I’m not going anywhere.”
She wanted to believe him…
“In the meantime, let me take a look at your injuries. Do you trust me to take care of you medically?”
The Queen stayed put, but the Princess moved away and Ethan took her place. He sat down beside her and began to assess her head wounds first. He’d given her a look over in the car on the way here, but now he carried a small bag with him and began to pull out different medical tools.
He started to clean her cheek wound and she winced. “I know you’re tired, but until I can get a scan of your head, I’d rather you didn’t sleep too much in case you’ve got a concussion. If you want to rest in here, you can, but I’ll need to wake you up every couple hours.”
Princess Catharine immediately volunteered. “I’ll stay with her.”
He shook his head. “I’ll be taking care of her.”
The Queen gave him an ‘oh you will, will you?’ look. Anda wasn’t sure how she managed it, but the Queen had skills.
The Queen shook her head. “What about your new injuries? Did your brother knock some literal sense into you, or do I need to add my own words to his argument?”
Anda blinked and finally glanced over, really looking at him for the first time since he’d entered. “What happened to your nose?”
Princess Catharine smiled and tapped a finger to her chin. “Papa usually doesn’t get so violent, but all the boys do. I’m guessing by the location and angle of the wound, that it was probably Marcello.”
He tenderly touched the tip of his nose and nodded. “It was him. You want to add to it, too?”
Princess Catharine gave him a wicked smile. “Oh, not at this time. I just had my nails done this morning, and don’t want to ruin them yet. But I’ll be happy to punch you in the face on some future date, don’t you worry.”
He scoffed while he continued to work on Anda. “As if you can punch anyway. You have the weakest arm.”
Princess Catharine looked indignant. “You forget who I’m engaged to. Do you honestly think that Eddie wouldn’t show me a thing or two?”
He mumbled under his breath. “I bet Bash showed you a thing or two.”
The Queen slapped him on his head.
“Ow! Mama!”
“Don’t be crude, Ethan. Now stop dallying, and take care of this lovely woman. She needs rest. She was very dizzy when we first arrived.”
Suddenly, he was all business, asking her questions. His family left the room so he could conduct a simple exam.
Through it all, she was tense. Not because she didn’t trust his medical skills, but because she just needed them to have that ‘final’ conversation.
Closure.
That’s what she really wanted. To know that it was finally over, because she just didn’t think the man in front of her wanted her the way sheneededto be wanted.
“Ethan, I think we should talk.”
