He flipped them and she was under him in a second. “Who said I’d merely ‘try’, darling?”
She shook her head and laughed. “I really do need to go, even if I would rather be here with you.” She weaved her hands into his hair and brought his head down for several long kisses.
He was panting when they finally pulled apart. “I needed that.”
“You needed more, but we’re both out of time today.”
He nodded and lay down over her, his head resting on her chest. He heard the steady beat of her heart and it soothed him. Would it be like this once he took the throne? Stolen moments with her instead of the dedicated time they’d had so far? With the funeral and everything else, it was likely the circumstances keeping them apart, but he needed her the most now. He vowed that once he became king, and even in the lead up to it, he wouldn’t settle for simple stolen moments. He’d demand more.
“Alex?” she prodded gently. “Do you want to be with me when I tell my parents? I can go after my next meeting, but I know your schedule must be hectic today.”
He sighed and raised his head. “I would like to go with you, but you’re right, I don’t have time.”
She brushed a hand over his hair. “It’s all right. You know my parents will understand. I could delay telling them but…”
“That will delay everything else, too. No, go ahead and let them know.” He kissed her hard. “I love you.”
Slightly breathless, she smiled. “I love you, too. Always.”
He could imagine how Rebecca’s parents—who lived on the palace grounds, as her father was Head Groundskeeper—might react. He wasn’t sure how everyone else, especially his siblings, would take the news. If he wasn’t expecting to become king so soon, none of them would have expected it either.
How would their relationships change with this shift in family dynamics? Only one way to find out.
five
REBECCA
“My parents took it as well as could be expected,” Rebecca said as she dressed for their casual family dinner. “They were shocked, but not surprised, if that makes sense. I told them about your father’s health too. You know they’ll never share it, but our fathers are good friends and I didn’t want to hide it from them.”
Alex sighed as he watched her from her dressing room door. “I wish you hadn’t.”
She’d been in the middle of slipping off her clothes but paused to look at him. “Why? Do you think my parents are untrustworthy? I told them not to mention it to anyone.”
Fuck. The last thing he wanted, or even needed, was for them to get into a disagreement right now. “You can’t tell them everything anymore.”
“They won’t say anything.”
“They could. I’m not saying they’d do it intentionally, but something could slip out accidentally.”
She continued to take off the clothes she’d worn during theday, a simple but expensive black suit with a grey silk shirt. “They’ve kept plenty of our secrets. Besides, I don’t tell themeverything.”
“Once you become queen, things will be different. You’ll be privy to much more highly secure and confidential information. You need to get into the habit now of keeping things from them.”
“So I’m not supposed to talk to them about anything ever again?”
He rubbed a hand over his face and shook his head. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
She pulled a dress from a hanger and took a deep breath. “We don’t have time to argue right now, but I’d like to revisit this discussion in the future. I understand where you’re coming from, but I don’t think you understand how important it is for me to be able to talk about certain things with my parents.”
No, he didn’t understand, but he nodded all the same.
She unzipped the dress and stepped into it. “I told Mara about the abdication and coronation too. She couldn’t speak for a full minute after I told her. How was Tavin?”
“Slightly better, or better at covering his surprise. I think he’s nervous about becoming the next ‘Corrado’ but I’m sure he’s up to the challenge.”
She tugged the dress on and turned her back to him, and he stepped forward to zip it up. Her lady’s maid was helping some of his other siblings tonight at Rebecca’s direction, so he was standing in, not that he ever minded helping her dress.
He moved his fingers into her long, chestnut hair, wound it around his hand, and shifted it over one shoulder. He then slowly zipped up her dress, his fingers grazing her skin as he did.
