"I don't think either of us planned for that to happen while we were here."
"No." She sighed and leaned more heavily against the stainless steel counter. "I hadn't really thought it through. I don't know what was in my head..." Her voice trailed off.
"I know. I don't know that it matters what went through your mind, or my mind, or anything else. We're married adults. We'reconsentingmarried adults. To an extent that's all that matters."
Catherine still didn't look at him. "Yes."
"But there's still a lot of layers to what happened, what it says about our relationship from here on out, what it says about the state of our relationship beforehand, and any number of other things." He reached over and covered her hand with his own. "And where we go from here."
She curled her fingers around his. "I don't know where we go from here. We're married. That won't change. Obviously." Sucking in a deep breath, she went on. "As for our relationship, I think we're still getting to know each other, and we're on our way to falling in love, to being in love. We're not there yet, but we're getting there."
"That sums up my thoughts on the matter as well." His hand twisted until he could intertwine their fingerstogether. "We're finding a way forward, together, into a life together. A life that will eventually include children and grandchildren. That will include travel around the world on behalf of your people. A life that will include us growing old together."
She didn’t mention how that worked out for her parents.
Catherine wasn't quite sure exactly how it happened, but somehow he'd moved to her side and wrapped her in his arms.
There, in his arms, she felt something she'd never felt anywhere else. It wasn't like what she'd felt earlier in the day. She felt... safe.
Not physically safe, though that was a part of it, but emotionally safe. Like she'd found her person, the one who would be by her side for the rest of their lives. The one who would support her unconditionally.
Yes, her father had been there for her.
Yes, he would support her, but it felt different. Not that he had to support her, but that he would.
But he was her father.
Jacob had a choice. Maybe not quite as much of one as if they'd fallen in love before getting married but still a choice.
Resting her cheek against his chest, Catherine closed her eyes. She could probably fall asleep standing up.
"Come on." Jacob's voice rumbled against her. "You need to get some more sleep." He quickly rinsed their dishes and left them in the sink. With her hand fit snugly in his, he led the way through the house to their suite.
Snuggled back under the covers, Catherine let the warmth help her succumb to the call of the Sandman.
The next morning, she woke early while Jacob slept on. Clothes for the day had been set out for her in her closet. Once dressed, she doctored a cup of coffee and curled up in a chair overlooking Novilacu Lake. As always this time of year, it was still dark outside. There would be some light later in the day, but the sun wouldn't be seen above the horizon for weeks.
With the lights turned off inside her suite, and minimal lights turned on outside, she could see stars twinkling in the sky. She loved that her mother had pressed for their small nation to be a Dark Sky certified country. Her mother had started the campaign before her marriage to Catherine's father. It had taken over a decade to gain the certification, but the ceremony for the certification was one of the last official things the previous queen had done before her death.
Though it wasn't a huge thing in the scheme of all the things her mother had done in her life, or in her reign, Catherine knew it was one of the most important to her mum. It helped maintain the beauty of the wilderness that made up the majority of their countryside.
It also meant the stars and the Milky Way and the Northern Lights were more readily visible near the urban parts of their country than most places. Just a few miles outside of town the light pollution visible from most urban areas on the planet was nowhere to be found.
Movement behind her told Catherine that Jacob was awake. "Good morning," she said quietly. "There's coffee in the carafe if you want some."
"Thanks." The gravelly tone of his early morning voice made her smile.
A few minutes later, he was in the chair next to her. He still wore his pyjama pants and socks, but one of the things she noted out of the corner of her eye was his lack of apparel on his upper body.
She could feel her face begin to heat as she took another sip of her coffee.
This change in their relationship might take some getting used to, but she found herself looking forward to it.
Maybe once she started being more comfortable in her personal life she'd start to be comfortable in herprofessional one.
It was a long shot, but just maybe it could happen.
Couldhe manage to pull off the surprise?
