Maxence laughed. “Surely, it’s not all that bad. My grandmother, Princess Grace, was an American, and she did quite well in the role.”
“Yes, but Grace Kelly was a famous actress. She worked with Alfred Hitchcock and Cary Grant and Bing Crosby. She was sophisticated, and she fit in with us.”
Maxence lowered his voice to make sure he sounded perfectly firm. “Ms. Clark is not an actress. She is a nurse practitioner. If a new plague or pandemic ever upends the world, having a medical professional at the head of our government would be a great advantage when we made policy based on medicine and science to protect ourselves.”
Valentina nodded slowly.
Dree plopped down beside him on the dais and asked him, “So, does this mean we’re engaged or not?”
Maxence could feel the smile stretching his face. “I had worried that my impromptu proposal at the Sea Change Gala was premature. I didn’t want to pressure you in front of a crowd of onlookers.”
Her smile drooped a little. “Oh, okay. I can see that.”
Maxence took her hand. “Besides, you never answered me.”
Dree batted her eyelashes at him. “Well, it’s been a while. I don’t remember what the question was.” She grinned. “You’d better ask me again.”
He turned back to look at Lady Valentina. “Do you want me to propose to her right here?”
Lady Valentina’s eyes darted from one side to the other. “I didn’t mean to pressure you. I was just very interested and wanted to make sure you were a long-term situation, not a stopgap measure.I did not mean to pressure you.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Maxence helped Dree to her feet and then shifted to one knee. He held both her slim, competent hands in his. Around her neck, she was still wearing the platinum cross he’d given her for Christmas in Nepal on its delicate chain.
A woman’s voice rang out of the crowd, “You can’t marry her!”
The crowd gasped. They turned.
Lady Clémentine Gastaud stepped forward, her long skirt swishing as she trembled. She consulted her phone and repeated, “You can’t marry her.”
Max said, “Of course, I can. I can marry whomever I want.”
Lady Clémentine shook her head. “You can’t marryher.She’s not noble. It would be a morganatic marriage, and any offspring that you did have wouldn’t be eligible to be the next sovereign of Monaco.”
Maxence glanced at Dree, his mind the black of a tornado-storm sky. He paused, thinking, and then said in a bass rumble, “I don’t care who the next Prince of Monaco is after me. We set up the Crown Council to elect sovereigns instead of allowing the whims of fate and genetics to dictate the next absolute ruler of our country.”
Lady Clémentine looked like she was about to speak again, but Lady Valentina shook her head sadly. “That’s a good point, Clémentine, but you should not be making it. Is your fibro acting up today? Where do you get medication for the pain again?”
Alexandre stepped forward again and spoke directly to Lady Clémentine Gastaud. “Prince Rainier IV declared my marriage to an American with no noble title to be valid and dynastic. It’s not considered a morganatic marriage, which is why I nearly got roped into being the prince. If Maxence is elected the sovereign, he can declare his marriage or any other to be dynastic and not morganatic if he wants to.”
Lady Clémentine Gastaud looked at her phone and then up at Maxence, a look of horror rising on her face.
Lady Valentina said, “Do not go on, Clémentine. You’ll only make things worse for yourself.”
Maxence turned back to Dree and began again. “Andrea Grace Catherine Clark, my one true love, mychérie,I’ve been waiting for you all my life. You are my north star and my guiding light when I’m at sea. You’re my rock as solid asLe Rocher de Monaco,the headland that has held this palace and the Grimaldi for a millennium. No matter what happens in this council today, I ask you to marry me and be my wife andmyprincess for the rest of my life.”
Behind him, he heard Valentina mutter, “Her middle name isGrace.Of course, it is.”
Dree was grinning at him so widely that her eyes were squinched almost closed. She had been nodding the whole second half of his speech, and then she said, “Your Serene Highness, Prince Maxence Charles Honoré Grimaldi—”
It was his turn to be shocked that she had remembered that entire moniker. He doubted Arthur or Casimir could’ve recited it.
“—I accept your proposal, and I will marry you,” Dree finished.
Maxence leaped to his feet and grabbed her in his arms, slanting his mouth over hers. Her petal-soft lips opened under his, and he had to restrain himself from ravaging her like a rake in front of the entire Crown Council.
He broke off the kiss, but it echoed in his veins. He whispered to her, “I wish I had a ring to put on your finger right now. The jewelry box I tried to stuff in your hands last night must’ve gotten lost in the chaos. We can pick out a ring at one of the jewelry boutiques here. Monaco is the best place in the world for jewelry shopping.”
Dree perked up even more. “Oh, I have it! I’m surprised I forgot about it because the corners are kind of sharp.”
