The white annulment envelope beckoned from his dresser. Snatching it up, Stephen walked to his office. This was what he wanted. Not the lingering passion of her kiss nor the resurrection of their memories.
He was free, right? So why did he feel so bound?
Tossing the envelope to his desk, he made a note to carry it over to the King’s Office in the morning. By Monday afternoon, it would all be official.
The idea emptied him as he sank down in his desk chair, head in hands.God, could you love a man like me?
From down the hall his mobile rang. With a jerk, he pushed out of the chair and skip-walked back to his room. His left ankle throbbed and pinched.
More physio. He must remain determined. Maybe he could entice Darren out on a Sunday afternoon for some exercises.
Corina’s number flashed on the small screen and he sighed. Was she still in the city? With his pulse thick in his veins, he answered.
“Hey,” she said, low and southern, full of sweetness.
“How are you?”
“Good. At the airport.”
“It’s cliché, you know. A sappy airport good-bye.”
“Guess that’s why you’re not here?”
“Y–yes, that’s why I’m not there.”
After their Braithwaite kiss, she waited for him to respond, to relent, perhaps to say he loved her, too, but his heart remained locked.
She laughed. “Smart. Because who likes a sappy airport scene? Especially with a prince involved.”
He sobered. “Corina, please, I cannot let you go home with any sort of hope. I’m sorry to speak with such frankness, but I want to be clear. I did you a great disservice with five and a half years of silence. I won’t do it again. The annulment goes to the King’s Office tomorrow morning.”
“Then you should know I meant what I said. I love you. And I meant that kiss last night. We’re good together, you and me. What happened in Afghanistan should draw us together not push us apart.”
Did she hear herself, really? “You say that now, but in five, ten years, you’ll regret waking up next to a man who cost you so much. Can I be so bold as to say ‘Let go’? You must move on. Don’t hold on to anything for me.”
“What about you? Will you move on?” The tentative tone in her question made him think she didn’t want an answer. “I–I guess I’ll have to prepare to see you with someone else.”
“Don’t put yourself through this.” Move on? How could anyone compare to her?
“Stephen, I’ve been wondering. If you thought we were annulled all those years, why didn’t you move on?”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I was just surviving, giving energy to Daddy and Mama. It’s so true, the death of a child can break a family if they’re not careful.”
In the background, Stephen heard the announcement for a flight to Atlanta. “Is that you?”
“First class. That’s me.”
He grinned, pressing his finger against the sting of tears. “Indeed, love, that’s you.”
“So, I guess I shouldn’t ask you to call or write.”
“It’s best we break away clean.”
“What if I’d been pregnant?”
He swallowed. Grateful she had not been. “Corina, let’s just stay on this plane.”
