“I kissed her.”
Nathaniel glanced at Stephen, his cup and saucer cradled in his palm. “And why did you do that?”
“I don’t know rightly, but nothing’s changed. I still want the annulment.” Stephen reached for a low stool and elevated his foot. “I don’t understand you, Nathaniel. You force me to fly to America to see her, demand I get annulment papers signed, then act as if you’re cheering me on to win her over.”
“I admit, I was angry with you at first. You acted in a foolish and irresponsible manner marrying her that way. I wanted this mess resolved.”
“Why do I sense a ‘but now’ in your tone?”
“I’ve softened ’tis all. Talked this over with Susanna. Then I remembered my brother who manipulated my coronation guest list to include the woman you thought I loved but was too cowardly to admit it.”
“Cowardly? No, I’d never assign those words to you Nathaniel. If anything you were too willing to fall on your kingly sword for the sake of the kingdom and perish the love in your foolish heart.”
“Nevertheless, you were right. I did love her. Here you are, doing the same thing, not admitting you love Corina. Must be something in our brotherly blood. I think you should give your marriage—”
“Don’t.” Stephen waved off the rest of the conversation. “It’s not going to happen.”
“Did you like kissing her?”
“Not going to happen, Nathaniel.”
“Do you still have feelings for her?”
“Not going to happen, Nathaniel.” He’d stay stuck on this mantra until it got through his brother’s thick skull.
“Do you need to book another session with Mark Pyle? Talk about what happened in Afghanistan? Because it seems to be holding you back from true love.”
“What I need is for you to leave me alone, my ankle to heal, and to get back on the pitch. I can talk until I’m blue, Nathaniel, but nothing will bring back Carlos, Bird, and the others.”
“So that’s it then. Carlos is dead, so Corina cannot be your wife.”
“The long and short of it, yes.” The summation felt odd in his chest. For years he’d reasoned this all out in his head, but speaking it aloud removed all doubt.
“You can’t assign motive to Corina, Stephen. Or decide for her.”
“But I can’t tell her the whole truth now, can I? About Asif. About my meddling. It’s a matter of national and royal security.”
“I hardly consider a recommendation as meddling,” Nathaniel said. “Neither does the Defense Ministry.”
“Perhaps, but it doesn’t change the fact that my wife’s brother died saving my life.”
Nathaniel pursed his lips. “Are you sure you can never move past it?”
“Could you? Besides, I’m not sure whetheritwill let me go.”
“Does it seem so insurmountable? Do you regret marrying her?”
“I try not to think about it. No looking back, just forward. Regret serves no purpose, does it? Which is why I carry on with rugby.”
“You know you can’t avoid being a member of the royal family forever. You are Prince of Brighton, coronation or not. Which is a matter to discuss later.” Nathaniel sipped his tea, still standing.
Stephen laughed low. “Touché. You know I love the family. It’s just when I’m on the pitch I feel I’m doing something for the country, for the lads in the military, for the youth.”
“I think I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating. You’re not responsible for those men’s death. Asif acted alone.”
“But I recommended him. And Carlos Del Rey was in Peshawar, safe and sound, until I put in his name for our flight unit. As for the others, I suppose they knew the risk when they volunteered to serve with me. But who’d have ever imagined . . .”
“Stephen, somehow you have to fix this within yourself. This burden is too much for one man to carry the rest of his life.”
