‘It’s in my hair,’ Sofia laughingly complained at one point.
Swiping ice cream from his chin, he ordered, ‘Stop complaining.’
‘Everything’s an opportunity for you,’ she scolded between shrieks of hysterical pleasure.
Rolling Sofia onto her back, he loomed over her. ‘Sofia Acosta, I’m asking you again, and again, and again, will you marry me?’
‘Must I repeat my answer?’
‘Do you want more pleasure or not?’
‘Why ask when you know my answer?’
‘Because last time I didn’t ask, I instructed, and I’m trying to mend my ways.’
‘By proposing while I’m covered in ice cream, lying naked on your kitchen table?’
‘I can’t think of a better time, can you?’
They stared into each other’s eyes, and then Sofia’s mouth began to twitch. Once she started laughing, she couldn’t stop.
‘I’ll go down on bended knee later,’ he promised.
‘I’ll hold you to that,’ she warned as he silenced her with a kiss.
It was a long time later, after an extremely lengthy shower, that they finally made it to his bed. ‘I just want you to be sure,’ Sofia told him as he drew her into his arms. ‘Marriage is such a huge step for you.’
‘And for you, as it is for anyone,’ he argued. ‘I can’t pretend we won’t live in the spotlight, but it’s up to us to make time for each other.’
‘And our family,’ she whispered against his mouth.
‘The balancing act won’t be easy,’ he agreed. ‘Serving our country in the full glare of publicity while maintaining a happy family life will be a challenge, but as we both thrive on challenge I don’t see a problem. We’ll be stronger together than we are apart.’
‘You make a good case, Prince Cesar,’ Sofia teased tenderly.
‘I’m fighting for a woman who is worth the world to me. If you had left me, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life—and I’ve got too much living to do to waste time on regret.’
Sofia’s eyes searched his with concern. ‘A huge royal wedding with a cathedral full of people we don’t even know?’
‘What about that wedding on the beach you talked about?’
‘You can’t. You’re a prince.’
‘I can do anything I want to do,’ he assured Sofia. ‘We can have a grand ceremony in the cathedral to celebrate the birth of the first of our many children or a formal blessing in the months after our marriage. Our countrymen are romantics at heart—they’re Italian,’ he reminded her. ‘And we won’t sell them short. We’ll share our lives—good and bad—so they have an insight into the human side of our royal partnership. I know my people’s generosity of spirit well enough to be confident that they will applaud our decision to have a simple beachside wedding, for no other reason than it means so much to us.’
‘Saying our own words in our own way, rather than repeating words written by someone who doesn’t even know us,’ Sofia reflected out loud. Her eyes brightened as she saw the possibility of change for the better opening out in front of them both.
‘Exactly.’
‘You’d do this for me?’
‘I’d do anything for you,’ he confirmed. ‘I’m saying I love you in every way I know. I’ll always respect royal traditions, but we can still do things our way, a new way, and if a wedding on the beach is what you want, a wedding on the beach is what you shall have.’
‘I can’t think of anything I want more than to be your wife, to stand alongside you, whatever the future brings. I love you so much,’ Sofia whispered, staring up into his eyes.
The first charity polo match was brought forward. The crowd was vast. The game was fierce. Sofia and Olivia proved indispensable members of the winning team, which was naturally Team Lobos. They defeated the infamous Argentinian Team Assassin, led by past world champion Nero Caracas, by seven goals to six. Any other result would have been unacceptable, Sofia’s fiercest brother Xander told Cesar without a flicker of expression on his tough, unforgiving face.
To allow the cheering fans to see many of the world’s top players in action, both sides swapped different players for each chukka, so there was a huge crowd of players and their families in the cookhouse afterwards, where warm camaraderie prevailed. What had happened on the pitch stayed on the pitch, and all that mattered now were the huge sums of money raised for their favourite charities. It was the perfect time to make an announcement.
