Page 106 of Fit for a King

I swallowed and inclined my head. “Your Highness.”

Nicholas turned to face me, and the flush on his cheeks and his swollen red lips made me want to throw Gabriel out myself. “You can call him Gabriel.”

“Oh, can he now?” Gabriel said as he moseyed over to the chaise in the sitting area. “And why’s that? Does Mr. Bennett have a new title now other than the guy?”

“Gabriel,” Nicholas gritted out, but I could tell by the smirk on his brother’s face that the prince was—as usual—trying to get under Nicholas’s skin.

“What? If you can’t be bothered to call ahead and tell me what’s going on, you can hardly expect me to know that he’s your⁠—”

“Fiancé,” Nicholas said, reaching for my hand once again and drawing me to his side. “I asked Noah to marry me, and he said yes.”

Gabriel sprang back to his feet. “Bravo, brother. This is going to cause quite the scandal.”

Nicholas rolled his eyes, but Gabriel ignored him and looked to me.

“I have to be honest, I didn’t think he had it in him. But then, love makes all of us act like fools at least once in our lives, am I right?”

“Then what’s your excuse?” Nicholas said before I could respond.

Gabriel tsked and shook his head. “You know, I really thought you’d come back happier. Maybe I should’ve given you thirty minutes to settle in instead of ten. But alas, I decided something altogether different might brighten your spirits.”

“Oh God. I hate to even guess,” Nicholas said, groaning.

“It’s nothing to worry yourselves over. Just a small dinner to introduce Noah here to those who are in the need-to-know circle—before, you know, the whole world finds out.”

My entire body stiffened, the idea of being around anyone as Nicholas’s other half a daunting prospect, even as excited as I was.

“When?” Nicholas said, and Gabriel’s devious smile flashed wider.

“Two hours.”

“What?”

“Just because you didn’t call, big brother, doesn’t mean I wasn’t prepared. There was a fifty-fifty chance we’d need to call off one wedding to plan another. So I’m going to leave now so Noah can remind you how to smile again, and then I’ll see you both at lunch.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“No you’re not,” he said as he walked toward the door. “But Noah, make sure you loosen him up. Good to have you back, Mr. Bennett.”

34

NICHOLAS

EPILOGUE

ONE MONTH LATER, I had learned three things about loving Noah Bennett openly. The first was that the palace adapted faster than the court, something that brought us both a sense of relief—even though Noah occasionally still tried to open doors for me and called me “sir” out of habit.

Though the latter I didn’t mind as much…as long as we were in bed.

The second thing I’d learned was that the court held a grudge for anyone who didn’t follow tradition—and that included kings, apparently. There was nothing much they could do about it, to my relief, other than complain loudly every chance they got that we’d missed the opportunity to strengthen our position in the world and potentially soured ties with Solterra.

A small price to pay to live the rest of my reign with the love of my life.

Which brought me to the third thing: that not a day had gone by when I didn’t fall in love with Noah Bennett even more than the day before.

I looked over the top of my reading glasses at where he lay beside me sprawled on his stomach, arms curled under the pillow and the top sheet pulled low across his back. He was so unbelievably beautiful, his hair ruffled from sleep and a soft expression on his face.

And he was mine. All mine.