Page 37 of Falling for the King

‘Okay, think about it now. If you could go anywhere, do anything and didn’t have to worry about all this—’ she flicked her hand around, ‘—where’s one place you’ve always wanted to go, one thing you’ve always wanted to do, or one thing you’ve wanted to do again?’

‘I don’t—’

‘Xavier, come on.’

He stared out the window a pensive look on his face.

‘I’d go off the beaten track and walk. I’d camp out under the stars and there’d be no phones, cameras, diaries.’ He turned back to her as surprise then embarrassment quickly crossed his features. ‘But I deal in reality, not the impractical.’

‘Why impractical? Don’t you think you deserve a break? No! I’ll rephrase that, need a holiday, a chance to unwind?’

‘My grandparents never had holidays.’ He shrugged. ‘I got used to it and then my parents … you could best describe their lives as one constant holiday.’

Katerina noticed he didn’t mention Max who’d been exactly the same.

‘Does it have to be one extreme or the other?’

‘Probably not.’

‘Definitely not and you could delegate to me, to Frederick, to others you trust.’

He grimaced and leant back. ‘I don’t pass off my responsibilities to others nor would I be willing to add to your workload.’

‘You don’t trust me?’

‘It’s not a matter of trust, it’s my responsibility. This conversation was meant to be about you taking some time out, not me and definitely not about adding more to your already extensive workload. And I’m never going to be like my father passing off my responsibilities to others.’

‘You’re not your father and I’m not talking about you disappearing for good.’

His troubled gaze met hers.

‘You’re a remarkable man, a remarkable ruler, and that’s not going to change if you go on holiday and take some time out to recharge. You’re not relinquishing your responsibilities by doing that, nor is delegating to people you trust. You get that, don’t you?’

He rubbed his knuckles against his jaw. ‘You’ve given me a lot to think about.’

‘Promise you will.’

He nodded, glanced down then up again.

‘Okay now your turn. Other than England to see Mrs BC where else would you go? What would you do on your perfect holiday?’

Automatically she visualised the place at the top of her must do list and Max’s sarcasm when she’d told him about it.

‘Kat! What is it?’

She grimaced. ‘Memories.’

‘I didn’t mean to upset you. Holidays are a good thing, well that’s what I’ve been led to believe, right?’ he asked with a fledging smile.

‘Yes, yes they are.’ She clocked his total focus, genuine interest and right there she decided to trust him and share her long-held fascination. ‘I’ve always loved tree houses even though I’ve never actually been in one, corny I know. It was a childhood dream and one that’s proven steadfast. Not long before I married I came across a story about an amazing eco lodge tree house and I’ve wanted to go there ever since,’ she said in a rush of enthusiasm.

‘What piqued your interest?’

She ran a hand over her hair. ‘Gosh, everything. How it merges into the natural environment and does no harm. That the local community is totally involved and supported. And the stairs wind around the trunk, I mean how amazing is that? Oh and the balconies, you’ve never seen anything like them, there’s even an outdoor shower on one of them.’

She finished with a strange high laugh trying to cover that she’d revealed more than she’d intended and that shower image now included her … and Xavier. ‘I sound like a brochure I know.’ She picked up her mug and cradled it in her palm trying to hide her discomfort.

Xavier lent towards her. ‘No you don’t, you sound like someone with a true passion. That’s always appealing.’ His voice deepened, darkened and an image from the night in his sitting room rose before her. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. ‘What happens when you get there? What do you plan to do, if anything?’ His question threw her out of her forbidden musing.