“It’s okay,” he said, waving Guban off.
A flicker of hope flashed in her mismatched eyes. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t wait.” She stepped closer. “I’ve waited a long time for this moment, even when I didn’t know I was waiting.”
“Let’s take a break,” he said to the members of the council, and gestured for them to leave. “We’ll regroup in a bit.”
“Of course,” someone muttered, and they quickly vacated the room.
He looked deep into her eyes, his gut clenching. When he heard the click of the door being closed, he spoke, “I was going to talk to you later. I’ve given the team the green light to contact the police and make the case public. We’ll issue a statement this afternoon.”
She touched her chest with her right hand. “Really?”
“Yes. That’s the right thing to do, and giving you the option to make that decision was unfair. And if you taught me one thing, it was to do the right thing whenever possible,” he said, emotion thickening his throat. How proud of her was he? She’d committed to selling her body to get the funds to avenge a loved one.
“Thank you. Are you going to be okay?”
He reached into the inside pocket of his suit, touching the small box he’d been carrying with him since his mother had given it to him, along with her blessing, waiting for the right moment to propose. “I also gave my PR people a statement I wrote myself. They will be sending it out soon. I’ll break tradition and won’t be taking more than one wife.”
“You aren’t?” she asked, her lips parting.
He would perhaps face scrutiny, because many people in his country would forsake him not only for marrying a foreigner, but making her his only wife. He’d have to deal with the consequences of his actions for a long time, but fuck it, he knew he couldn’t have it any other way. Neither could she.
“A smart woman once told me love means committing to one person. Izzy, I love you, and I can’t let you go.” He got down on one knee and fished out the box, opening it in front of her. “Will you marry me?”
Izzy lifted her hand to her mouth, her eyebrows reaching her hairline. “Oh my God, I am…” She blinked a couple of times, surprise softening her expression. Then she looked into his eyes. “Yes. Yes!”
A jolt of joy coursed through him, and his own fingers trembled when he slid the ring onto her finger. She’d said yes. Yes! He stood to take her into his arms and kiss her, but she still held the dish with her other hand. “What’s this?”
She removed the lid and sat it on the table. “I know how you said the hot dogs you used to eat with Jonah were the best you’ve ever had. So I went to the kitchen, and, going against the chef’s orders, I made you a hot dog. Because I want this to be your new best hot dog—or at least a crappy hot dog made by me. I want to make new memories with you.”
Heat radiated from his chest, fast tracking all his cells. A lightness he’d never experienced overpowered him, the best, most delightful sensation in the world. “These will be the best memories.”
She put the dish aside, and he took her in his arms, lowered his lips to hers, and kissed her with the passion burning inside him. She circled her hands around his head, and he lifted her up, touching her, squeezing her. This was real—she was here for him and there would be no going back. She’d help him rule, love, and be. And he’d do the same for her.
He withdrew his mouth from hers, resting his forehead on hers, both of them breathing hard. “I love you so much. I don’t want to let you go, Izzy. Ever.”
“You won’t have to. I’m here to stay,” she said, embracing him tighter. “This is the beginning of a new life for us, and I can’t wait to enjoy every moment of it.”
Epilogue
Two years later
Izzy watched the water stream down the sink as she finished washing her face.
She grabbed the soft towel and dried her face, then brushed her hair. The royal hairstylist had been a godsend, having helped her with exclusive treatments and tips to keep her waves healthy and lustrous. Hell, she even started putting her hair up in a do, no matter how her ears stuck out.
So what? She smiled at her reflection.
Thankfully, the Gwokondenese population had accepted her as their queen even if she wasn’t one of them and wouldn’t be sharing the wife position with anyone else.
“Izzy?” Nassor called from the room. “Come to bed, sweetheart.”
She flicked off the light and closed the door behind her to find Nassor sprawled on the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs.
He tapped the empty side next to him. “Do I have to bribe your personal assistant for some extra time with you?”
“Candace is not above bribery.”
“Good. Now you’re a big shot, I have to use all the help I can get,” he said, referring to her busy schedule as a queen and also the president of the organization she’d started to help women in peril. They’d started at an old warehouse, turning it into a safe place for women victims of physical and sexual abuse. The organization she’d named after her mother now included a solid number of employees and volunteers, and she had already contacted a team of contractors to discuss expansion.
