Page 44 of Pregnant In The King's Palace

‘It’s not.’

‘I’ve given you no cause to doubt me.’

This earned her a sullen stare. ‘Like I said, it’s a risk-analysis decision, not an emotional one. I’ve commitments here and cannot accompany you, therefore you cannot go. Sorry.’ He didn’t sound sorry. He sounded resolute. ‘Surely you realise this is how it goes?’

‘I realise this is how you want it to go,’ she offered mildly. ‘But engaged, married, or soon-to-be parents—we’re still individuals. I don’t expect to accompany you every time you pop over the border for a business meeting. Do you expect me to?’

‘No.’

‘Didn’t think so.’ They stared at each other in stony silence.

‘Humour me,’ he said finally.

‘You don’t think I’m going to return.’ How could he possibly think that?

His silence was telling.

‘You’re having second thoughts,’ she said next.

‘No.’ He was quick with his answer. ‘No. But you might be, now that you know what marriage to me is going to take.’

‘I signed your piece of paper. I gave you my word. I’m not leaving you.’

He said nothing. Still waters, this man. And very deep, very turbulent emotions. An image of his underground river flashed before her. He would cope with her absence, of that she had no doubt, but he would do so with the coping mechanisms available to him.

‘Okay, let’s make a deal. I stay here for you, you do something for me.’

His eyes narrowed even further. ‘I trust you to know how far you can push me.’

Big of him. ‘I want permission for my family to visit here or at the palace any time they or I choose.’ She needed them in her life. Always had, always would. ‘If I can’t get to them, they need to be able to come to me. They’re my strength and I’m going to need them.’

‘Done.’

‘And I want Carlos, Benedict, Luciana and your sister to be godparents to our children.’

‘Absolutely not.’ He reared up onto his elbows. ‘Three of them are terrors. I’d say all four were unsuitable, but I don’t know your brother well enough to tell.’

Snort. Her brother was the most centred of the lot, this was true. ‘You don’t think our children will be high spirited and in need of guidance from those who know exactly what they’ll likely get up to? These are our children we’re talking about.’

‘Point. I’ll consider it.’

But she was already shaking her head. ‘Not good enough. The power in our relationship can’t rest wholly with you. I will bend on the matter of not returning to Spain. I’ll give you the peace of mind you seem to need. And in return you’ll do the same for me.’

He could push the matter if he wanted to. Refuse her request and limit her freedom. Keep the upper hand and be every bit the man his father had been when it came to personal relationships and authoritarian rule.

But in the end, he chose differently.

‘Done,’ he murmured. He might have preferred to choose differently, more strategically, and cut her family out of selection. But unconditional love and a sense of belonging mattered too, and, from what he’d experienced, the people she’d chosen would provide it. ‘I accept your choice of godparents.’

Her brilliant smile made him shake his head and smile.

He’d wanted a woman who would challenge and impassion him, he reminded himself silently. One who had no hesitation when it came to calling out his insecurities and insisting on fair treatment. He could do this—learn to accommodate her as they went through life together. Learn to trust her opinions and instincts and be ready to bend if they disagreed. He wanted his people to value her as he did, and if that meant leading the way, then lead he would.

‘You’ll need to take my best security detail with you, and I’ll still worry from the moment you leave until the moment you’re back in my arms, but if your business in Spain is that important that you need to be there, you can go.’

He had an armful of Angelique moments later, her eyes shining with tears as she let loose a string of impassioned Spanish, and he had no idea what she was saying—but it was likely something along the lines of ‘You wonderful, complicated, fascinating, treasure of a man. I love you.’

She kissed him hard and fast, and then again, and that second time felt like a thank you. ‘You fool!’

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