Page 53 of Princess Bride Swap

“Find out the residence of Zia Rendall...or whatever her name is now. And ready a plane. Once you have the address, I will leave at once.”

“I... I don’t know...”

He growled, couldn’t help himself. Luckily Mr. Filini entered, unfortunately his mother did as well. Someone must have woken her up and told her Beau was missing. Oh, well. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting to Beau.

“Mr. Filini—”

“I heard, Your Highness. We’ll be on it at once.” He gestured to Beau’s assistant and they both left.

Lyon thought briefly of packing, but what did he need? Nothing. He would bring her back here and they would have their reckoning. She did not get to justrun awayand have that be that.

“Lyon, you can’t miss the dinner,” Mother said.

He looked at his mother. For a moment there was a pang. She was right. He should stay. Focus on responsibilities first andthendeal with Beau. He couldn’t possibly risk the potential he might not get back in time. What would people say?

It was knee-jerk. Everything he’d been taught.What would people say?They would compare him to all the negative that had come before.

But if he gave it space. If he let himself consider it for what it was, not the debt he had to pay, it became ridiculous.

Responsibility to host some frivolous, meaningless dinner? That had nothing to do with the actual rules of law or running of the kingdom. That wasn’t in service to the citizens but was simply meant to feed a bunch of pompous members of parliament, so they decided tolikehim? And maybe, justmaybe, not compare him to the reckless men who’d preceded him?

To hell with that.

“If I am not back in time, I trust you can handle it.”

She sputtered, but he didn’t bother to listen to any responses she managed.

He was going to find his wife.

Cristhian had indeed found her. That was what he did, after all. And in no time at all Beau had been on a plane, flying back to his estate with him. He didn’t offer her any words, didn’t try to get her to talk. He simply ushered her where she needed to go. He was a good man. Worthy of Zia and their beautiful twins.

Who Beau would finally get to hold.

When she arrived at Cristhian and Zia’s that afternoon, she was greeted by her sister, who had one baby in the crook of her arm, and the other arm open and ready for Beau.

Beau was not much of a crier. She had always chalked it up to crying so much when she had panic attacks. It took away any need to release her emotions that way when she wasn’t panicking.

But when she stepped into Zia’s outstretched arm, and Zia hugged her close, the tears filled her eyes. She blinked them away before she pulled back and looked at the tiny bundle in Zia’s arms.

“This is Harrison,” Zia said, her voice rough. A mewling cry, followed by a much angrier one, sounded from deeper in the house. “And there is your namesake announcing her displeasure, as she is quite adept at doing. Come.” Zia led her into the house and a cozy little living room with all sorts of baby paraphernalia strewn about, including two little bassinets in the corner.

Beau followed Zia to one and looked down at an angry little bundle. Her face was red and scrunched up.

“And this is Begonia. Our little Bee,” Zia said, the love and joy in every word even as the girl screamed in a tiny but loud cry. “Go on,” Zia said, nudging Beau with her hip. “Pick her up.”

But Beau felt completely ill-equipped to deal with any of this. Or any of her life right now. It was all too big and unwieldy. She swallowed the emotion clogging her throat, or tried. “I don’t know how.”

“Allow me.” Cristhian scooped the baby up, and the girl immediately began to quiet.

Something about a very large man holding a very small bundle made Beau want to weep. But she held it together and Zia moved her over to the couch, and then Cristhian sat next to Beau. Beau tried to hold her arms like Zia was and Cristhian transferred baby Bee into Beau’s arms. Zia sat next to her, cradling Harrison.

It was just so amazing and beautiful. That her sister had brought these two precious lives into the world. Beau gazed down at the little girl in her lap. “Aren’t they the most perfect things in the entire universe?”

“Mostly. I don’tquitehave those feelings when they’re screaming their heads off at two in the morning, but ninety-nine percent of the time they are the most perfect things in the entire universe.” Zia stroked her son’s cheek.

After a few minutes of silence, Zia sighed. “What’s happened, Beau?”

Beau couldn’t tear her gaze away from Bee. She couldn’t really find the words either. “I don’t know. It was so good at first, and then...”

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