Page 230 of Modern Romance Collection March 2025 (1-4)

He felt scalded. Because she had so thoroughly undone the nonsense that he had spoken. Of course he wanted her. That was the problem.

But as much as he had chosen Stevie, and as much as it was for her personality, she was not going to run roughshod over him. And she was not going to make the decisions, or the proclamations now.

“Perhaps we should take a break, Stevie,” he said.

“Perhaps,” she said.

She pulled away from him, and stormed from the room. And he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had made a mistake. He just wasn’t entirely certain if it was a mistake his father would’ve made, or one his mother would’ve made. He also didn’t know if, mistake though it was in her eyes, it was still for the best.

Because he had to be a king. And that meant he had to be stronger than simply a man.

But the tough part would be deciding which form that strength had to take.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Steviedidn’tknowwhy she had reacted so strongly to that. She wished that it hadn’t hurt her. She wished that she didn’t care. What she was doing was for her own benefit. The benefit of her family. She shouldn’t be emotional about it.

But…she was signing up to marry this man. To be with him. Forever. And that just felt… It all felt like too much. It felt like too much, and it felt terrible. And she was at the end of her tether over it. She marched out of the ballroom, and stopped. She looked down a long corridor, and saw movement on the other side of a glass door that led out to a terrace that overlooked the ocean.

She walked toward it, unable to stop herself from being curious. She opened the doors, and saw her sisters. They were sitting on the floor of the terrace laughing, the breeze tangling in their hair.

There was a platter of cheese and fruit out in front of them, and they were laughing and chatting with each other. More carefree than she had ever seen them.

“Do you like your rooms?” she asked.

Opal looked up at her. “Yes,” she said, looking rapturous. “Like a dream, Stevie.”

“It really is,” said Topaz.

She had never seen her sisters looking quite… Quite like that. But it was Daisy whose expression she wanted most to see. Her more skeptical, practical sister.

She looked up at Stevie.

“This is wonderful,” she said. “But I feel like… Let’s talk for a second,” said Daisy.

She took Stevie’s arm and led her inside. “I don’t want to say anything in front of them. I don’t want to embarrass you. You’re agreeing to marry him. And that’s not a business deal. I feel like everybody else is acting like you took a different job. They’re young. They don’t really get it. But… Stevie, I read all of the articles about it. And the way that they say something happened between the two of you. If you tell me that it’s not true. That it was made up…”

“It’s true,” said Stevie. She blushed heavily. She couldn’t help herself. Admitting that she was quite that human was…embarrassing. How could it not be because what had happened between herself and Adonis didn’t have anything to do with emotion. It had nothing to do with something soft or romantic that she might be able to dress it up in. She had thought he was attractive. And she had been afraid they were going to die. It had been base and life-affirming. It had been sexual. And saying as much to her younger sister felt…wrong.

“You love him?” Daisy asked.

Stevie winced. “Daisy, I barely know him. I… I would never recommend that you do what I did. It was… It was a morally questionable decision. I played it very dangerous with my… My health and my future. But we were trapped, and we didn’t know we were going to survive and…”

Daisy put her hand on Stevie’s arm. “Stevie. I’m not a child. I can see the man. I understand why it happened. You don’t have to pretend that he isn’t attractive, or that you didn’t do what any of us would be tempted to do.”

Stevie scowled. “Well. Well… You’re happy here?”

“Yes,” said Daisy. “Who wouldn’t be? But I’m not the one that has to marry a virtual stranger in exchange for all of this. So please don’t let us color your decision-making.”

Stevie closed her eyes. “But that isn’t realistic, Daisy. Of course it’s going to color my decision-making. You’re my responsibility.”

“We aren’t your responsibility. We are your sisters. We love you.”

“I don’t mean it like that. But I love you. You matter to me more than I can say. And… The truth is…”

She didn’t know what to say. Because the truth was more complicated than she wanted it to be. Because the truth was going to seem unfair. Because she was actually too afraid to dig for the deepest truth of all.

“Don’t worry about me. That’s the truth. Because I made my decision. And it was as much for me as it was for you. And yes, it’s a little bit more complicated than I wanted to admit. But that’s my decision.”

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