Page 25 of Royal Reluctance

“Okay,” Hettie whispers, giving my arm a squeeze. It’s not a question or a request, it’s alet’s do this, and I stuff all my emotions back into the dark place and take a breath.

“Tema,” Hettie says.

The little girl looks up and her face brightens. “Mommy. You’re back.”

She looks straight at me, and everything shifts. There’s no fear or trepidation. Green eyes meet mine with a hint of a smile. “Hey,” I croak.

“You’re Prince Bo,” Tema states.

I start and glance at Hettie. “You are part of a famous family,” she says under her breath.

“Yeah, but—”

“Are you my father?” Tema asks.

9

Hettie

All the air issucked out of the room with Tema’s question.

How did she know?

Abigail crowds in the doorway with us, clutching my arm. “We need to—”

I have no clue how to respond.

But Bo does. He manages to react before I can even begin to process what is happening.

“Yeah,” he says in that quiet way he has. And then he steps into the room, right where Tema is playing on the carpet, and settles on the floor beside her. He manages to fold his long, muscular body into a cross-legged position like he sits like that every day.

I don’t know. Maybe he does.

But I know he isn’t faced with a child he didn’t realize existed every day, and the ease with which he just admitted that is mindboggling.

Tema watches him sit down. I’ve been a mother long enough to understand that her comfort with the situation has everything to do with how Bo is reacting.

And me: only I’m not sure I’m handling it very well. Because I’m not handling anything, just watching it all unfold like I don’thave a vested interest in these two people meeting each other for the very first time.

“What are you making?” Bo gestures to the blocks in Tema’s hand.

“A boat.”

“Do you like boats?”

Tema cocks her head. “I feel like I should,” she admits, sounding older than her seven years. I may be biased, but I’ve always thought she is mature for her years. It might have something to do with being an only child, or I just might have an amazing kid on my hands.

I think both.

Bo doesn’t even blink at her reply. “Why’s that?”

“Mom says my grandpa has a fishing boat.”

Please, please please don’t mention her other grandpa is a king!I’m not sure who I’m silently asking this of. Maybe me?

“And we live near the ocean,” Tema continues, and I’m forever grateful my filter worked and I kept that inside. “I swim a lot.”

“Swimming is good. Boats are cool, too.”

---