Page 19 of Royally Matched

Before Lily could disclose that she had seen Max with the children, the dinner portion of the evening ended. They stood up, and Max escorted Lily over to the edge of the dance floor.

“Would you like to dance?” Max asked, holding his hand out to Lily.

She tilted her head to the side as she narrowed her eyes.

When she didn’t accept his hand, he quickly added, “I know you think I’m only asking you to dance because my parents are making me, but the truth is, I would really like to dance with you,” Max admitted.

The revelation made Lily’s heart fill with warmth. She hadn’t expected him to be so honest. She wanted to dance with him too but had been worried he was offering out of obligation rather than desire. His confirmation that it wasn’t the case put her at ease.

“I would like that,” Lily said, finally taking his outstretched hand.

Max guided her onto the dance floor and then gathered her into his arms. It felt wonderful to be held by him. Lily had forgotten how much she enjoyed being with Max, at least, until he had ruined everything.

Not wanting to think about the past, Lily instead asked, “How has the shadowing with the king been going?”

“You know about that?” Max inquired with surprise.

“My mother informed me after finding out from my father.”

“It’s going better than I expected. The king states that I’m a natural, when I actually try.”

“Are you trying?” Lily probed.

“Well, I didn’t want to at first. I was just being stubborn out of principle, but the more I learned about what the king does, the more I found not only was it interesting, but fulfilling. Each choice we made helped the people of Triola and there were tangible results.”

“I guess your father was right then. It sounds like you’re a natural, which means Triola is lucky to have you as their Crown Prince.”

“If only I could convince them of that,” Max said with a heavy sigh. “Sometimes I think I might have done too much damage. That I’ll never be able to undo it all.”

“All they need to do is see what I saw the other day at the children’s wing reception.”

“What was that?” Max asked in confusion. “All I did was stand around and make polite conversation.”

“Not the whole time. I saw you with the children on the patio,” Lily confessed. “If people saw that side of you, they would realize what I do. There’s a good man lingering just below the bad boy image you’ve cultivated over the years.”

Max blinked several times before he finally said, “I didn’t know anyone was watching me.”

“I realized that right away. It was obvious you didn’t know. The authenticity couldn’t be faked.” Then realizing she had the footage on her phone, she added, “You know, you were so cute with those kids, I pulled out my phone and videotaped you. I could always send the footage to the royal press secretary so she could release it.”

Max shook his head. “Thank you for the offer, but I didn’t do that to gain attention for myself. I think it would cheapen the experience.”

“I respect that. I’m glad you’re really thinking about the decisions you’re making now.”

“Me too.”

“I was wondering if you would attend church tomorrow?” Lily asked with a hopeful tone.

“Sunday is my one day to rest—the only day the king doesn’t demand I perform royal duties. I don’t see myself giving that up.”

Lily dropped her eyes to the ground, trying to mask her disappointment.

The vast differences in their faith was the one area that had troubled Lily the most about her future marriage to Max. The king and queen, along with her own parents, attended church regularly. Max was a different story. He had gone to church when they were kids, but she couldn’t remember the last time she had heard of him going.

Lily, on the other hand, made her relationship with God a priority. Even when she was traveling abroad, she took her Bible and devotional with her and found a church to visit. Not that she was perfect about it, but she did her best to maintain a healthy spiritual life.

Despite all the influence in the world, being married to a man that didn’t believe in God the way she did, could prove detrimental to their relationship. She didn’t want to spend their whole life fighting about attending church or how they would raise their children spiritually.

“I think it’s about time I show you how my dance skills have improved over the past few years,” Max stated with a chuckle, trying to lighten the heavy mood that had formed between them.

Max spun her out into a twirl, then as he pulled her back into his arms he whispered, “You’ve always been so graceful when you dance. You look like a fluttering snowflake drifting in the wind.”

The words penetrated Lily’s heart, anchoring into the very core. Never had anyone said something so romantic to her. Her eyes darted up to meet his, and for an instant, she thought Max would kiss her. Instead, the moment was interrupted when the DJ announced it was time for the royal waltz.

For the rest of the evening, Max led Lily around the dance floor. By the end of the evening, she was seeing that there was a chance to have a friendship with Max, and perhaps something more with time.

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