Page 70 of His Runaway Princess

He closed it most of the way behind him. Amalia moved as far across the room as she could to give him some privacy. They might - or might not - already be legally married, but they didn’t know each otherthatwell yet.

To her surprise, he made it back to the bed on his own, without asking her for any help at all.

She hurried to his side and did help him get situated. “Better?” She couldn’t quite look at him as she asked.

“Much. Thank you.” He pulled the blankets up over his legs.

Amalia started to go back to her chair, but he grabbed her hand.

“Wait.”

* * *

At his urging,Amalia went around and sat on the other side of the bed again, this time leaving the blanket aside.

“We need to talk.”

Her green eyes closed. “I know.”

“I know I proposed. I know you said yes, but we haven’t really talked much about the logistics or what that will look like.” He slid her hand into his, twining their fingers together. “Are we already legally married? That probably needs to be the first question. Once we answer that, we can make other decisions.”

She nodded and opened her eyes. “You need to be certain you can live with all that being a member of a royal family entails. Even before this incident, you knew better than most what that can be like. You’ll be the prince consort. That can be difficult for some people, men in particular it seems.”

She tilted her head in thought, her nose wrinkling in a cute way he could get used to.

“In general, I think men are better about it than they were a generation or two ago, but it can still be an issue.” She looked at their joined hands. “I don’tthinkyou would be one of those who would have difficulty with that. At least not beyond having to share your spouse with the country, which means sometimes I’m unavailable the way I would be in a different situation. It might mean spending special occasions apart when necessary.”

“I understand that. At least in theory.” He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. “It can be challenging, but so can any marriage. Special occasions can be celebrated a few days before or after if necessary.”

“My grandfather missed his twenty-fifth anniversary with my grandmother because he had a summit to attend. He didn’t pick the date. They had planned for her to accompany him, but at the last minute she couldn’t. I forget why, but something unavoidable. They both hated it.”

He let go of her hand and crooked a finger under her chin. “Hey. Look at me.”

She blinked the sheen out of her eyes.

“It won’t always be easy, but I will always do my best to support you in whatever fashion that takes. Sometimes it will mean fading into the background. Others it might mean taking point while you’re unable to do something. It could mean any number of things.” Now his thumb brushed across her chin.

And then her lower lip.

Unfortunately, it would be quite difficult to lean up to kiss her at the moment.

“I’m in this for the long haul,” he told her. “If you’ll have me, this is where I want to be. I’ve made my decision and nothing is going to change it.”

She moved away from him, causing momentary apprehension that dissipated when she situated herself at his side much as she had been earlier. “That is what I want too. I want this. I want us.”

Ryker’s arm had already gone around her shoulders but now it tightened. They laid there long enough he dozed off again.

This time when he woke, his leg hurt, but the weight on his shoulder told him Amalia slept next to him.

“Amalia?” He didn’t want her to move, but needed to get some medication.

She looked adorable when she woke up. “Are you all right?”

“Could you get me something to drink?” He hated needing to ask, but doing for himself didn’t seem like the best plan just yet. Something besides the pain in his leg gnawed at him, but he couldn’t define exactly what it might be.

“Of course.” She disappeared for a moment then returned pushing a food cart. “I would imagine having something on your stomach would be helpful.”

As soon as she said it, he realized one of the other feelings had to be hunger, but he didn’t want to eat in bed. “Can you help me out to the balcony? I think I’d like to sit in the sun for a bit.”

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