Page 21 of Royal Love
Tristan pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around me as if he could shield me from the memories, from the cold, from anything that might hurt me. I feel the rapid beat of his heart against my cheek.
“I thought I’d lost you that day,” he murmurs into my hair. “When the palace was breached, before I knew you’d made it safely here…”
I press closer to him, remembering the frantic phone call, his voice tight with fear as he ordered me to evacuate. “But you didn’t. We’re here. We survived.”
“We did more than survive,” he says, pulling back just enough to look into my eyes. “We won. Against the rebels, against the odds, against anyone who said our marriage was just a political move.”
I smile up at him, my heart full. “We did.”
He kisses me then, deeply and thoroughly, his lips warm despite the chill in the air. I melt into him, my body recognizing its other half, my soul finding its home.
When we part, breathless and flushed, I see the desire in his eyes that mirrors my own. “Race you back to the house?” I challenge, already pulling away.
Tristan laughs, the sound carried away by the wind. “What do I get if I win?”
I throw a mischievous look over my shoulder as I start to run. “Me!”
I hear his footsteps in the sand behind me, gaining ground quickly with his longer stride. I don’t mind losing this particular race. In fact, I’m counting on it.
The beach house grows larger as we approach, no longer a symbol of confinement or fear, but of liberation. Of love. Of the truth that sometimes, the things we’re bound to by duty become the very things that set us free.
And as Tristan catches me at the bottom of the wooden steps, lifting me into his arms with a triumphant grin, I know with absolute certainty that I am exactly where I’m meant to be.
CHAPTER 16
TRISTAN
The waves crash against the shore in a steady, soothing rhythm that I’ve come to associate with peace. Sitting here on the deck of our beach house, Lia’s head resting on my shoulder as we watch the sun begin its descent toward the horizon, I feel a contentment I never thought possible.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks, her voice soft against the backdrop of the ocean.
I run my fingers through her hair, savoring the silky texture. “How lucky I am,” I answer honestly. “How different everything is now.”
She shifts to look up at me, those eyes that caught me from the first moment we met still having the same effect on me now. “Good different?”
“The best different,” I assure her, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “I never imagined I could have this.”
Her hand finds mine, fingers intertwining as naturally as breathing. The slight swell of her belly presses against my side, our child growing stronger each day within her. Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night just to place my hand there, to feel the connection to this new life we’ve created.
“Have you thought any more about the nursery?” Lia asks, following my gaze to where my free hand rests on her stomach.
“I was thinking maybe a sky theme,” I suggest. “Stars and clouds on the ceiling. Something timeless.”
She smiles, that radiant expression that makes my heart stumble every time. “I like that. Not too gendered, calm, peaceful.”
“Exactly.” I nod, picturing it in my mind. “The painters could start next week if we approve the design when we get back.”
The sun touches the water now, setting the ocean ablaze with orange and gold fire. Our last evening here before returning to the reality of royal duties tomorrow. These stolen moments at the beach house have become our sanctuary, the place where we can just be Tristan and Amelia, not King and Queen.
“We should probably talk about the nanny situation,” I say, reluctant to break the spell but knowing these practical matters need attention. “Kate sent over the files of the final candidates yesterday.”
Lia sighs, snuggling closer. “I know it’s necessary, but part of me wishes we could do it all ourselves.”
“Me too.” I kiss the top of her head, inhaling the familiar scent of her shampoo. “But with our schedules…I want to be there for every moment I can, but?—”
“But you’re the king,” she finishes for me. “And I have my duties too.”
“We’ll make it work,” I promise. “The right nanny will be an extension of us, not a replacement. And we’ll carve out sacred family time that nothing can interrupt.”
