15. Xander
When Xander woke, the first thing he noticed was how comfortable he was. After almost a week of sleeping on the couch, the bed felt like heaven. And even more heavenly was the feeling of Maisy’s head resting on his shoulder and her hand on his chest. Xander’s arm was around her, and he pulled her closer before pressing a tender kiss to the top of her wavy hair.
Last night had been… indescribable. Xander had fought his feelings for Maisy for a long time, but now he would never be able to hide them again. The connection he felt with her was unlike anything he’d known before — powerful, electric, yet welcoming and warm at the same time. He never wanted to get out of this bed.
After a few moments, Maisy began to stir. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Then her mouth lifted into a gorgeous smile, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds, and she snuggled closer into his side.
“It wasn’t a dream,” she said softly.
“No, it wasn’t. It was… wow.”
Maisy chuckled. “It really was.” Then she lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at him. “I think this is the first morning you weren’t all grumpy when you woke up.”
“How could I be grumpy when I’m in bed with you?” Xander asked.
“If I’d known it was that easy, I would have slept with you years ago,” Maisy joked.
“I wish you would have. It would have saved us both a lot of years of pain.”
Maisy kissed his shoulder, then settled back in. Her green eyes were sparkling and bright, even though she’d just woken up.
“Should we talk about… everything… now?”
“Not yet. Let’s just enjoy the morning. Is that okay?”
“That’s okay with me. Do I get some of your famous pancakes?”
“Maise, after last night, you can have anything you want.”
“A pet panda?” She grinned at him.
“Sure. Anything. Although I can get you the pancakes now, whereas the panda might take a while.”
Maisy pretended to consider, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll take the pancakes for now.”
“Okay. But then we have to get up…”
They smiled at each other. Xander knew there was a lot to figure out between them, but none of that seemed important right now. The only thing that mattered was Maisy in his arms, looking up at him with those big, green eyes. Another image from last night, of Maisy beneath him, flashed through Xander’s mind, and his smile grew.
They lazed in bed a while longer, talking, before Xander finally dragged himself up and, after a quick trip to the bathroom, headed to the kitchen to start on the pancakes. Maisy got up a few minutes later and got dressed before appearing in the kitchen.
“Are we exercising this morning?” she asked, stretching her arms above her head. The top she was wearing lifted to reveal a strip of her tanned stomach and Xander struggled to focus on the pancakes instead of taking her into his arms. Then, with a sting of joy, he realized that he didn’t need to hold himself back anymore. He put down the whisk he’d been using to mix the batter and crossed to Maisy. He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. Then he kissed her slowly, tenderly.
“I think we can find some way to work out,” he suggested.
“I suppose we probably can.” Maisy lazily stretched her arms up and rested them on his shoulders. “A run, perhaps? A spirited game of tennis? Maybe a windsurfing class?”
“I was thinking of something we might need a little less equipment for.” Xander raised his eyebrows at her.
“Swimming, then? Or a walk?” Maisy winked, and Xander kissed her again. He felt like he was walking on sunshine.
“Let me finish the pancakes, then I’ll show you.”
“I can help today.”
“I don’t know… I remember your toast…”
Maisy whacked him on the shoulder. “It wasn’t that bad. Come on. I can at least cut fruit or something.”
They took up their positions in the kitchen. Xander finished making the batter while Maisy sliced strawberries and mangoes, then made them each a cup of tea. They sat at the table to eat, but after just a few bites, Maisy stood and dragged her chair beside Xander’s. Then she looked up at him, a little shyly.
“It was too far away.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Xander took one of Maisy’s legs and draped it across his own. “Better?”
“Much better.” She curled her leg around his and returned her attention to her breakfast.
“I don’t know how we went years without touching,” Xander mused as he assembled a bite of pancakes and fruit.
“We didn’t.”
“Okay, I’m pretty sure we did. I would have noticed if we were sleeping together on the side.”
“Not sleeping together.” Maisy rolled her eyes. “But we didn’t not touch, either. We danced a few times. You took my hand to help me onto the boat that one time we went sailing. And our arms brushed now and then. I remember all of it.”
“So do I.” Xander smiled at her.
“I wish you had been born two minutes earlier. Maybe this really would be our honeymoon.”
“As much as I would have liked for you to be betrothed to me instead of Niko, I wouldn’t want to have been born two minutes earlier.” Xander sighed. “I’m not meant to rule. I would be terrible at it.”
“You’ve said that before, but I don’t believe it.” Maisy tilted her head. “I still think you’d be a wonderful king if things were different.”
“Thank you. But even if I want to steal Niko’s bride, I wouldn’t want to steal his job.” Xander smiled, but his stomach had formed a knot. If he and Maisy were together, would she feel sad that she’d missed her chance to be a queen? She’d mentioned that she wasn’t excited about living her life on the public stage, but surely she would be a wonderful queen. Xander had said it before, and he’d meant it. If he and Maisy could make things work, it would mean that Aenicea would miss out on a wonderful ruler and Maisy would miss out on a chance to change things on a large scale. That didn’t seem right.
But they’d agreed to enjoy the day, not worry about the future, so Xander didn’t say any of this. It was time for a change of subject.
“What shall we do today?”
“According to Safa’s schedule, we don’t have any obligations until evening. Then we’re supposed to have a romantic dinner.”
“Maybe it’ll be less awkward this time.”
“I would hope so. But in the meantime, how about we explore the island? Safa said we can go out, as long as we act like a couple, and I think we can pull that off now.”
“It might be difficult, but we can try.” Xander nodded seriously. “Where should we go?”
“First, to the beach. I want to swim and maybe snorkel a little again.”
“And after that, let’s find a restaurant that serves fresh fish.”
“I like it. And then we can go for a long walk.”
“And maybe rent an ATV again!”
They grinned at each other, and Xander felt his worries subside. There was a lot to think about, but not today. Today was just about enjoying each moment that he got to spend with this wonderful woman.
They finished their breakfast, then changed into their swimsuits. Once they were dressed, they met by the door and descended the long staircase to the beach below. It was a beautiful day, with clear skies and warm sunshine. As soon as they reached the sand, Maisy dropped the tote bag she’d been carrying, stripped off her sundress, and ran into the water in her bikini. Xander followed.
They spent a long time in the water, splashing about and diving down to look at underwater sea life, then kissing in the shallows. Maisy spotted a turtle, but Xander could hardly look at anything other than Maisy. She looked so gorgeous and she was finally his… at least for now.
Their swim was followed by a walk into town. At one point, Maisy stopped and took Xander’s hand.
“This is where we had our first kiss.”
“I’m not sure I remember… can you refresh my memory?”
And so, they kissed again, long and slow, as though they had all the time in the world.
The morning and afternoon went by in a happy daze. They were so caught up in each other that they hardly noticed the time passing or thought about what would happen next. When they finally returned to the villa late in the afternoon in a happy, fuzzy state of bliss, Xander swept Maisy over the doorstep and into the house.
“Home at last,” he said, his voice low. “Shall we take a little rest before dinner?”
“That sounds lovely.”
“What would be lovely is if the two of you were able to follow a single rule.”
Maisy and Xander snapped to attention and turned to the sound of the voice. Safa was sitting on the couch, but she stood as they entered. She looked furious.
“We still have a few hours until dinner.” Xander’s voice was steady, but he was worried. What was Safa doing here?
“There’s no more dinner. I received a call this morning from the king and queen. They need you back in Aenicea, now. It’s time to sort out the mess the princes made.”
“What?” Xander couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The honeymoon was supposed to be a week or two long, but it had been less than a week that they’d been on Kanalea. The thought of returning to Aenicea was so unexpected and so unwelcome that Xander was having trouble processing it.
“Yes. You have an hour to report back to the airstrip, packed and ready to go.”
“We need a little more time,” Maisy said, her voice shaky.
“You would have had more time if you hadn’t left the villa without informing me.” Safa’s hands went to her hips. “I spent all morning trying to find you around the island before I came to wait for you here. You can’t just run off like that.”
“But we were together,” Xander said. “I thought that was the rule.”
“The other, unspoken rule was don’t wander off when you’ve made a mess. I thought you knew that.” Safa sighed. “So, you have one hour. I’ll meet you at the airport. I trust you can find your way around the island by now. Don’t be late.”
Then she picked up her purse and stalked out of the villa.
For a long moment, Xander and Maisy just stood there, not moving, not speaking. Xander was reminded of how they’d been when they’d first arrived — awkward and upset with each other. Now, he was upset for another reason. How could their time together be cut short like this after just one day? He’d hoped for more time to explore how they felt about each other before they had to face the real world.
But time was up. In a few hours, they’d be back in Aenicea in front of the king and queen — whether they were ready or not.
“Xander.” Maisy sounded a little teary. Xander wanted to put his arms around her, but he didn’t. This all felt like too much. “I think it’s time to talk now, isn’t it?”
“I think you’re right.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Maisy, this day has been one of the best of my life. Perhaps the best.”
“For me too.” Maisy wiped her eyes with one hand. “But Xander… this isn’t going to work out, is it?”
Her words hit him like a punch in the gut. He’d hoped to make a plan for how they could be together, but it seemed that Maisy didn’t want that.
“You don’t think so?”
“I mean, how could it?” Maisy shrugged helplessly. “I’m betrothed to your brother. We both have duties, responsibilities. I have to go marry Niko. Don’t I?”
Xander wanted to tell her to screw her duties and responsibilities, that they could make things work, that she didn’t have to marry Niko at all. He wanted to beg her to stay married to him. But even as these words rushed through his mind, he knew he couldn’t say them. He wanted nothing more than to be with Maisy for as long as she’d have him. But that didn’t mean that being with her was the right answer — for either of them.
Maisy was born to be queen. She was thoughtful, caring, and intelligent. She would rule over the Aenicean people with a kind of grace and caring that Niko couldn’t provide. Even if they didn’t love each other, Xander had to admit that his brother and Maisy would make a perfect team. Maisy could fulfill her destiny, and Xander could fade into the background.
Xander tried desperately to think of another way, but he fell short. If Maisy chose him over the throne, she might alienate herself from her family forever. She would never be a queen. Over time, she might come to resent Xander for taking all that away from her — even if she didn’t feel that way now. Xander couldn’t bear to think of causing Maisy any pain, now or in the future. And she herself had said that their relationship wouldn’t work. This was what she wanted.
“I understand,” Xander said woodenly. “You have to marry Niko.”
“I know.” Maisy wiped her eyes again. She was biting her lip. “It seems like we’d better consign this whole trip to the history books.”
Xander nodded slowly. The most loving thing to do was to let Maisy go, so that was what he would do. No matter how much it hurt him. After all, they’d spent less than twenty-four hours together. That was no basis to throw everything else away. Even if he wanted to. Even if agreeing to end their relationship felt like a knife in his heart.
“I agree. Let’s leave what happened here, on the island.”
“Okay.” Maisy took a deep breath. “I’ll just go pack, then.” And she fled. As she closed the door to the bedroom, Xander saw her wipe her eyes again. His heart ached. For a moment, he considered running after her, but he held himself back. Their future was not to be.