Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Stellan
The next day, I push the morning’s plan of packing up and leaving for Copenhagen into the evening. I’m a little desperate for more time before I have to be Prince Stellan again.
More time to spend with her, time I can be free. Time I can be myself.
Margot accepts the news of the extra day with a slow smile.
“I agree to it on the condition that we leave this bed. I swear, you take me to these little coastal retreats and we hardly do anything but have sex. Not that I’m complaining about the sex, but…
” She wrinkles her nose. “My body is pretty sore from fucking for like twelve hours in a row yesterday.”
I smirk. “I like pushing your boundaries. How else will I know what the limit is?”
She rolls her eyes. “In hindsight, it was about two times less than we fucked yesterday. I should’ve had some more water or something because my arms and legs and abdominal muscles are a hot mess today. And that’s not even talking about how much you…” She pauses, blushing. “Stretched me out.”
I give her a wicked grin. “Good to know. I’ll admit to being pretty sore myself. Maybe next time we should be prepared with bananas and coconut water.”
She scrunches up her face. “Next time? What next time? My excuse for being in your life was officially over at the start of business today.”
My heart starts hammering in my chest. God, I hadn’t even thought of that. Tiny blades of turmoil slide through my gut and slice me to ribbons.
I don’t know how I’m supposed to answer, so I just play it off like her question was no big deal. Even though in reality the thought of not seeing Margot again kills me.
I smile as if nothing happened. “The idea that we’re not going to absolutely ruin each other’s bodies later today is pretty laughable. But… I think there is a restaurant within walking distance. Do you fancy a stroll down the beach?”
She wrinkles her nose at my awkward phrasing. “Sure.”
We get dressed, me in dark jeans and a white t-shirt, her in the short black dress that she wears so often. And then we walk down to the beach.
It’s beautiful and sunny out, though windy enough that the day is pleasant rather than burning. I offer her my hand and she takes it, sliding her small palm against my own. She glances up at me, tucking a wild curl of her pink hair behind her ear. In the wind it’s pointless though.
She sticks her tongue out at me and I laugh. “What is that for?”
She shrugs. “When you get too in your head, you get like… physically locked up. Your muscles are noticeably tighter, you’re just all…”
She playacts jerky, blocky movements.
I shake my head. “Who says I’m in my head?”
She puffs out her cheeks. “You’ve been awkward ever since I said that we might not be able to see each other anymore.”
I stumble in the sand and her eyes widen. “See? You are in your head.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head. She’s completely right, but she could at least do me the courtesy of ignoring it like I’m doing.
“So get my mind off of it,” I challenge her. “Tell me a story.”
“No.” She wrinkles her nose. “We spent time on my story yesterday. I want to hear more about you, Stellan. And not the junk that you tell every other newspaper.” Margot pulls my hand to her chest, holding it against her heart. “I want to know more about who you are as a person.”
I make a face. “Like what? You want to hear my favorite bands?”
She shrugs a shoulder. “If that’s what you want me to know, then sure. Who is your favorite band?”
Grinning, I slow our walking pace to a crawl. “The Rolling Stones.”
Her eyebrows rise. “That… is not what I expected you to say.”
“I live to surprise you, Margot,” I tease.
“You just seem too buttoned up for that.” Color springs forth in her cheeks. “No offense.”
“Ja? Well. I’ll have you know that I was once arrested.”
Her eyes widen. “Wait, you were? What happened?”
“It was… I’ll call it a youthful lapse. I partied a little too hard, did too many drugs. Got sick all over myself. Resisted the police when they were only trying to help. You know, all the usual embarrassing things.”
She winces. “You didn’t!”
“Oh, I really did.”
“Oh, your parents must have been so angry!”
I exhale a slow breath. “Sort of. They knew, they were just… busy. My grandmother kept a keen eye out for all of her grandchildren, so she got the call instead of my father.” I chuckle, shaking my head.
“If you think I am stoic, wait until you see my grandmother receive bad news. But that night when the police brought me to the palace… the door shut, and it was just the two of us… It was the only time I can ever remember her being openly furious.”
“That sounds terrifying.”
“What, my grandmother? Ja, it wasn’t great.
You have to imagine someone about your size wagging her finger in my face and telling me how I wasn’t living up to the family name.
My grandmother was worried that her voice would carry and so she whispered and yelled at me, all at once.
After about four hours of that, most people would go crazy. ”
She cracks a smile. “She sounds intimidating.”
I squint off toward the place where the sky, sea, and land all seem to blend together. “You should meet her.”
Margot pulls a face. “Uh… yeah, right.”
My heart pounds in my chest. “No, I’m serious.”
She stops, pulling her hand from my grip. I turn and look at her, my eyebrows lifting. She shoots me a confused look. “What?”
“I love you. You love me. So— “
“So we should get married?!” she says, horrified.
I give her a funny look. “No. I’m just saying... maybe we should… I don’t know… date.”
She crosses her arms and cocks her hips. “Stellan… we both know that’s a terrible idea. You have a list of girls to choose from— “
I reach out and grab her by the waist, tugging her up against my hips. Then I cup her heart-shaped face, tucking a strand of those pink cotton candy curls behind her ear. “But I am not in love with any of them. I’m in love with you.”
She bites her full lower lip and pins me with her intensely blue gaze. When she speaks, her voice is a mere whisper. “I know.”
“So? I want you here. Stay with me.” I draw in a deep breath, feeling more naked before her than ever before. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. And I’m not willing to just throw that away because it might upset some people.”
She shakes her head, taking in what I said. Her brow hunches. “I don’t even know how we would make that happen. Are you going to come up with a lie to tell your family? Am I going to lie to my editor?”
I take her hand, pulling it against my chest and trapping in beneath mine. “Is that what you want?”
Margot looks at me for a moment, as if trying to decide something. Then she shakes her head again. “No,” she replies softly.
“So date me. We’ll just show up holding hands and let everyone else deal with the fallout.”
One corner of her mouth turns down. “That’s not the best attitude to have, Stellan. Besides… dating you… I would assume that it comes with certain… expectations.”
“It doesn’t have to.” I mean the words, but even as they leave my lips, I sense that they’re not the fullest truth. “Look. I’m saying… this is all new to me. It’s all new to you. Let’s just… forge a path together.”
She sighs, looking away. For several moments, I can hear nothing but the sea in the background and the hammering of my own heart.
Is she really going to turn me down?
When she swings her gaze back to my face, I can see the torment that is going on behind those beautiful blue eyes. “I want to say yes. I really do, Stellan.”
My lips curl upward. “So do it, skatter.”
Margot presses up onto her tiptoes, seeking out my mouth. I lean down and kiss her, pressing my lips to hers. She drops back down, biting her lower lip.
“Okay,” she whispers. “I won’t go anywhere, as long as you still want me to stay.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I hug her. She settles against my chest, her arms slipping around my waist to hold me tightly.
I close my eyes and try to memorize every detail of this moment. To store this memory, keep it safe for a rainy day. Because I won’t always be this happy. She won’t always get to say yes.
But just now, it’s enough.