Chapter 47
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
I didn’t want to admit to myself that I miss Princess Kate. Hell, how can I miss her? I’ve known her for a few days and already I crave her in nearly every damn moment of my life.
Damn it all to hell. I’ve become a weak man.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. She wasn’t supposed to happen.
When I open the front door to Simona and Scotch’s house, I’m greeted by the sounds of laughter and the warm, welcoming scent of Italian food. It feels like a home should.
And that only makes my muscles stiffen.
I’ve been perfectly happy alone, for years.
Lie to yourself some more, big guy.
Nothing good can come out of getting close to Kate. Fuck, she’s a walking royal headache. Her and her island’s troubles are the last thing I need mucking up my life.
But when she walks around the corner, stepping out from the kitchen, my chest squeezes like a steel band has snapped around me.
Halting, she looks at me with uncertainty. Her left thumb twists at the ring on her finger. Slowly, she twists it.
Damned ring. I find my thumb going to my own band.
Kate watches me warily. Her eyes skittering away and back. And somehow, my body takes a dozen steps toward her, even though I’m determined not to move.
My nerves grate as I think about learning that the marriage isn’t just going to go away with some simple annulment or divorce, according to her country’s archaic rules. “I heard your stuck with me. At least, according to Isla Rosa marriage law.”
She nods, her eyes full of worry. “I heard the same. I never knew that. Of course, I wasn’t planning on getting married, so it never really applied.”
Clenching my fists, I refuse the insane need to touch her. How can my body want this so much when my head is screaming ‘run’?
I toss my backpack on the floor. “The King was not happy that you married down to the lowly level of a bodyguard.”
She narrows her lashes angrily. “He said that?”
“He did. Although I’m not sure he actually knows I’m a bodyguard. He was talking about Mikail. And he didn’t seem to know about Mikail’s impending engagement.”
Clenching her teeth, she grumbles, “What the hell is going on here?”
“Wilton’s part of it, but I’m not sure that’s all.”
She nods slowly. “I’m scared.” Her eyes mist as she wraps her arms tightly around herself. “Nothing feels safe.”
My heart squeezes itself into a pretzel. I fight the urge to take her in my arms with every ounce of my strength. “Did you know I’m a citizen now?”
That surprises her. “I didn’t think of that, but it makes sense.”
“I expressed my disapproval, as a citizen, to the sale of the island’s top soil. And… I told your father I was going to the local newspaper.”
Pure shock morphs Kate’s expression. “Oh my god.” She reaches for the back of the sofa.
I know what she’s thinking and I’d be worried about the same. “I wouldn’t do that without your approval.”
She sags into the leather sofa. “You nearly knocked me out with that bit of information.”
“Guess we’re even, then. It took all I had to keep a poker face when your father told me about the marriage laws.”
She watches me as I pace across the room to the window. Behind me, her voice is soft and full of worry. “If I could undo this whole mess, I would.”
When I turn around to look at her, I know that this whole thing is going to leave a mark. I didn’t want a woman in my life for years. And she awakened a thing inside of me that I thought was gone.
If only this could be simple.
Life has delivered me another fuck you .
Only this time it comes with a glimmer of hope that refuses to die, fueled to life every time I look into Kate’s beautiful green eyes.