Chapter 16
Max could hardly breathe. Stretched out on the couch beside Emberly, he had already been having difficulty because the kiss had taken his breath away.
Now, as he waited for her response to whether she would elope and return with him to his country, his lungs failed to work once more.
“So you’re serious about eloping?” she asked quietly, her voice contemplative.
“I am extremely serious. This is not the first time I have longed to simply elope with you.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? When?”
“At the rodeo a few days ago.” He could not recall at the moment why he had considered the option, only that it had crossed his mind. “Does that bother you?”
“It flatters me that you were already interested in marrying me then.”
“I have been interested in you much longer than that.” His voice was gravelly.
A smile tugged at her lips. “Have you now?”
“I most certainly have.” He had an overwhelming desire to swoop down and kiss those lips again.
But he was afraid of what might happen if he gave way to more kisses.
He had been noble thus far, and he wanted to continue to be noble in his aspirations toward her.
But he was not a saint, and she was an exceptionally beautiful and vivacious woman who had captured his heart, soul, and body.
“But why, Max?” She studied his face, obviously seeking the truth. “Why elope?”
He wanted to make sure he spoke his best arguments to convince her.
So for a long moment, he attempted to put together his thoughts while the blowing of the wind against the cabin filled the silence.
“For one,” he finally said, “I am not getting any younger, and I would like to have as much time as possible with you.”
She cocked her head in that sassy way he liked. “It’s not like you have one foot in the grave.”
“No, but I have waited a long time to get married, and now that I have found you, the one I love, I do not wish to waste a single moment more of my life without you.”
She smiled again, this time more fully. “I like that reason.”
“Good.” He smiled in return. “Two, as we discussed, I would like to avoid opposition from your family. But I would also like to avoid it from mine as well.”
Her smile fell away. “Will they oppose you marrying me? Of course your father will. If he disapproved of Ava, then he will disapprove of me too.”
He wished he could tell her their relationship would be well received, but that was not the case. “The precedent does not give the king the right to choose my wife, but tradition stipulates he should approve of the woman.”
“And if you elope, he won’t be able to approve.”
“Neither will he be able to disapprove.”
Emberly shook her head, then scrambled to sit up. “Well, we both know he won’t like me, and I don’t want to be the source of conflict between the two of you.”
Max pushed himself up so that he was sitting beside her.
He would not let his father ruin his chance with Emberly.
Not now and not ever. He pressed his shoulders back and then took Emberly’s hands in his.
“My father lost his right to approve of my wife when he interfered with Ava and bribed her father to find someone else for her.”
“I doubt he would be able to bribe my dad.”
“I concur.” T.W. didn’t seem like the type of man who would be easily swayed away from something once he had made up his mind.
At least, Max hoped the man had been serious in his statement that Emberly was perfect for him.
“I shall not let him do anything to undermine my relationship with you. If we elope, then he cannot do anything but accept my choice.”
“He can’t make you divorce me or give me an annulment?”
“No, he does not have the authority to dictate what I do.”
Again, Emberly fell silent, and no doubt she was contemplating all he had spoken.
“I hope you know that while I love my father, I long ago stopped living to please him, particularly in matrimonial matters.”
“I think I understand.” She stared at her hands twisting the blanket in her lap. “Even so, I don’t want your father to hate me.”
“I also do not wish for your brothers to hate me.” He spoke gently but firmly. “I do hope that eventually they will accept me. However, I shall not let their view influence my decision to marry you.”
She turned her big brown eyes upon him. Every time she looked at him so openly and without any pretense, he fell more in love with her for accepting him as a regular person and not fixating on his being a prince.
“Can you do the same with my father? Can you keep him from influencing your decision to marry me?”
“I think I can.” She reached for his hand.
Her fingers were cold, and he took both of her hands and pressed them between his to offer her warmth.
She didn’t resist and instead shifted closer to him. “I try not to worry about what people think about me for the most part. But this is your father we’re talking about. The king of your country.”
“I have the feeling he will learn to love you, especially once he gets to know you the same way I have.”
“And your mother?”
“My mother is a very strong woman, not unlike you. She is also very reasonable, and I do think she will accept you and be happy for me, for us.”
He situated himself more comfortably and pulled Emberly into the crook of his arm, making sure the blanket was tucked around her. They talked until dawn light began to fill the cabin, more about their future together, where they would live, and what they would do.
“I should like to cut my hours back at the bank,” he said as he rose to add more fuel to the fire.
“I shall delegate more responsibility to other capable workers.” The more he’d done so on this trip, the more he’d been able to let go of the feeling that so much rested on his shoulders.
It really didn’t. The bank operations had gone on just fine without him.
Besides, was it possible he’d turned to his work at the bank in an effort to fill the loneliness in his life? That he had been using work to meet a need that could only truly be met by people he loved? ’Twas a possibility he needed to ponder.
“If you work less”—she stood and stretched—“then you’ll have time to be my personal tour guide there the same way I was for you here.”
“Yes, I shall be your personal guide, just as you were for me. I shall show you Karltenberg and everything about it and my country.” They could visit all his family’s estates and experience the things he loved about each place.
“Then I’ll expect a lot of one-on-one time.” She tossed him a sassy look.
“One-on-one time?” His blood heated just thinking about all the one-on-one time he planned to have with her. “Of course. I would not have it any other way.”
From the other room, Braun tsked loudly enough for Max to know he was awake and once again listening to his conversation with Emberly.
Max had heard Winzig stirring in the bedroom a short while ago and guessed his bodyguard would be anxious to get him to safety at first light.
The question that had been nagging Max all night was whether they would be able to go anywhere with the way the wind was still blowing.
He suspected the snow had finally stopped, but now the problem would be the drifting and the cold.
If the conditions were impassable or dangerous, would they have no choice but to stay?
If they were trapped, the situation could grow precarious.
Would they have enough fuel and food for four people?
Max’s stomach was already gnawing after their sparse supper the previous evening, involving leftovers from their lunch coupled with canned food from the cabin’s pantry.
Winzig stepped out of the bedroom, rubbing his hands together and blowing into them for warmth. The bedroom likely hadn’t stayed as warm as the main room, which was not entirely warm anymore either, likely because of the dropping temperature outside.
While Winzig lit the lantern, Emberly began making the coffee.
They were joined shortly by Braun, who was also in need of warming up.
As they sipped coffee, they discussed the situation and decided that when they had full daylight, they would go out and investigate the landscape and weather and assess whether leaving was possible.
Their phone batteries were all growing low, and they had no way to charge them. So they decided to turn them off to conserve the little battery they did have left.
When dawn turned into full daylight, they donned their outer gear and ventured outside.
Although Max wanted to shelter Emberly and protect her and make her stay inside where she would be warm and dry, he also loved her feistiness and desire to be a part of the solution.
Besides, she was the most experienced of them in the mountains and knew the area the best.
The conditions were worse than they’d anticipated.
The wind was still gusting, but the snow seemed to have stopped falling for the most part.
The drifts in some places were more than a meter high, but it was difficult to estimate exactly how much had accumulated.
They were fortunate the cabin had a front porch that had prevented the drifts from trapping them in the cabin.
As it was, the sharp drop in the temperature seemed to be their greatest threat.
They worked together to bring in more wood from a pile at the back of the cabin that was still mostly dry.
They also brought in a large pan of snow to melt and use for cooking and drinking.
Then they settled back into the cabin and waited for the conditions to improve.
Emberly suggested conserving the oil in the lantern as well as rationing their food. Although she did not expound, Max could easily assess that she was taking the precautions because she, too, expected they may not be able to leave anytime soon.
When he suggested that her family would surely send out a search party, she shook her head gravely and explained that no one would be able to travel up to the cabin by foot, not without great peril. And until the wind abated, not even her brother Kade in his helicopter would be able to fly out.
Whatever might happen, all that really mattered to Max was that he was with Emberly and would hopefully never have to leave her again.