CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FOUR
I T HAD BEEN easy to feel confident as she’d come up with this scheme, but now that she was here in Sebastian’s living room, that confidence was in short supply. As was her belief in what she was about to suggest.
Or rather, agree to.
She fidgeted with her fingers, aware that it was by far her least regal habit, something the king had repeatedly tried to make her stop doing. She had become more adept at hiding the gesture, but now she surrendered to it completely.
Was he enjoying keeping her waiting? Was this a game he was playing?
More than likely.
Just because they’d shared a passionate kiss didn’t mean he’d changed. He was still arrogant, rude, disrespectful: the last man on earth she could bring herself to like . Which was wonderful. Just wonderful! Because it meant she was at no risk of losing her heart, no matter how overwhelming their desire was. What a safe crush to nurture!
‘Wife.’
She ground her teeth. ‘Husband.’
His grin lit a fire in her blood, a fire she was determined to control. She blinked away as she stood, regretting her outfit selection now. Beneath the three-quarter length wool coat she wore was a dress she’d bought whilst dating Robert. Then, she’d simply been working for the king and there had been no expectation surrounding how she dressed in her own time. Nor had there been a hint of paparazzi interest in her comings and goings, no likelihood that a photo of her in an outfit like this might appear on the front pages of the tabloids the following day.
He stepped towards her, eyes locked to hers, and she held her breath. Was he going to kiss her? To say hello?
Did she want him to?
Yes , she wanted him to. But not yet. Not until they’d talked. As if to signal that, she took a neat step backwards, and he paused immediately.
‘I came to discuss our new...deal,’ she said, a little breathlessly.
‘Is that why you came, Rosalind?’ he asked after a beat, his tone lightly mocking, the double entendre sending sparks through her veins.
‘We need to agree to the details,’ she continued, valiantly. ‘Before anything else...happens.’
He arched a brow.
‘Like the other night,’ she clarified, heat in her cheeks.
‘Ah, yes. Heaven forbid we should finish what we started before there’s a signed contract in place.’
‘We’re talking about making a baby,’ she reminded him. ‘That’s serious.’
‘I’m aware of that.’
‘You’re the one who reminded me about the importance of bringing a child into a marriage like ours. We need guard rails in place, for the sake of that child.’
His eyes narrowed and she thought he was going to argue but to her surprise, he simply dipped his head. ‘Would you like a drink?’
‘I’d kill for one,’ she said on a shaky laugh.
His eyes skimmed her face. ‘What would you like?’
‘Champagne feels appropriate—to toast this development.’
‘The baby, or us having sex?’
She blinked at his statement, heat swirling through her. ‘That’s a little presumptuous, isn’t it?’
His eyes taunted her. ‘Is it?’
She glanced away, unable to respond.
‘Champagne it is.’
Her gaze drifted back to his as he moved to a bar in the corner and slid an expensive bottle from a small fridge, expertly removing the foil and then popping the cork, catching it in his hand and stifling most of the noise. He poured two glasses, carrying one across to her. When she took it, their fingers brushed, and Rosie’s breath snagged in her throat. She took a big gulp simply to bring moisture back to her mouth.
‘Okay. We should talk about the details.’
His eyes skimmed her face. ‘Already?’
She floundered. ‘Well, yes.’
‘What’s your rush? No conversational foreplay?’
‘Stop it,’ she said, but a smile teased her lips.
‘Stop what?’
‘Baiting me.’
‘Is that what I’m doing?’
‘You know it is.’
He lifted one shoulder. ‘You don’t enjoy flirting?’
‘Evidently, not like you.’
‘Meaning?’
‘You just seem like someone who does this sort of thing—’ she gestured to the bar, the open bottle of champagne ‘—a lot.’
His lips quirked to one side. ‘I took our marriage vows seriously, Rosalind. I haven’t been with another woman since we were married.’
Her lips parted in a circle of surprise.
‘You don’t believe me?’
‘Actually, I do. I mean, why lie? I just didn’t expect that.’
‘Is that your way of telling me you’ve been sleeping around at the palace?’
She laughed at how preposterous that was. ‘Erm, no. For a start, even if I’d wanted to, I can’t see any way I could have.’
‘You’re right. The media follows your every move.’
She grimaced. ‘It’s been a long time since they’ve had a princess.’
‘And you’re their darling.’
‘At least for now,’ she said with a hint of rare cynicism. ‘I’m sorry.’ She lifted her palms in a gesture that echoed her apology. ‘I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I’m just aware that it is a bit of a sport, to build someone up and then tear them down. I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.’
‘As you should. Your perception is spot on.’
Her eyes glittered when they met his. ‘Your mother had a lot of that dished out to her when she left Cavalonia.’
‘When she left her husband, when she left the country, when she missed any of the king’s milestone events—never mind the fact she was legally exiled, cut off by her father for the sin of having abandoned a miserable, failing marriage.’
Rosalind chose her words with care. She’d heard only the king’s view, had seen only his pain when events passed without his daughter’s and grandson’s presence. ‘I think he’d have liked to heal the breach long before this,’ she said gently.
Sebastian’s lips formed a line of disapproval. ‘You’re wrong.’
‘Why do you say that?’
‘Because the estrangement was all his doing. He sent her from the palace. She would have chosen to stay here and marry Mark.’
‘Impossible,’ Rosie said with a shake of her head. ‘Your grandfather couldn’t have sanctioned that.’
‘Why not?’
‘For many reasons, and you know it.’
‘You’re speaking like his mouthpiece,’ Sebastian responded. ‘Worse, you’re speaking like a throwback.’
‘And you’re speaking like an American,’ she was baited to reply, then raised her hand once more in another gesture of apology. ‘You’re speaking like someone from a culture with far more freedom, far more respect for love and personal choice. That’s not how it was here back then. That’s still not how it is—not really. You know that. Cavalonia is a deeply traditional society. Your grandfather was only expecting your mother to uphold the beliefs he had respected all his life.’
‘Times change,’ Sebastian ground out.
‘Not here,’ Rosie responded with a lift of one shoulder. ‘Not really.’
But Sebastian was calm again, in control of his emotions. ‘Tell me, Rosalind, have you travelled?’
Her eyes ran over his face, momentarily jarred by the change of subject. ‘I—a little. Why?’
‘I mean, have you really travelled? Spent time in other cultures and countries, seen how other people live?’
‘Enough to know there’s a whole spectrum of societies and values, and that Cavalonia is probably in the middle.’
His nostrils flared. ‘What business does a father have—whether king or not—to dictate how his daughter should live her life?’
‘It is the obligation of anyone born to that position...’ she trailed off, tried again. ‘Do you think he enjoyed imposing exile on his daughter? Do you think he would have gone through with it if he’d thought she would actually leave?’
‘What did he expect?’ Sebastian snapped his fingers. ‘That she would hear the threat of exile and decide to stay here, married to a man twenty years her senior who quite clearly hated her? Who treated her with contempt? Who barely acknowledged me?’
‘Yes,’ she replied simply. ‘I suppose that’s what he did expect.’
‘And what would you have done in her situation, Rosalind?’
‘Isn’t that obvious? I’m married to you.’
His eyes widened, as though he’d never considered the parallels in their situations.
‘But I walked into this,’ she reassured him, taking a sip of her champagne. ‘I chose this life—I chose this marriage—knowing you would never care for me, and that I would never care for you. Believe me, Sebastian, that’s exactly what I wanted.’
‘Because of the financial recompense?’
She shook her head. ‘You’ve accused me of that before, you know. It’s as untrue now as it was then.’
‘It just seems antithetical, to marry for money. I’m surprised any woman in the twenty-first century would choose that, especially someone like you.’
‘Someone like me?’
‘You’re smart, educated—you already had a great job.’
‘You don’t know me,’ she said with a shrug. ‘Money is part of why I agreed to this, but not money for myself. Money makes the world go round and as a princess I have at my command a small fortune to use and do good with.’ She moved closer without realizing it, drawn to him by the passion for philanthropy that had motivated her for a long time. ‘Do you have any idea how satisfying it is to wake up each morning and know that I’m making a real difference in people’s lives? Your grandfather knew what that would mean to me. He offered me something I desperately wanted. I just took it.’
‘Manipulated you, you mean?’
Exasperation tempered her emotions. ‘I suppose if you want to see the worst in his actions, you could call it that. But I don’t. I think he’s pragmatic, and he saw in me a woman who would move heaven and earth to change the world. He saw a way to give me more than I had ever dreamt of.’
‘What a shame I had to be a part of the deal. Tell me, did it ever occur to you that you could have cut out the middleman and simply married him?’
Shock turned her blood to ice. ‘Never mind that he’s almost fifty years my senior?’
‘I have no doubt you would enjoy marriage to him more than you have been enjoying marriage to me.’
‘I barely see you. So far, this marriage ticks all my boxes.’
‘Not quite,’ he contradicted. ‘But I suspect we’re going to address that soon enough.’ He was close enough now to touch her, because she’d kept moving forward, and he lifted a finger, brushing it over the soft skin of her cheek. Her body responded with a flash of awareness that was akin to lightning bolts firing in her skin.
But how could she want him even after he’d made the preposterous suggestion of her marrying King Renee?
Because this was just about desire, she reminded herself, glad for that. Because desire meant nothing . She could want him and hate him all at once, and hate held its own magical protective qualities. She was not in any danger of losing her heart nor head, even if she thought he was sexier than anyone else alive.
Still, she refused to be like one of her father’s mistresses and let the situation get away from her. Rosie was a smart, switched-on woman. She chose who she wanted in her life and on what terms. If they were going to do this, she intended to retain control.
‘We need to talk,’ she said, proud of her assertiveness even when her voice trembled a little. ‘It’s important.’
‘Sometimes action is better than words.’
‘This is about so much more than action though. We can’t just create a child then work out on the fly what happens next.’
His expression showed something she didn’t comprehend, but a moment later, he stepped away from her, moving to his champagne and taking a sip. ‘You’re a planner?’
‘With something like this? Naturally.’
He gestured to one of the sofas, waited until she’d sat down, then took a seat in the armchair opposite. She couldn’t help but notice the length of his legs, the strength and command conveyed by his masculine pose, and her heart rate went up despite her best efforts.
‘Okay, let’s talk.’ His voice held a command.
‘I have a baby. But what comes next?’
He leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees. ‘That would depend on you.’
‘Me?’
‘What do you want?’
She expelled a deep breath. She couldn’t tell him her deepest fear—that she might die in delivery—but she could look for assurances in other ways. All that mattered was that her baby would be okay, no matter what. ‘Well, I don’t know you, Sebastian. And what I do know—’ She hesitated.
‘You don’t like.’
She nodded a little awkwardly. ‘But we’re talking about having a baby. That’s huge. It’s a lifelong commitment and I need to know that we’re on the same page. That we would want the same things.’
‘I would defer to your judgement in whatever areas mattered most to you.’
‘That sounds like you’re just trying not to pick a fight.’
‘I’m trying to be reasonable.’
‘You need a baby that badly, huh?’
He dipped his head in silent concession.
‘Okay. So, here’s the deal. If we’re going to do this, I need something from you first.’
He arched a brow, his expression otherwise taut. ‘Go on.’
‘I need us to get to know one another.’
He made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a groan. ‘Is that all?’
‘I’m serious.’ Either they’d end up raising the baby together, or he’d end up as a single father. Either way, she needed to know him, and know that she could trust him, before she committed. ‘This is a deal-breaker.’ She leaned forward a little. ‘What do you think?’
What did he think?
He thought it was an entirely reasonable suggestion, so there was no explanation for the way he wanted to argue with her. Why shouldn’t they get to know one another? She was right. They were talking about creating a life, a child, and one way or another, if they had a baby together, they’d need to be in each other’s lives.
Having vague but traumatic memories of his parents’ arguments, he knew that finding a way to work together made sense. But he didn’t like it, because he didn’t like her. He didn’t like her role in the king’s life, didn’t like her loyalty to him. What if they got to know one another and this animosity deepened?
Then wasn’t that better to know now, before they conceived a child?
Only, he needed this child—enough to put almost everything else out of his mind. Whilst he’d raised the question of divorce, to do so—and remarry—would take time, and what Sebastian needed was an heir as quickly as he could produce one. Never again would he allow insecurity to hang over his head, nor his mother’s. They belonged in Cavalonia, and if the only way to ensure that was to have a baby with the woman the king had chosen to be Sebastian’s wife, then that’s what he’d do.
It would still be Rosie’s choice. Of course it would be—he wasn’t comfortable with anything else. But what if he made the idea of having a baby with him too appealing to decline? He knew she was attracted to him; their physical chemistry had been a welcome surprise to them both. So why not capitalise on that? Perhaps the desire they’d shared would do the heavy lifting and help make up her mind.
Suddenly, the idea of seducing Rosie until she couldn’t wait to say yes to a baby overtook every other thought.
‘Fine,’ he said with a slight narrowing of his eyes and a firm commitment to this course of action. ‘Let’s get to know each other. We’ll take a week, and at the end of it, we’ll tell the king our decision.’