9. 9
Magnus
Selene doesn’t say anything, which I take as a win because she doesn’t say no. We walk in silence, and I let her take it in.
I want her to like it here. My whole reason for the walk is for her to see Battle Harbour—see the positives, the advantages.
I wanted her to see it so much that I got Duncan to make a few calls. The square is so busy this morning because I have friends who want to help.
They don’t have to know they may be helping me find a queen for them, but they are willing to stop me in the street and fake a random conversation.
“What do you think of my home?” I finally ask, mainly to see if my plan is working.
“You’re doing a nice job selling it,” she says.
My heart sinks. Does the see right through me? Or am I just really bad at this?
For once, I’m not ready to give up when I’m not the best at something.
“I’m selling Laandia,” I correct. “Battle Harbour, actually. It’s my home, and I love it, but living in a fishing village isn’t for everyone.”
“It’s more than that,” she says. “It’s… quaint. Colourful.”
“That it is.”
“Like you.”
I laugh. “No one has ever called me quaint before. Colourful, definitely.”
“That’s what I meant. Why do you want to marry me?”
Now we’re getting somewhere. Selene’s lack of subtleness is refreshing and definitely makes this easier. If she weren’t so blunt, then I might convince myself that I’m just taking a walk around town with a beautiful woman.
No plan or ulterior motive.
But I do have both.
And because I suspect Selene is being honest, I am too. “Because you were born to be a queen, and that’s what I need. This king stuff is new to me—”
“King stuff?”
“Being a king. Figuring it out. Ruling. I need help.”
Her expression agrees with that, but I plow forward. “I’ll get it, but it’ll take time. Having someone like you by my side would make it much easier.”
“Having a therapist? Because that’s all I am now.” There’s bitterness in her tone, mixed with sadness.
“That’s not true, and you know it. You’ve got a presence, a vibe… I’m not explaining this well.” Duncan laid it out so clearly last night. After the ball was over, we had a debrief, just the two of us.
Both of us know that my being a king will be a challenge. We made lists of who might help and who might harm the monarchy. We talked about me marrying sooner rather than later.
I was glad Diandra wasn’t part of the conversation, or she would have been quick with the “I told you sos” when I decided that the right wife would be an asset.
We both agreed Selene would be a good fit. And now it’s up to me to make it happen.
“A vibe,” Selene echoes.
“A beautiful-woman vibe,” I offer and the corners of her mouth curve up. I get the sense Selene doesn’t smile often, so I take this as another win.
“You’ve proposed twice, and yet, you haven’t mentioned love,” she points out.
“Is that what you want? What you need? Because maybe someday… But right now, I’m looking for more of an arrangement. I’m sorry about that,” I add.
“An arranged marriage.” I don’t like the tone of her voice.
“You mentioned the sixteen proposals, so I thought you understood… Forgive me if I’ve overstepped.”
Selene holds her coffee with both hands, and when I glance at her serious profile, I notice a tiny bit of foam on her upper lip. “Here.” We stop, and she turns…
She looks… I’m literally struck speechless for a moment. Maybe it’s the way the sun hits the back of her head, giving her an ethereal glow, or the way her blue eyes focus on me, like I’m the only one here.
It’s never happened to me before. Looking at a woman and you can see… everything. Everything that could be.
“You’ve got a bit… here.” I point to her lip, resisting the urge to dab at it myself.
I don’t think Selene would appreciate that.
I’m not sure she appreciates any of this, but I have to try. For my country, for my people, and maybe for Selene too.
She wipes at her mouth with her finger. “Thank you.”
“It was a good look,” I tease. “I think most things would be a good look for you.”
She smiles and… wow. It’s all the things—like the sun breaking free of storm clouds, the way the water sparkles in the harbour, hearing the cheers lift the roof off a stadium.
We’ve reached the pier, and Selene turns away from me to stare over the water.
Laandia has a beautiful coastline—rugged and rocky and full of icebergs and whale sightings. I like nothing more than jumping on a boat and spending the day on the water.
I get the sense that I won’t be able to do that much anymore. At least not so easily.
“I was engaged to a man for almost six years,” she says quietly, as matter-of-factly as if we’re talking about the weather.
I note the past tense, but it’s not something a potential suitor wants to hear. “I wasn’t aware of that.”
“No one knew about it because Darren didn’t want to announce it until there was a timeline for my becoming queen. He was very excited when my father decided to abdicate. That should have been a red flag for me,” she muses like she’s speaking to herself.
“What happened?” I ask.
“Darren was the sixth Baron von Lier of Belgium. Darren the Baron.”
There’s a sound coming from Selene—is that a giggle?
Her shoulders shake… with laughter? “Why did I never notice that? His name! What kind of parent names their son Darren when he’s going to be a baron?” She laughs, and the sound…
Selene’s laugh is sweet and musical, and loud, and so unlike her persona, so different from how she puts herself out to the rest of the world that it startles me.
So maybe that’s not the real Selene, because someone so cool and reserved shouldn’t have a laugh like that.
“I take it the two of you aren’t together?” I ask carefully, just to make sure.
She turns to face me, with a rueful smile and a roll of her blue eyes. “What do you think?”
“Well, the fact you’re laughing at his name…”
“Thirty minutes after I informed him that I would no longer be succeeding my father, he found an excuse to break the engagement,” she says.
“The premise of the engagement, because it wasn’t until it was over that I realized he had never actually asked me to marry him.
It was just assumed. I don’t even remember what he said to end it.
Those few days were a bit of a blur,” she confesses.
I fight the urge to take her hand. “He only wanted the throne.”
“Oh, yes. And I should have known. That’s the only reason anyone wants me.”
My heart sinks. I’ve done this all wrong. I’ve been so wrong.
“Selene—”
She holds up her hand. “Please don’t think that I’m some sort of shrinking violet that can’t see her own worth. Darren did not break my heart, nor did he even remotely destroy me. I’m simply embarrassed that I never let myself see his agenda when it was so obvious to everyone else.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” I tell her out of necessity to say something.
“Don’t be. I’d be more sorry if I had actually married him. It’s ironic, really, that in the past, the only men who saw my value wanted to be king to my queen. And now, when that’s not possible, someone finally wants me to be their queen.”
I can’t tell from her voice if she thinks that’s a good thing or not.
“An arranged marriage,” she says after a long pause. “That’s what you’re offering?”
“Convenience,” I correct. “Calling it arranged makes me feel like we’re back in the 1800s. I’m sorry,” I repeat. “You deserve to be swept off your feet by the love of your life, but I—”
“I never expected that. I’ve always known my marriage would be more of a business transaction,” Selene says. I wonder if she realizes how sad she sounds.
I wince. “I like to think this would be more than that.”
“Would it?”
“Yes,” I say firmly. “It could be. We could learn to care for each other. I’ve never actually been in love, so I don’t really know the rules,” I confess.
“Neither have I. I thought I was, but I can see now that it wasn’t love that bound Darren and me together.”
“Was it his silly name?” I ask.
She smiles again. “Really, who names the son of a baron Darren?”
I put a hand on my chest. “I would never.”
“I’m so glad to hear that. I suppose we’ll eventually have to talk about names for our blue-eyed children.”
I catch my breath.
“I suspect there are rules for this, but I have a feeling you’re the type of man who likes to make their own rules.”
“Wow. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours, but you’ve already got a read on me.”
This time her smile is one of satisfaction. “There are many reasons why I would have made a very good queen.”
“I have no doubt,” I assure her. “Which is only one of the reasons we’re having this conversation. We can make our own rules. Whatever you want. Whatever makes you happy. Because—” I take her hand since this moment seems to deserve a touch. “Your happiness is of paramount importance to me.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re important. That’s how it should be. How it will be.”
She studies me with those eyes, and I have no idea what she’s thinking. She has the ability to mask any and all emotions.
I’ll have to remember that. In the meantime, I will do what I can to make her smile. To laugh. To help move her past this resentment that clogs her heart.
I can do that. I will do that.
“Tell me what you need. What you want, and I’ll make it happen,” I promise.
Selene takes a shaky breath. “I want to be a queen,” she says. “I want to marry you.”