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Maddie’s beauty had made me temporarily forget there was anyone else in the room.
“How did you enjoy The Games?” I ask, turning to Chloe.
“The cheese rolling looked like it could be a lot of fun, if you know what I mean.” She winks at us.
“I think everyone knows what you mean, girl,” Maddie replies, echoing my very thought.
The memory of the way Maddie felt next to me as we lay on the grass, recovering from our fall, is a feeling I want to recapture as soon as I can. And never let go.
“Thank you for choosing me over all those girls,” Maddie says. “They sure were eager to get to be carried by you.”
How could she think for even one second I would want anyone over her?
“It was an easy choice,” I reply, stating the simple fact.
It was her. No question.
She lifts her eyes to mine, her face glowing. “Coming in second after a professional rugby player ain't too shabby, either.”
“Not too shabby at all,” I reply.
I escort both women through the palace to the grand ballroom, where all three of us are announced to the ball guests. I’m so very proud to be at Maddie’s side, and every eye in the room is trained on us together.
“This is freakin’ insane,” Chloe hisses with eyes the size of the grandfather clock in the state room as we make our way down the stairs.
“Just go with it,” Maddie instructs, which is good advice. There's not much else one can do at these events.
“Ah, there she is. In one piece after today’s activities, I see,” King Harald says as he greets Maddie with warm kisses to each cheek.
“Good evening, Your Majesty,” I say with a short bow.
He grips my hand and pumps it enthusiastically. “Alexander. It’s so good to see you two getting on. It really is a very special relationship we enjoy between our two countries. It's important that continues into the next generation.”
I smile at Maddie. “I think we've got that covered, wouldn't you say, princess?”
Her smile is shy and utterly adorable. “I would.”
King Harald smiles. “Good, good. Pity about the cheese rolling fall.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I reply. I catch Maddie’s eye and see her blush.
“Your Royal Highnesses, ladies and gentlemen, guests of the palace,” a member of the Royal Guard says from the top of the staircase. “I would like to invite King Harald and Queen Maria to the floor for the first dance of the evening.”
“That's my cue, I'm afraid,” King Harald says. “Time my queen and I showed you young folk how it's done.”
“Knock ’em dead, Grandpapa,” Maddie says.
The music begins, and King Harald leads his wife to the dance floor. They begin to dance, gazing into one another's eyes. They look every inch the young couple in love, and I'm surprised to feel a knot form in my gut.
This. This is what I want.
Not meaningless flings with gorgeous but vapid women who have no interest in knowing me beyond the fact I’m a prince. I want what King Harald and Queen Maria have. A strong and deep abiding love that lasts a lifetime.
I want what they have, but with Maddie.
The thought startles me, my heart suddenly thudding.
I take a moment, trying to get my head around what my heart is telling me, and my brain fights for all it’s worth.
