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“Does that mean you're happy for me?”
“Of course I am.” She leaps to her feet and pulls me up into a hug. “I'm really happy for you. I'm just surprised, that's all. I didn't know you'd hung up your party shoes.”
“Oh, I did. A long time ago, only the media decided they didn't like the new version of me, so they made it seem as though I was seducing every woman I met.”
She gives a wry smile. “Sounds exhausting. And now you've gone and fallen in love with the American Princess.”
Warmth fills my heart. “I have.”
Maddie is everything I want. Of course she’s utterly beautiful, with her long dark hair, sparkling, expressive blue eyes, her perfect nose and full, kissable lips. Oh, those lips.
But she’s so much more than just her looks. She’s a good person, her heart in very much the right place. She cares. She’s kind. What’s more, she’s got a real spark to her, a spark that lights up the room and makes my heart beat faster.
“Does she love you back?”
I can’t stop a huge grin from claiming my face. “She does.”
Sofia puts her hand over her heart. “Oh, Alex! You really are a dark horse, aren't you? Here we all were thinking we'd got you pegged and you've gone off and fallen in love with the new princess of Malveaux. I suppose you’re going to tell me you’re going to ask her to marry you, next.” She rolls her eyes.
It’s a strange thing when it finally happens. If anyone had suggested I marry any of the women I’ve dated before, I would have flat out laughed in their face. But with Maddie, it’s different. They say when you know, you know, and not a truer word can be said. With Maddie, I know. It’s as simple as that. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want her to be my wife.
“You’ve gone all smiley again,” she says. “You are going to propose!”
“Not yet, but someday. There’s no rush. I’ve only known her less than three weeks.”
“But that’s obviously long enough to fall in love.” Sofia touches the tips of her fingers to her lips, her eyes glistening with tears. “Alex, I’m so happy for you. For both of you.” She hugs me again before we sit back down on our loungers.
“Wait a sec. Does she know about our law?”
I lean back in my lounger and get comfortable. “You may need to be more specific. We have rather a lot of laws here in Ledonia.”
“You know, the law about who the heir to our throne marries.”
“There isn’t a law. I can marry whomever I like, unless I decide to have my marriage arranged, which it seems some of us are happy to do.”
She doesn’t react. “I’m pretty sure the law says if you and Maddie get married, she'll have to give up her throne.”
My heart skips a beat. “What?”
“I can't remember what it's called. Some law that was made a gazillion years ago of course, like a lot of the ridiculous laws around here.”
I knit my brows together. “Are you sure?”
She waves her hand in the air as though what she's just told me means nothing, when in reality it means everything. Maddie has found a real purpose in her role as princess, and I know how much becoming Queen someday means to her. Although we've never spoken about marriage, I for one am certain that it’s where we’re heading. Marriage is the next logical step when you fall as deeply in love as we have, a step I hope to take with her before too long.
But for her to marry me, she would have to give up her Kingdom?
It seems simply too farfetched, like the plot to some royal movie.
“Are you sure you're not just making this up?” I ask, forcing lightness into my tone.
“Of course I’m not, but you'll have to check with Father.”
I'm on my feet before she even finishes her sentence.
Chapter 28
Maddie
