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The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him.
Xavier’s eyes locked onto me as soon as I came back into view. He had a concerned frown on his face that didn’t let up even as I sat down.
“Everything okay?”
“Oh,” I forced out a laugh. “Yeah. My family called to tell me that apparently one of my aunties got into a fight with someone after the reception. Guess she got taken to jail and my father had to bail her out this morning.”
His expression morphed into amusement. “What kind of wedding would it be without some family drama?”
“Exactly. I’d say that’s the beginning to a very long and happy marriage.”
He lifted his mug of coffee towards me. “A blessing, one would say.”
I grinned and lifted my own up, clinking it with his. Butterflies lit up in my stomach as he chuckled.
“Amanda, what do you say that I take you out on a date?”
I blinked in surprise. “A date?”
He nodded, setting his mug down. “Yes. A proper one. I want to get to know you better now that we aren’t forced to correspond between letters.”
I felt my cheeks flush as I smiled. “I’d love that.”
He mirrored me with his own. “Perfect.”
Chapter Five
Mia
Time seemed to fly by.
I’d been blessed with two entire weeks with Xavier before my father called to check up on me again. By some kind of stroke of luck, he’d informed me that my sister had been less than thrilled to start her married life and had gotten into more trouble while living with my parents.
As sad as that was to hear, it also made me glad.
I never wanted my sister to struggle with things, let alone a marriage that she’d agreed to when it was clear she wasn’t ready for it. However, I was getting exactly what I wanted out of this entire deal—more time with the man that I was in love with.
I met my father’s profuse apologies with even acceptance, while on the inside I was practically jumping for joy.
Meanwhile, Xavier had been wonderful to me, impressing me more and more as the days stretched on. I still wasn’t sure how a man like him hadn’t been snatched up by someone else but I also wasn’t going to question it.
Not when we were both so damn happy and content.
After our short weekend at the hotel, he’d brought me back to his family’s estate where I was welcomed as his new bride. It was overwhelming meeting everyone, but soon I settled into a kind of steady rhythm that seemed to work.
On the same night I spoke to my father, Xavier decided to take me out to a ritzy restaurant right outside of the city. It was the kind where you needed reservations six months in advance and a black card on file – if you were anyone other than a King, that is.
“This place is amazing,” I said, admiring the beautiful chandeliers hanging above us.
“I thought you might like it.” He handed me the wine menu. “You mentioned in one of your letters that you liked tenderloin.”
My heart squeezed. I couldn’t believe he remembered that. Especially when I was pretty sure that had been in one of the first few letters we exchanged.
“I’m a sucker for a good tenderloin.” I said, burying my face behind the menu. I knew my face was probably beet red.
He chuckled. “And I am a sucker for you.”
Ugh. I was really beginning to resent my sister.
