Page 19 of Falling for the Queen Mother

They reached another checkpoint, but one that seemed to be permanent. This time he had his identification with him. She didn't need hers.

Once through the entry to the family's private portion of the palace, the atmosphere changed. The corridors were more dimly lit - not dark, just not quite as bright and overwhelming as in the more public portions of the building.

The furnishings were also... different somehow. More personal maybe? They still seemed to be culturally significant, but underlying that was also something else. Perhaps the paintings and portraits were of or by people important to the current occupants.

Alaina opened an ornate wooden door and entered, holding it for Nathaniel to walk in after her. Once it had closed, she kicked off her heels leaving them under a table next to the door. For half a second, he was surprised when she started to unbutton her shirt, but he quickly realized she had another one underneath it.

"We can order dinner whenever we're ready." She handed him a folder from a drawer. "Let me know what you want, and I can submit it through the app."

Nathaniel opened the folder and realized it wasn't quite the same as the one he'd used in his quarters the night before. There were more options, both fancier ones and simpler ones. The note at the bottom - please contact the kitchen for other options - was the same. He likely could have ordered almost anything he wanted, on the menu or not, but he certainly wouldn't do that on his first night, and probably not ever.

He set it back on the side table. "Whatever you're having is fine with me. I'm not a picky eater. I don't have any particular preference this evening."

Alaina gave a nod and tapped a few times on her phone before setting it aside. "Dinner will be here in a little while."

"Thank you." With his hands clasped behind his back, Nathaniel looked around the sitting area. He wanted to wander, to explore, but it didn't seem like it was his place to do so. The tables and walls were filled with photos of Alaina and her family and friends. They seemed to be more or less in chronological order, beginning with ones of her with her family as a child. The late king began to appear. Then came the official photographs interspersed with candid shots and professional photos never released to the public.

She was a beautiful woman.

She'd been an adorable child who grew up to be elegant and poised and everything a queen should be.

He'd seen photos of her over the years, but had never done more than give a casual passing glance when someone mentioned that the queen of Southern Santiero wore a beautiful dress or something of that nature.

While his wife lived, he'd never looked at another woman.

But now...

Not only had he been single for quite some time, but the woman in question had legally become his wife.

Even if it wasn't the way he'd planned for his life to go, it was what it was.

For at least the next six months, this beautiful woman was his wife.

He'd been raised to believe that marriage was a covenant between a man and a woman and their Maker. Divorce wasn't something discussed, except in extreme circumstances. One of his daughters was divorced, and he'd supported that decision whole-heartedly, but had never anticipated he'd be in the same position.

These circumstances were also well beyond the norm, and as far as he knew, never addressed in the Bible.

"You're welcome to look around." The smirk in her voice made Nathaniel look her way.

"Sorry. I was just noticing the photos. Most of them aren't public, are they?"

She shook her head. "No. Most of them are private photos. I'm sure you can tell which ones were official. Some of the professional ones were released, but not all of them." She tipped her head to the side. "Go on and look around if you want."

He took the invitation seriously and began at the earliest photos. The Queen Mother was pictured with her parents and siblings, clearly a happy family as she grew up in the last century.

It made him feel old to look at it that way.

As he moved around the room, he could tell when she met the late king and when what had begun as a friendship turned into something more. The light in her eyes, the smile that could light up a room.

The photo of the then-Crown Prince proposing had never been released. Nathaniel knew that much, but in this one it was clear how much they loved each other.

The wedding photos were a mix of official and personal. The rest of the photos were the same. Photos of the pregnant queen. Photos with their children from birth on. The last official photo showed the king with dark hair, untouched by gray even as Alaina had a few streaks beginning to show.

After the king's death, there was a touch of sadness in her eyes, even in the photos where she was smiling and clearly enjoying herself. To be expected of course.

His photos were likely the same way, though he'd never taken the time to analyze them.

The most recent photo couldn't be more than a year old.