Page 34 of Falling for the Queen Mother

"That's not quite the way it is, and you know it. Yes, we're legally married, but only because of some law that's hundreds of years old."

"True, but I did hear there was a little snogging going on." The smile in her voice changed to barely suppressed laughter.

"There was a kiss. That's it." A very nice kiss. A kiss unlike any she'd never expected to experience again.

But still just a kiss.

"I didn't say it was anything more than that. You're the one getting defensive." The laughter was still there.

"I'm sure I'll talk to you again soon. You and that handsome husband of yours are more than welcome to come visit anytime you'd like." Putting it back on Victoria made Alaina feel a little better.

“We will soon. Night, Mum. Love you."

"I love you, too."

"Give Nathaniel a kiss for me."

Alaina groaned at her daughter's laughter. "Good night, Victoria."

"Night!" Victoria disconnected the call.

Should she go back to looking at social media or get ready for bed? Alaina wasn't certain which held less appeal.

Not because of Nathaniel himself, but just the whole situation.

She went back to her phone. The next post she saw didn't come from a media entity but rather Hannah - a local royal correspondent of sorts whose contributions to the RankingRoyalTea website had made a name for herself for being "in the know" about all things having to do with Alaina's family.

Even she was caught off-guard by this.

Interesting.

Though Alaina didn't have any proof and had never asked, she suspected this woman had become someone the Press Office was willing to give information to when they wanted it to leak out.

If this woman hadn't heard anything about the news, did that mean that the source for the other media network was someone well outside the normal circles?

Alaina didn't have the mental bandwidth to try to figure it out.

Instead, she went to the suite she'd be sharing with Nathaniel, got ready for bed, then slipped under the covers next to her already sleeping husband.

12

When he started to wake, Nate had that feeling of being in an unfamiliar place. It was a bit unsettling.

Even more unsettling was the realization that he wasn't alone.

He opened his eyes to find that the darkness outside the windows also permeated the room he was in. It took him a few seconds to realize that the gentle rocking meant he was also at sea.

How could he have forgotten that?

It meant that the person with him had to be Alaina.

He came to realize it was a good thing he was married to her, because he'd rolled to rest behind her and had his arm looped over her side.

Cautiously, Nate moved to lay on his back, being careful not to disturb the sleeping queen.

He kept going until he faced away from her and toward one of the big picture windows that seemed to cover the vast majority of the yacht. It made sense. If you were going to spend that kind of money on a mode of transportation that would give you access to some of the most beautiful views in the world, you wanted to be able to see them.

Still doing his best to keep from waking his sleeping wife, he stood and walked to look out one of them. The water was illuminated somewhat by the glow from the boat, but not much. The light clouds covered the sliver of the moon that could be seen behind them. There wasn't much to see beyond the dark water with a few whitecaps in the distance.