Page 57 of Falling for the Queen Mother

“Thank you.” She seemed decidedly uncomfortable. “What was it you wanted to show me?” She looked around the stacks, the ones that reminded Nate of a library despite being part of the archives.

“Just this.” He pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it, dropping to one knee as he did so. “I know we’re still getting to know each other and I can’t truly say I’ve fallen in love with you, but I can say that I know I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you and falling in love, over and over again. We might not have said traditional vows, but I know I can promise you until death parts us. We’ve both been there and done that before, and I pray neither one of us will have to do it again for a very, very long time.”

Tears filled Alaina’s eyes and he could see her blink rapidly to try to keep them at bay. He hadn’t thought she would cry and potentially ruin her make up. Nate filed that under things he should know about his wife. He took the ring out of the box and held it out toward her. “Will you do me the honor of remaining my wife?”

Despite Alaina’s best efforts, the tears began to fall as she nodded. “I would be honored.”

Nate slid the ring onto her finger and stood. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and gently dabbed at her cheeks in an effort to ruin her make up as little as possible.

It made her laugh.

A sound he’d found himself coming to love, much as he found himself coming to love her. He held himself to a gentle kiss, fighting against the desire to kiss her more fully.

When she moved back, Alaina looked at the ring on her finger. “Where did you get this?”

Was it wrong? Had she expected something more extravagant?

“Your daughters helped me.” It wasn’t new. Should it have been? They hadn’t told him the history of the ring, just that it came from the family vault. “Should I have picked a different one? Would you prefer to pick your own?”

Alaina shook her head. “No. It’s perfect. It was my mother-in-law’s. They accepted me as members of their own family from the very beginning. It wasn’t her engagement ring, though. It was one her husband gave her for an anniversary. I forget which one, but one of the milestones. Twenty-five maybe? She knew I loved it and told her son that she wanted me to have it someday, if I wanted it. At the time of her passing, it only reminded me of how much I missed her. Now it can also remind me of how much I was loved - by her and all of my in-laws.”

“I love that.” He brushed his thumb along her chin. “And I hope that someday you’ll look at it and remember how much you’re loved by me.”

She leaned up and gave him a light kiss, right on the corner of his mouth. “I already do.” Taking his hand, she rubbed the base of his ring finger. “At some point, we need to get you one, too.”

“Don’t want anyone getting any ideas?” Nate let his face slide into a serious expression, as though he truly believed he needed a ring to be a deterrent to women.

Alaina sobered. “You jest, but you will likely get a number of propositions this evening. It’s likely you’ll even get some contact information slipped into your pockets. Maybe even a hotel keycard or two.”

He blinked. “What are you talking about?”

She moved closer to him, but didn’t look up. “Single men in the royal family get them often. Married men even more so. I don’t know why. Forbidden fruit maybe? Lack of encumbrances after a liaison? They know that royal will go back to his family because none of them would be so crazy as to leave their wife for another woman and he knows how to be discreet. It’s a safe affair to have.”

Nate found himself frowning. “I hope you know you’ll never have to worry about that with me.”

“I know. I never did before either. I appreciate the reassurance, but it honestly never crossed my mind that I would have any reason to be concerned.”

Before either of them could say anything else, a throat being cleared caught their attention.

A member of Alaina’s security team stood off to the side. “Ma’am, sir, it’s time to move toward the event.”

Nate offered his arm to Alaina who slid her hand inside the crook of his elbow. They didn’t follow anyone, but Alaina let him know by the use of gentle pressure which way they would go to get to… wherever they were going.

Outside of the ballroom, they met with the other members of her family. All but one were in attendance, and Prince Byron had a good reason to be absent. Nate still didn’t know all of the details, and he hadn’t pressed Alaina for answers either, but he did know the next in line for the throne had been out of pocket since the accident a couple of weeks earlier.

When it was their turn to enter the ballroom, right before King Frederick and Queen Elise, Nate found that he needed every ounce of control to keep from showing his surprise when he was introduced as a duke.

When had that happened?

They reached their seats while he still had a smile plastered to his face. “What was that about?” he asked, doing his best to keep his lips from moving.

“Frederick gave you a title. It will be announced this evening. They weren’t supposed to use it just yet. Not until afterward.”

Interesting. Just because he accidentally fell asleep on a balcony with a beautiful woman, he was now a duke?

How surreal was that?

They talked about getting all of his kids together with hers for the Christmas holiday, but nothing was certain yet. How would his kids and grandkids feel about him being married to the mother of a king?