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A deep twinge lanced his chest. He ruthlessly suppressed it. He was providing an immediate solution to a dire problem. One that suited them both.
‘It isn’t a taunt. I can have your father there within the next twenty-four hours.’
She sucked a breath. ‘Why are you helping me? My problems have nothing to do with you, and if I recall correctly I’ve agreed to do what I need to do to earn my keep.’
‘Because I require your services for longer.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘How much longer?’
He hesitated, simply because he hadn’t considered this. How long? Long enough to appease his people? His mother? His own desire for her?
The latter would scorch itself out sooner rather than later. The hotter the passion, the quicker it burned out, right? As for his mother—she’d come round to his idea too. As she’d said, they’d both been seduced by the idea of for ever, only to be disappointed by fate. This time he intended to use his head rather than his heart.
Which only left the well-being of his people. They’d been through one scandal in the recent past. Montegova required stability. Not stability that would cost him a lifetime but for the foreseeable future nevertheless.
‘Remi? What sort of services?’ There was apprehension in her voice, but also hope.
The twinge dissipated and he breathed more easily. ‘I’ll ensure your father receives the treatment he needs to get him back on his feet. You need never worry about him again.’
She took an unsteady breath. ‘And in return...?’ she pressed again.
‘In return, I want you to marry me.’
* * *
Maddie had misheard him. This was cruel payback for her abrupt departure from the hotel. His irritation on arrival on her doorstep, her unwillingness to allow him in, his distaste at being subjected to the evidence of her destitution... All of it amounted to this...this humourless joke at her expense.
The fact that her heart had stopped for several exhilarating seconds, that she’d wanted to snatch the words from the air, hold them in her heart, was equally cruel.
Remi wanted her. She wasn’t blind to that fact. But this... What he’d said...
She shook her head. ‘The door is behind you, Remi. Feel free to use it.’
Brackets formed around his mouth as he stared her down with intense displeasure. ‘Excuse me? Perhaps you didn’t hear—’
‘I heard you just fine. And I don’t appreciate you wasting my time with your jokes—’
‘You think my asking you to marry me is amusing?’
Laughter erupted from her throat before she could stop it. She regretted it almost immediately. In her defence, she needed a coping mechanism against the wild hope that surged when he’d said those words.
I want you to marry me.
Cold reality set in. She looked around the tattered grey kitchen that strained to contain the powerful, endlessly magnetic royal planted in the middle of it. There were no visible contaminants, so she wasn’t hallucinating. No. Remi Montegova was in complete control of his faculties. And the force of his stare strongly suggested that he was awaiting her answer.
Dear God. ‘You’re not joking?’
His nostrils flared, a sure sign that he was offended by her response. ‘I assure you I am not.’
‘But...that doesn’t make sense.’
Her words triggered a shift in his expression. An understanding, almost. He nodded. ‘Perhaps I went about this the wrong way. I need to explain.’
‘Please do,’ she encouraged, still unable to believe her ears.
His gaze flicked to the grimy window before returning to her. ‘After my father’s death we uncovered his extramarital affairs and the existence of Jules. It caused a lot of instability within the kingdom. My marriage and coronation were supposed to allay that but then...’ His jaw tightened. ‘Then I lost Celeste and I had to put off taking the throne.’
‘Why does that matter? Your people still love you, surely?’
