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Something flickered through his eyes, but his demeanour remained austere. ‘My mother wants to step down from the throne,’ he announced solemnly.
The unexpected revelation drew a gasp. ‘That means you’ll be...king.’
He nodded. ‘It’s not exactly news, but it seems there’s a new urgency now.’
‘Why?’
‘The Montegovan people are forward-thinking in many ways, but they’re also traditionalists. They would prefer a widowed monarch than an unmarried one.’
&nbs
p; ‘You mean they think you’re unsuitable because you’re single?’
He shrugged. ‘To them I may be king, but I’m also just a man, subject to the weaknesses of the flesh. They don’t expect me to live a monk-like existence. And, as my father proved, even married monarchs aren’t infallible.’
The idea of Remi with a faceless woman shot a dart of anguish through her. She struggled to keep it from showing. ‘So to take the throne you need to be married?’
‘In the face of the challenges my family is currently facing, yes.’
She snatched in another shaky breath. ‘And you think choosing someone like me to be your...your wife is the answer?’ Even saying the word left her a little dazed. ‘Didn’t I read somewhere that you have a handy list of potential brides to choose from?’
His features clenched. ‘I won’t be dictated to on who I choose as my wife and Queen.’
Her heart stuttered again. ‘Are you telling me there aren’t committees and meetings and strategising before royal marriages are arranged?’
He remained silent for a minute. The atmosphere throbbed with charged emotions before he spoke. ‘Celeste and I met at a tea party thrown by the royal housekeeper for her grandson when I was six and she was three. My mother didn’t believe in separating the staff’s children from the royal children. Celeste could easily have been the granddaughter of the stable manager and we would still have been engaged to marry.’
‘But she wasn’t, was she? She was part of your world, approved by your mother,’ she insisted.
‘I didn’t ask for her approval then. I am not asking for it now.’
The knot in Maddie’s belly tightened as he spoke of his fiancée. She fought to see things from his point of view of cold rationality. They had mutual problems that demanded a solution. Still a cold breeze washed over her.
‘It’s that simple for you? That clinical?’
A grim smile twisted his lips. ‘It’s best if I approach this with my eyes wide open.’
As opposed to being in love? As opposed to swearing his undying devotion to the woman who was now six feet under and would probably hold his heart for ever?
The chill intensified within her and she shook her head. ‘Even if I wanted to marry you—and I don’t—all you would be doing would be inviting more speculation about you...about your choice of bride.’
His face slowly hardened. ‘Is that your final answer?’
She opened her mouth to say no, it wasn’t her final answer. She needed time to wrap her head around the shocking concept. To get herself on safe ground after the bombshell of his question.
Maddie closed her mouth again. With a deep breath, she looked deep into his eyes, searched his features. And with an unshakeable force she realised he truly meant it. Remi Montegova really was asking her to marry him.
She shook her head.
For several seconds he said nothing, those vivid eyes fixed on her face. When it got too much to bear, she dragged her gaze away. In the carefree days of her childhood, she’d daydreamed like most girls about that special moment when the man of her dreams would propose to her.
Not for a single second had she imagined it would be a clinical proposition from a real-life crown prince in the middle of a decrepit kitchen in a near-derelict flat.
‘Maddie.’ Her name was a burst of icy impatience.
She shook her head again. ‘I’m sorry—’
The words were barely out of her mouth before he turned and strode purposefully out of the kitchen. She remained frozen in place, the shock of his abrupt departure holding her prisoner until the sound of a hacking cough ripped through the air.
