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“Not since being in the nursery.” Konstantin shrugged. “The bed was good enough for my security man, it is good enough for me.”
“I wouldn’t expect that attitude from you.”
“Why not? Because I am a prince?” he asked her with a slight frown. “Believe me, I have slept in much less comfortable surroundings.”
That really surprised her. “You have?” He certainly hadn’t while they were together.
“Indeed. I did my service in our military just as every Mirrussian must.”
“You mean every Mirrussian male.”
“No. Every citizen of Mirrus must serve at least two years in the military between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six.”
“But what about pacifists?” she asked.
“There are many military roles that do not require combat readiness.”
“Oh. And your citizens are allowed to choose?”
“If they swear a pacifist’s oath, they are placed in a noncombat role.”
“And you trust them not to take advantage?”
“It has worked for the two centuries of our country’s existence.”
“That’s kind of wonderful.”
“I am glad you think so. Mirrus is a very special place.”
“You would think that,” she teased.
She’d used to tease him about his absolute conviction there was no better country to live in than Mirrus.
“I hope you will agree.” His smile said he was sure she would. “You and Mikhail will be living there for several months out of the year.”
“If I say,” she reminded him, but acknowledging in her own heart that he was right.
She hadn’t come out and formally agreed that she and Mickey would live with Konstantin, but she accepted that it was most likely inevitable.
Mickey was part of the royal family.
Which, even now, sort of blew her mind.
“If you say.” The words agreed with her, but his expression said Konstantin knew what was what.
“You know, even back when I realized I was pregnant and tried to get a hold of you to tell you, it never occurred to me that you would want to recognize our child officially.”
Konstantin frowned. “What did you think I would do?”
“Well, you’d made it pretty clear you didn’t want to marry me,” she pointed out. “So, I thought you’d help with his support and do visitation, I guess.”
“It was never that I did not want to marry you. I never even allowed myself to consider the possibility. I believed I had no choice about marrying Nataliya.”
“And yet you claim you would have married me if you knew. Saying stuff like that makes it harder for me to trust you now.” Did he get that?
“Why? If it was true?” he asked, his brows drawn in confusion.
“But how could it be true? You put that contract ahead of our relationship from the beginning to the end. You want me to believe that me being pregnant would have made a difference, but I have very bad memories just trying to get a hold of you to tell you I was.”
