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Emma was glad. Mickey might not act like it, but he was already on information overload. The way his gaze flitted everywhere and landed nowhere indicated nerves her son wasn’t giving voice to.
“Will I stay in the nursery?” Mickey asked, sounding like he wasn’t sure he liked that idea.
“I had a room in my apartment prepared for you to stay in, but if you would rather stay in the nursery, you can.”
“I want to stay with you.” Mickey frowned. “What about Mom?”
“Your mother has a suite across the hall from us.” It was Kon’s turn to sound slightly disgruntled by that reality. “You can stay with her if you would rather. A bed can be put in her sitting room for you.”
“Why isn’t she staying with us? We’re a family!” Mickey’s volume was startling and unexpected.
Emma and Kon reached out at the same time to touch him in comfort. She took Mickey’s little hand in her own and Kon laid his big hand on Mickey’s shoulder.
“I had my own room at the house in Santa Fe, Mickey.”
“But that was different. That house was ours. The King owns the palace, only the apartment is Dad’s. You should be in it with us. I’ll sleep on the couch. You can have my room.”
“And this is important to you, that we are all in a space that is ours?” Kon asked, like he was trying to understand what prompted Mickey’s outburst.
“Yes!” Mickey was adamant.
Kon looked to Emma. If she was reading him correctly, he would follow her lead.
She looked around the limo just a little wildly, worried that the door was going to open any moment and there would be no more privacy for this conversation.
“I will not give the signal to open the door until we are settled on this matter,” Kon said, proving that once again, they were very much in tune.
Emma let out a little sigh of relief. “Let’s get you unbuckled,” she said to Mickey.
Like she expected him to, her son insisted on undoing the five-point harness on his own. The act of doing something so familiar should help him calm down a little while Emma’s brain scrambled for a solution to his clear upset.
“Why don’t you sit here, between your dad and me, so we can all figure out our feelings right now.” Undoing her own seat belt, Emma scooted over to make room for him between her and Kon.
Mickey moved into the opening rapidly, showing he was in need of both physical and emotional reassurance. “Mom, I don’t want you to stay in a suite. Someone might think you aren’t part of our family.”
Emma did not tell him that was a silly thought. She’d discovered that children’s minds had their own brand of logic. He drew his conclusions based on how he understood the world. She would try to help him with that understanding, but she would not dismiss his worries, even if they did not make sense to her.
“Mikhail Ansel Carmichael, I need you to hear me. No one is going to question that I am your mom, your family.”
Mickey chewed on his lip. “Why does Dad have a different name from me and you?”
Emma opened her mouth and then closed it, wishing she always had just the right answer for her son. Only she didn’t. “Your dad and I aren’t married, but even if we were, I might choose to keep my own last name.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Why?”
Emma shrugged. “Because it’s mine. Because I want to. It’s my choice.”
“Do I get to choose my last name?” Mickey asked.
Emma cast a quick glance at Kon, who looked pained. “You are in the royal succession. Your name will have to legally be changed to Merikov,” Kon answered.
“Oh. That’s okay.”
“It is?”
