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‘So, it looks as if I’m house-hunting in London, then,’ Mateo mused as Evie gathered her things.
‘Not necessarily,’ she said, turning back to him with her lip pinned by her teeth. ‘I’m leaving USEL.’
‘You’ve quit your job?’ he asked, genuine shock flashing into pride. ‘I’m so damn pleased,’ he said, as if he was relieved.
‘Really?’ she asked, surprised by his reaction.
‘You shouldn’t be back here teaching in the worst classroom ever invented.’
‘I don’t think they invented—’
‘Not the point, Evie,’ he said affectionately. ‘Do you have another job? Because wherever you’re going, I’m coming too,’ he informed her in that slightly, but utterly enthralling, autocratic way he had about him sometimes.
‘What about your work?’
‘I’ve taken a six-month sabbatical. I’ve spent too long intensely focusing on my business. Now I want to spend some time looking up.’
‘At the stars?’ Evie half teased.
‘At you. I will never lose sight of what you mean to me, Evie. Never.’ It was a promise and an oath. One that would be repeated two years later over their wedding vows. But for now, Evie welcomed the words into her heart with joy and love.
‘So where are we going?’ he asked as he tucked her arm under his, picked up her briefcase in his other arm and started leading her, for the last time, from Lecture Room Four.
Evie looked up at him, practically feeling the mischief and excitement rolling off her in waves. ‘Well, if you’re coming along, you’ll have to sign an NDA.’
Mateo turned to her, surprise and something like anticipation in his gaze. ‘Has another royal demanded your expertise?’
‘Actually, yes,’ she replied, unable to stop the smile from pulling her lips.
‘How on earth did that happen?’ he asked, eyes wide with shock and pleasure.
‘Apparently someone reached out to Queen Sofia and she passed on my details.’
‘You’re a real treasure hunter!’ he exclaimed, pulling his arm away as she slapped him.
‘I am a Professor of Archaeology,’ Evie asserted primly.
He smiled the biggest smile she’d ever seen and then whispered in her ear. ‘I want to have adventures with you,’ he confided, filling her heart with love.
‘Good, because we’re about to go on one of the best there is,’ she replied, knowing he understood that she meant their lives together.
He leaned towards her and whispered, ‘Okay, but can you keep the bag? Because I’m getting sexy teacher vibes and I was never a good student.’
Evie’s loving laughter was the only thing she left behind her that day.
EPILOGUE
ASEVIELOOKEDout at the sea of people clapping and cheering, she honestly thought she might need to pinch herself. She stood behind a small wooden podium in the back room of Olland, Iondorra’s world-famous bookstore. History practically vibrated from the mahogany shelves, that familiar sense of the past providing a warmth and comfort that was the icing on the cake for Evie as she took it all in.
She had just delivered a reading fromThe Pirate Queen. The book she had written had been five years in the making and, although it had at times felt like an unending task, one that challenged and maddened, frustrated and annoyed, it had also brought her the greatest joy. She had worked closely with the Iondorran palace to ensure that the information and the history was representative but not destabilising to Sofia and her family, who had given their permission for the publication two years following on from the sad passing of the Queen’s father.
She recognised the Queen’s assistant in the back row, discreetly filming the event, and sent him a small smile, knowing that Sofia—a woman who had become so much a friend in the last few years—wouldn’t have been able to attend without drawing attention away from what Sofia had said Evie absolutely deserved; recognition for all the work that she and Professor Marin had done.
Scanning the crowd for the faces she was looking for, she finally found them at the back, cheering the loudest and the hardest. Mateo—her husband, lover, partner and friend—had one hand tightly holding their three-year-old daughter’s, and the other punching the air in victory. Isabelle’s childish, happy cries reached Evie above all the other cries and applause because a mother would always hear her child, wherever and whenever she was needed. The blonde curls bounced as Mateo jiggled her and her cheers turned to laughter as they both celebrated her achievement. Their joy and support were enough to bring tears to Evie’s eyes. Tears of love, of thanks, and of peace, knowing that all that she needed was right here in this room.
Carol and Alan had sent their wishes with a very large, impressive bouquet of flowers and a note, and while a part of her would always wish for just a little more than they were capable of giving, Evie also understood that it was simply that: capability. There was no intent or malice behind their emotional separation, and understanding that had changed and eased a part of her that had always hurt just a little.
Evie smoothed a hand over the twinge in her belly, their second child clearly not wanting to miss out on the celebrations. Mateo must have caught the gesture, as his eyes heated with love and pride, so attuned to her and her feelings. She could never have imagined how close they had become. Living with that kind of love and support, unconditional and unending, had been a balm she’d never expected. Before she had met Mateo, she had intellectually understood her feelings and hurts, but healing them had been done with him. And the love that they shared with their child and the child to come was a magic that she would once have called impossible.
