I didn’t know when I would get used to traveling in the royal caravan as Cor’s partner, rather than his manager. I didn’t have my pearls, the fitted skirt, or the silk blouse to hide behind anymore. I felt vulnerable and alarmingly unprepared in a linen dress.

We stood on the porch of Sophia’s townhome. The agent who had stayed behind greeted us at the top of the stairs. The stoop was decorated with tropical flowers. There was a potted palm in a ceramic pedestal.

I could hear the laughter of children playing in the park across the street.

Cor rang the doorbell.

I wasn’t supposed to be this nervous. How many times had I conquered awkward and uncomfortable situations? I’d be in the room when the king stared down foreign diplomats. I’d witnessed family screaming matches with the dowager queen. I’d walked in front of protestors who hated a cabinet policy.

But this was the first time I was going to face the mother of Cor’s child. A woman who once had his heart, but didn’t value it. It was easy for her to leave. How could she have been so careless? She smashed the most incredible part of him like it was a crystal vase.

She didn’t know the carnage she left behind with her ruthless exit. She walked out of the palace, leaving me to pick up the pieces. She left me to hold him together. And I did.

I was the one who was cut over and over by the shards.

Cor squeezed my hand one more time before the door creaked open.

“Hi,” Sophia greeted us.

Her dark hair was pulled on top of head in a messy bun. She was wearing yoga pants and a long sheer shirt over a sports bra. She looked undeniably American. I wondered how long it took her to assimilate to life here. She was from a noble wealthy family. It had to be an adjustment.

“Good morning, Sophia.” Cor grinned. I could hear the excitement in his tone. He had been in a perpetual good mood since he met Adaline.

“Hello.” I nodded at her.

“It’s been a long time, Elena. Come in. Would you like some coffee?” She pulled the door wide open.

“That sounds nice,” I replied. “I’d love a cup? Cor?”

“I’d like one as well.”

We crossed the threshold. The townhome was beautiful. Her expensive taste was everywhere. I wondered if there were trinkets from Cor scattered on the bookshelves or the walls. They had a long relationship that had played out in the headlines. There was bound to be evidence of their time together here.

Cor gripped my shoulders and pointed me toward the living room. “Look,” he whispered.

“Adaline is playing with her blocks. Why don’t you show her how to build a castle while I get the coffee?” Sophia suggested.

She left us and we wandered into the room. Adaline was sitting on a pink quilt, holding a wooden block with the letter A carved in the side.

We crouched to the floor. Cor looked at me. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“Hi, Adaline.” I studied her cherub-like features. “Yes, she’s perfect.”

I couldn’t believe I was staring at his baby. His daughter was here.

“Maybe I could help with that,” he offered, picking up another block from the pile and adding it to another block.

She copied his movements and placed the A on top and burst out in the cutest giggles I’d ever heard.

Cor laughed. “She’s a natural with castles.”

“It would make sense, given she’s a princess.” I grinned.

A few minutes later Sophia entered the room with a tray of coffee. “Here we go. I have to say I rarely make tea anymore. It’s coffee, coffee, coffee here.”

I pushed off the floor and rose to meet her.

“Thank you.” I took a cup.

Cor seemed preoccupied with every sound and gesture Adaline made. Sophia watched them cautiously. She might be trying to be gracious, but I saw the stiffness in her shoulders and the way she clutched her coffee mug.

“I guess things are different since the last time I saw you, Elena.” Her eyes dipped to my left hand. It was bare, of course. She smiled. “Corbin tells me you’re together now.”

I nodded. “That’s right. We are.”

I didn’t need a ring on my finger to prove how connected I was to him. We had pledged our lives to each other in a way that was stronger than a band of platinum, but I didn’t need to explain that to Sophia. This meeting was about Adaline.

Cor made a circle of blocks around his daughter before joining us. He took the last cup of coffee from the tray. The mood in the room shifted. Play time was over.

“I’ve given this some thought, Sophia.” His eyes lingered on Adaline. “It won’t take long to have you and Adaline relocated to Spain. You won’t have to worry about any of the details. I’ll make sure everything is taken care of. The complete move will be handled by the palace.”

“Are you insane?” She raised her voice, before lowering it quickly. “I’m not moving. I never said we would move.”

“I didn’t ask.” He clenched his jaw.

“If you think you can use the crown to bully me into submission, you’re wrong. My daughter is an American. And this is where she’s going to live. You may visit when you like.” She folded her arms.

“You’ve already had eighteen months with her. I don’t see why you think you get to bargain. It’s not up for discussion. You and Adaline will have a royal residence in Spain. You’ll have a full security detail and I will have her on weekends. We can split summers. That is the best compromise you’ll get from me.” His eyes were dark as coal. I shuddered. This wasn’t going the way either of us expected.

I realized I had only been privy to Cor’s version of yesterday’s meeting. I hadn’t taken into account how set Sophia was on staying in South Carolina.

“You can’t force us to move,” she hissed. Her eyes landed on me. “Are you part of this? Is this one of your grand publicity solutions? The master fixer does it again.”

I pressed my lips together. “Sophia.”

But Cor cut me off.

“This is what I want.” His voice was low, but angry. “I want my daughter. Do you have any idea what it felt like to realize I had a child you had lied about? Can you even fathom that kind of pain? Have you even tried?”

Sophia closed her eyes. “I have to protect her. Not you. She’s innocent. She still has a chance.”

He paced in front of the doorway. “She can have the world. But not if you get her hurt or killed.”

Sophia gasped. “Don’t say that.”

He leaned toward her. “You know that’s a possibility if she doesn’t have security. Why do I have to travel with agents? Why does the king? Hell, my entire family? You can live in some dream world where our daughter gets to play in the park and grow up like a regular care-free American child, or you can put her first. She’s not normal. She’s royal.”

“Cor?” I looked in his eyes. He was frustrated and angry.

“What?” he snapped.

I exhaled. “Maybe Sophia and I could talk for a minute?”

He threw his hands in the air. “I’ll be back.” He slammed the front door behind him as he stormed toward the park.

Sophia placed her mug on the coffee table. “If you think for one second you can change my mind or fix this, you’re wrong, Elena. She’s my daughter. You don’t get to voice your opinion this time. It’s not about you and your angles.” She used air quotes in an irritating way.

I realized there may be some pent-up frustration surfacing. Had she resented the way I handled news about their relationship? Did she disagree with the tactics I used as Cor’s manager? How much of her anger now was from our interactions years ago?

I couldn’t dig two years in the past. I needed to help the man I loved bridge this divide. That one was over.

“You know him,” I began. “He isn’t going to back down about this. He never will. And can you blame him? You hid his child.” I shook my head. “That decision has been made, but what you decide now can either make life easy or difficult.”

Her mouth opened in protest.

“I’m not threatening you. I’m warning you. I’m telling you Cor is going to come after you with everything he has if you put up a fight. Right now, he has a soft spot for you, or at least he did twenty minutes ago. He believes you wanted to give Adaline a normal life, but he’s right. She can’t have this.” I waved my hands around. “Without you recognizing she’s a tiny princess. He wants her to be safe. I know you want that too.” I watched Adaline move from the blocks to a stack of board books.

“So what does the fixer propose?” Sophia asked. “I’m sure you have a solution. You always do.” She folded her arms across her chest. “But I’m not moving to the palace. And I have no interest in Spain. I love it here. I have friends. I have a job I love at the gallery. My gallery is thriving here. Adaline has friends at the park and a nanny she adores. I’m not going to disrupt her life because Corbin demands it.”

“There has to be something you’re willing to offer as a compromise,” I urged. “It could be something small.”

She sighed. “He can see her. They can spend time together. That’s something.”

I nodded. It was probably a large concession, considering she had done everything she could to make sure he didn’t know about her.

“And of course, I’m willing to accept the security. I don’t like having agents around, but I understand. He’s right. If that nurse in France told anyone else, Addie could be in danger. I’ll accommodate the agents and any alarms or security systems he wants to install.”

“Ok. That will make him happy.” I smiled. “And I think everyone will sleep better.”

Sophia strummed her manicured nails on the mug. “It’s not that I don’t want Adaline to meet her uncles and aunts. And Galona is beautiful. But she can’t grow up there. Maybe summers.”

It wasn’t up to me to tell her that wasn’t enough. Corbin was going to have to explain the severity of her growing up with a shifter family. Just then Adaline waddled over and handed a stuffed panda bear to me.

“Thank you, love.” I smiled.

She ran to Sophia and climbed in her lap. “I don’t know that I’ll have more children,” she admitted. “I didn’t think I wanted any.” She laughed. “But as you can see, this one has changed everything. And I’m trying to do everything I can, Elena. It’s not her fault she has a prince for a father.”

“No. It certainly isn’t. But he’s a wonderful father. Give him a chance. He loves her.”

The door opened and Cor walked in the house. “I’m sorry.” He looked at Sophia.

She sighed. “I know. I am too.” She extended her arms and he held Adaline.

There were many times he had melted my heart, but nothing compared to watching him with his daughter.