Chapter Twenty-Three
Alex shifted uncomfortably and wondered if he had made the right decision on where to meet Maddie. It had been forty-eight hours since he had seen her. It was not an astronomical amount of time, and yet in the scheme of things—considering the situation—it felt enormous.
He was standing beside a high top table in the lounge of a trendy Dallas seafood restaurant. It was difficult not to believe that the people around him were staring, but perhaps it was the fact that he was alone in a room full of groups. Or it could have been his natural bent toward paranoia. In Moscow he was well known and could rarely go anywhere without being recognized and sometimes even approached by those who claimed a connection of some kind. It was one of the reasons he enjoyed coming to the US. Here, outside of the paparazzi’s obsession with “Russian royalty,” political figures were rarely items of interest to the American public unless they had their own reality television show.
A flash of color caught his eye, and Alex turned toward the restaurant’s double glass door entrance. Maddie stood there in a dress of coral pink. The color flattered the deep red of her hair and gave her complexion a healthy glow. She’d pulled up only the sides of her hair, anchoring it with gold combs sparkling with rhinestones. Her little gold heels emphasized the length of her legs and the gracefulness of every movement she made.
She was smiling at him. Alex felt tongue tied. Everyone in the restaurant was staring at her. Of course, why wouldn’t they stare? She was the most beautiful woman in the room. She gave him a quick wave and then sauntered right over as though she owned the room. Alex felt awkward. Should he hug her? Kiss her? What would she welcome as a greeting after such a brief separation that still meant more than just forty-eight hours could convey?
“Hi.” She took the question out of his hands when she stood on tiptoe and brushed a kiss over his cheek. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be about to find you in this crush, but you sort of stand out.”
“Do I?” He grinned at her because he couldn’t contain it anymore. “I was thinking that you look so good that every eye in the room is on you.”
“What a compliment.” There was something distinctly flirty in her tone. She jumped up onto one of the tall stools and gestured to the bartender. “Bring me a ginger ale please?”
She was looking at the tonic in front of him. He gestured to the glass. “It’s just tonic water.”
“No alcohol?”
“Darling, I need all my wits when I’m conversing with you,” he teased.
She slapped the tabletop with the flat of her hand. “Oh my God, he made a joke!”
“Someone once suggested to me that I’m too serious.” He gently brushed his index finger over her cheek. “I have some things to discuss. Do you want to talk about them now? Or would you rather wait?”
She made a face. “Waiting just means I wonder myself to death about what you have to say. Spit it out then.”
“I met with a contact from the State Department. I believe I told you that the gentleman flew into Dallas from DC.” He glanced at her, wondering if she would be as happy about this as he was. “I’ve made arrangements with the State Department to expedite the paperwork for political asylum here in the US.”
“Oh my God, really?” The bartender put her drink on the table. Alex slipped the guy a twenty dollar bill before she could reach into her clutch purse. She narrowed her gaze at him, but then went right back to their conversation. “So what’s going to happen? And don’t think I’m okay with you buying my drinks and all of my dinner and stuff. I’d rather go Dutch, you know?”
“Dutch?” The term confused him.
Her laughter was so musical he almost lost his composure completely. “It means to split the check.”
“We are not splitting the check.” He said it as if there was no question at all. “And what it means is that I’ve made a sworn statement to the US government to renounce my claim to any rights I might have had as a Russian citizen. I specifically renounced any claim to the imperial bloodline, and there is literally nothing that my mother can do. I’ve defected.”
She didn’t looked as thrilled as he was hoping that she would. “Are you sure you’re all right with that?”
“Of course!” How could she even consider otherwise? “I don’t want to be a part of my mother’s schemes.”
“Yes, but are you sure you really want to renounce your citizenship to do that? It just seems so drastic, that’s all.” She pursed her lips and ran the tip of her finger around the edge of her glass. “I just don’t want you to hate me later on because you think I made you give up your heritage.”
“You’re not making me do anything,” he stressed. Why could she not see? “I did this for myself, and for our child, and yes. I did it in part because of you. I don’t want you to have a target on your back just because of my idiotic family and their deranged plans for global domination.”
“Whoa.” Her eyes began to crinkle at the corners as a smile spread across her face. “You’re actually joking about this! What’s wrong with you?”
“You have to admit that the entire scenario going on here is a little humorous,” Alex said drily. “If it were happening to anyone else you would think it was hilarious.”
“Actually, I would call it a Lifetime network movie,” she joked. “But in all seriousness, I only want what will make you happy, Alex.”
He reached out and cupped her cheek. “You make me happy. I think these last two days have proved that to me beyond doubt.”
“Me too,” she whispered.
***
MADDIE’S HEART WAS pounding with excitement. She pulled the tiny ultrasound photo from her clutch purse and laid it on the table. She saw Alex frown and cock his head to one side as he likely tried to figure out what he was looking at.
Then he suddenly looked up at her, a very strange expression on his face. “Is this our child?”
“Yes.”
When he reached for the photo, his hands were visibly shaking. “It’s so very tiny! I can see where the head is forming, but the rest of it looks unbelievably like a tadpole.”
The wonder in his voice softened his choice of words.
Maddie chuckled a bit. “I was pretty much the same way when I saw it, but I can’t wait for you to hear the heartbeat! It sounds so amazing and so strange all at the same time. It’s so crazy to think that we made this little person. And right now at this very second the kid is growing like a little weed inside my belly.”
He was smiling at her in such a way that she felt almost shy. Then he reached across the table and took her hand. He lifted her fingers to his lips. “I’ve wanted to say this to you for so long, Maddie, but I wanted to get the drama with my family sorted first.”
“Say what?” Her tummy was already in knots, though, as she anticipated what could only be the most amazing thing.
“I love you, Madison Castillo.” He pulled a little box from his pocket and set it on the table. “I had some time while I was here in the city.”
“Oh my God,” she murmured. Reaching for the blue velvet box, she glanced up at him. “Am I allowed to look?”
“Of course.”
She tried to be discreet about wiping her palms on her skirt before she reached again for the box. She was so very nervous! Then she flipped open the lid and felt all of the air leave her lungs at once. “Oh.”
It was the only word she could say. There were no other words. Nothing could possibly describe. The huge, princess cut emerald was enormous. It had to be at least three karats if not more. The setting was completely surrounded by tiny clusters of diamonds. The stone’s brilliance was breathtaking. The color was incredible. Such a deep, deep green that she could not imagine ever tiring of staring into its depths.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered. “I feel like I shouldn’t even touch it!”
Alex reached out, plucked the ring from its padding and held it between two fingers. “May I have your hand?”
Maddie tentatively held out her left hand and suddenly felt as though everyone in the entire restaurant was staring at them. Then Alex slid the ring onto her fourth finger, and she completely forgot that they weren’t alone. She was caught in his dark eyes. There was something so soft and loving in his gaze. When the ring was perfectly in place, he lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her palm. She shivered in response.
“So will you marry me, Madison Castillo?” Alex whispered.
How could she even contemplate saying no? “Yes! I will. I mean I do. I mean, yes, I’ll marry you. I feel so silly!”
“Don’t.” His smile seemed to suggest that they were the only two people in the room. “You’re perfect just the way you are.”
“So I’m perfectly silly?” She couldn’t help but tease him a little. “Have you tried to imagine what our offspring will be like? With your built-in politeness meter and my sense of the ridiculous, the kid will either be perfectly balanced or hopelessly out of whack.”
“This baby is going to be amazing,” he assured her.
Maddie’s brain was spinning. So much had happened in so short a time, and yet it felt like forever. She had to keep reminding herself that it hadn’t even been a full two weeks since Alex had come back into her life. What if that wasn’t enough time to know someone enough to marry them?
“I can see the panic on your face,” he told her softly. “My family has been arranging marriages and being successful at it for centuries, you know.”
“This isn’t arranged,” she told him wryly. “Remember? I think if there was a polar opposite of arranged marriage, we would be it.”
“Perhaps, but the mindset remains the same.”
“How so?” She stared at the enormous rock on her finger and wondered how many other Romanov women had enjoyed a similar experience. It was a little overwhelming to consider.
He touched the stone on her finger. “You’re starting to worry that we don’t know each other well enough to marry.”
She raised her gaze in surprise. “How did you know?”
“You would be foolish not to wonder or at least consider such a question.” There was something so very certain in his tone. It made her feel better. “The thing is, marriage takes work no matter how well the parties know each other. There will be ups and downs. There will be fights, and there will be making up. No matter how well we know each other or how compatible we believe that we are, those things will happen. They are an inevitable part of sharing your life with anyone. Even friends quarrel.”
“And sisters,” she agreed softly. “So what you’re saying is that as long as we work at it, we can get to know each other as we go. Right?”
“Exactly.” He stood up. “Our table is ready. Are you hungry?”
“Yes.”
He tugged her closer and put his arms around her. “What you need to remember most of all, Maddie, is that you are the one I want to work on this with. I want the ups and downs because I’m looking forward to the unique way that you view life. You’re an incredible woman, and I feel privileged that you’re saying that you want to be part of my life and make me part of yours. This has nothing to do with babies or insane mothers or imperial thrones that don’t exist. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” In fact, she understood so well that there were tears threatening to wreck her makeup. “And I love you too, Alex. So very much.”