Lila got a little bit of sleep on the plane, but thoughts of Nick kept her from any kind of relief. She dreamed of him the same way she did when he was gone all those months. Their last night together had been glorious, full of passion and heat, but both of them had doubts that their relationship—such as it was—could survive the long term. Lila knew it at least; Nick was still trying to convince her to give it a chance. She suspected he didn’t like to lose.
God, she was confused. He was right that many of the ingredients needed for a good marriage were already part of them. They genuinely liked each other, the sex was amazing, and they were both smart, strong people. But Lila wanted a marriage based on love, and she couldn’t ignore the fact that Nick never would have proposed if she hadn’t been pregnant. It wasn’t practical, or logical, but when thinking about the rest of her life, Lila led with her heart.
The flight attendant told her they would be landing at a small airfield not too far from the palace and Josie would be there to meet her. It was dark in Marinbourg, around midnight local time based on her best guess. She wished she could see the country as they flew in, but the lights from the city of Sterren were an awesome show. It was as beautiful as she’d been told.
She had to say, the whole flight had been an experience. From the individual attention of the flight attendant, to the luxurious seats, to the gourmet meal, Lila was amazed at the life her best friend was going to lead.
But of all the people she knew, it was Josie who would stay grounded. Lila could think of no one who deserved happiness more than the woman who was going to be the queen. That it all happened after she thought she’d lost Tony forever made it even better.
The plane taxied to a stop and she looked out the small window. There were men with earpieces and armed guards standing next to a shiny dark car, but among all the security was a beautiful, dark haired woman with a wide smile that calmed Lila’s nerves. Josie.
That was why she’d dropped everything and flown thousands of miles. Josie was more sister than friend, and Lila definitely needed her sister. She’d kept so many secrets. It was time to clear the air.
Taking a deep breath, she checked herself in a small mirror she carried in her bag. Yeah, she looked tired. Drained. But Josie would understand. As soon as Lila stepped on the tarmac, Josie broke toward her. They split the distance, meeting in the middle with a fierce hug.
“I am so glad you’re here,” Josie said. “And with my future nephew, I hear.”
Lila leaned back and touched her belly. “It’s a boy. I expect he’ll be just like Nick.”
Josie hugged her close. “We can hope. He might be a Neanderthal sometimes, but he’s a good man.”
Nodding, Lila fought back the tears. “I know. I do know that.”
Linking an arm with hers, Josie walked Lila to the car. “We’ll get you settled at the palace, and depending on what you want to do, we’ll watch movies, or gossip, or eat pints of ice cream.”
“That sounds really good.” It did. Just being able to relax felt good. “I vote for all three.”
Josie laughed as she settled into the back seat of the car, next to Lila.
“So,” Lila began. “Will you have a crown?”
Josie giggled. “A big one. The coronation takes place after the ceremony. I’m not sure about the whole queen thing, but I do love the people here. They’re kind and generous, and I appreciate the way they’ve accepted me.”
“How could they not?” Lila pulled her friend in. “You’re going to be great. Everyone will love you if they don’t already.”
“I just don’t want to let Anton down. Now that he’s King, it’s so strange. He’s still the man I fell in love with, but he’s larger than life so much of the time. He depends on me more to keep things normal, I guess.” Josie gazed out the window as they traveled through the streets of Sterren, the capital of Marinbourg. “I just want him to be happy.”
Lila remembered Josie reliving the anguish she felt when Anton came back to her after three years. She’d been terrified at the rush of emotions, much like Lila felt for Nick. Knowing someone had the power to break her was terrifying, but Nick had that power. That’s why she had to get away. His intentions were good. Of that she had no doubt. But the arrangement he proposed wasn’t enough for a lifetime. And Lila didn’t think she could handle losing him when he decided it was time for them to part ways.
It sounded cold when she thought about it that way. And Nick wasn’t a cruel man. He’d never do anything to hurt her, but feelings were funny things. There was no way to know who he would meet in the future, how his career would play out. All Lila knew was that if they were going to stand a chance, there had to be more between them than the child they would raise. Life was too hard, and she firmly believed a marriage could only work if two hearts were bound to each other. The love between them needed depth, not practicality.
That’s what she saw when she watched Tony and Josie—the king and his future queen. He loved her fiercely, and she loved him unconditionally. Their lives were about doing for the other. There was no question about devotion or willingness to sacrifice, each would do it in a heartbeat. Josie was the one who gave up her life to be with the man she loved, and Lila could see her friend didn’t regret it for one second.
Because Anton was ready to do the same for her.
The reason Lila hesitated when Nick asked her to leave Mimosa Key was because his reasons for wanting to marry her were centered on the baby. On saving her.
If she ever left Mimosa, it would be because she was running to something, not away from it.
Just as she was about to say something, there was a little thump in her belly. “Oh, my gosh! He kicked!”
Josie reached out and held her hand against Lila’s bump. “Will I be able to feel it?” Josie wondered.
“I don’t know,” Lila responded. “Give him a chance to do it again.”
Josie held her hand very still, and Lila found herself holding her breath, hoping she could feel that little bit of joy from inside. And then he kicked again.
“There it is!” Josie leaned in, like she was listening for the baby’s voice, waiting. Another kick. “That’s the most amazing thing in the world. Has Nick…”
“No, not yet. This is the first time I felt a real kick. Up until now it’s just been flutters. It’s amazing. Being pregnant is the most magical thing, Josie.”
They dropped into silence, taking in the moment. It was pretty much perfect, except for the fact that Nick wasn’t there. Her heart hurt missing him.
“Lila, I know you’ve been through a lot. And I’m sure my brother has messed things up tremendously.” Josie was quiet, gentle as she spoke. “But you have to know the two of you need to work this out. You have to. You’d be so good for him. For each other.”
“I don’t know. I don’t want him to feel this is some kind of obligation. I was careless…”
“Stop. It takes two to tango, as my grandma used to say. I don’t think Nick feels trapped.”
If she could be sure of that, Lila would breathe easier.
“If I were to guess, my brother is feeling many things…out of his league, intimidated, overwhelmed, scared…but I doubt he feels trapped.”
“I don’t know what to think.” With all her heart she wanted to believe she and Nick had a chance. She loved him so much it hurt. It was the reason she was willing to walk away. Stupid, probably. But even if he did love her, there had to be more. A pregnancy and a job just weren’t enough to build a life on.
“He cares about you. I heard it in his voice. He covers his emotion with a lot of bravado, with talk of loyalty and doing the right thing. But this isn’t just obligation. Not with you.”
Deep down, an inkling of hope reached out. She wondered if it was her baby kicking again, but it wasn’t—it was her heart. And her heart hoped Josie was right.
* * *
Nick turned off his car and stared ahead as he sat in front of the Super Min. He wasn’t the guy he was a month ago, a week ago, or even three days ago. Change was a bitch who was beating him senseless whether he liked it or not.
Standing in the dealer showroom yesterday, he was all set to buy a kick-ass sports car. But then he heard voices—small voices. When he turned, he saw a family with young children.
Two little boys.
His best guess placed the parents around his age, and that’s when reality hit. It came at him like a missile and smacked him hard. So instead of a something small, black, and fast, he left the dealership with a sporty SUV.
A dad car.
And there was plenty of room in the back for a car seat.
He remembered coming to this store with his grandfather to pick up a newspaper, or milk or eggs if his grandma ran out. Now he just needed coffee and a donut before he headed to the airport to hop a flight to Washington. He didn’t want to go, but he figured he should at least talk to people about the job offer.
Lila had been gone for three days, but it felt like three years. He was a fucking mess without her. He didn’t sleep well, he couldn’t focus…
The woman was under his skin, and glancing at himself in the mirror, Nick faced the truth.
He didn’t just love Lila, he was in love with her. And he wanted to marry her not to save her, but to save himself.
Every fiber of his being ached for her. But more than anything, she owned his heart. There was no getting around it, he’d fallen. Hard.
It was when he finally admitted it that he could understand why she’d left. He could rationalize all he wanted about how marrying Lila was the right thing to do, but she was the one who could see he hadn’t been doing it for the right reason. Yes, he wanted to be a father to his baby, but there needed to be more at stake to walk down the aisle.
He had to want to be a husband.
Getting out of the car, the September heat surrounded him. He was going to buy a suit to make an impression during his meeting, but Nick decided to wear his uniform, which fortunately he’d had altered when he was rehabbing in DC. Unfortunately, the damn thing was hot as fuck.
He’d also shaved. So while Lila would be disappointed he no longer looked like a pirate, he did look like a marine.
Making his way into the artificial chill of the Super Min, his presence turned some heads. Just like any small town, the gossip mill on Mimosa was always in full swing, and remembering what his grandmother used to say, the ladies at the convenience store kept it going.
He received a tip of the cap from one man, a handshake from another. People were very generous thanking him for his service, but he could see the lady with golden brown hair staring at him from behind the counter didn’t give a rat’s ass about being nice. Her eyes said she wanted information.
Charity Grambling always wanted information.
“If it isn’t Nick DeMarco,” Charity snipped. “It’s been a while since you’ve been in here.”
“A few months at least, ma’am.” Nick grabbed a tin of mints before he fixed himself a coffee and found a donut that looked edible. “If you’d ring these items up, I’d appreciate it.”
“Uh huh.” Charity kept her eyes pinned on him. “When is Lila coming back? She got out of here pretty fast after you arrived.”
He knew that. He’d scared her halfway around the world and now he had to figure out how to get her back. “She went to be with Josie. Royal weddings require all hands on deck.”
Don’t feed the monster, man.
“Right. The wedding is in a few weeks.” Charity paused for effect. “I don’t recall getting an invitation to the affair. Perhaps it was lost in the mail.”
There was almost no appropriate response to her comment; ‘are you fucking kidding?’ was definitely out. “The guest list is very small.”
“I’m sure. But I was one of your grandmother’s good friends, that’s all.”
Charity was definitely a legend in her own mind. Grandma hadn’t liked her all that much.
“So where are you off to this time? Going to make Lila an honest woman or are you going to let her have that baby on her own?”
Nick burned inside. “I’ll see her in Marinbourg in a couple of weeks. I actually have a meeting today, so if you could let me pay…”
“Where’s your meeting?”
“Out. Of. Town.” Holy shit.
“Running off again? That caused her a heap of trouble last time when she found out you’d knocked her up.”
The only way Nick wasn’t going to lose his temper was if he got out of there fast. He pulled a twenty from his wallet and dropped it on the counter. “Have a good day.”
“Wait, I haven’t…”
“You’ve said enough. Take the money and stop talking.”
“I run an honest business,” Charity sniffed. “I’ll give you change.”
“Set it aside to pay for someone’s coffee. As far as Lila goes, you will stop talking about her. People like you are the ones who ran her off.”
He was out the door and in the car before Charity could answer. He kept thinking about what Lila had put up with while he was gone. All it took was a few nosy, small-minded individuals to spread rumors, and while Mimosa was populated with many decent, good-hearted people, the gossips on the island were world class.
He drove himself over the causeway and pulled into the same small airport in Naples that the royal jet had landed at a few days earlier. Now as he was waiting to board a small military jet that would take him to DC, he took out his phone and called Tony.
It was the middle of the afternoon in Marinbourg, and his friend was probably doing King things, but he didn’t give a shit. He needed to see how Lila was doing. He missed her so damn much, and all he wanted to hear was that she was just as miserable.
“I expected to hear from you two days ago.” Tony never missed an opportunity to give him a hard time.
“I was trying to respect her privacy.”
“And now?” Tony asked, his clipped accent adding to his authority.
“Now I don’t give a shit. How is she?”
“She seems okay. She and Josie have been huddled up, so I can’t tell you much. The two of them get on like school girls.”
“Great,” he growled. “That’s just what I need.”
“Having a tough time without her, mate?”
Nick nodded, knowing his friend couldn’t see. “Yeah. I am.”
“If it’s any consolation, I know she misses you too.”
Hearing it forced a breath out of him. He felt a bit better—at least until he could get to her. “That’s…that’s good.”
“When are you heading over?”
Nick wanted to say he would be on his way later today, but something told him he had to wait. “Late next week was the plan. But that could change.”
“Any more on that White House job?”
“I’m at the airport now. I have some meetings and someone from the staff is taking me out to dinner. I’ll be back here tomorrow.”
“Are you going to take it?” Anton asked the big question.
“I don’t know,” Nick replied. “Depends.”
“On her?”
“Yeah.” He paused. “I’m so screwed, Tony. I rushed everything. I pushed, and she ran. I’ll do anything she wants, but I can’t even get her to talk to me.”
“You love her?”
“Yep. Like I said, I’m screwed.”
He heard his friend chuckle. “Welcome to the club.”