“A weekend with plenty of sunshine confirms the spring has arrived to stay.” The weather forecasting reporter in the TV smiled at her audience and then said, “Back to you, Kristen.”

“Lovely,” Angus said, turning the TV off. “We needed some relief.”

“Yeah,” Siobhan said, without enthusiasm.

Angus studied her a moment. He’d noticed the faint shadows under her eyes yesterday. It was barely ten in the morning now, and they were deeper. Is it the tone of the news? Or is it something else? Something had been nagging inside her for the last few days. Something he couldn’t quite pinpoint. “Is there something you’d like to talk about?”

Siobhan opened her mouth, surprised by the question. She shut it again. Yes, I think I want to marry you. But there was nothing she could say.

“I know something’s been eating at you lately.”

Siobhan smiled and squeezed his hand. “Look, why don’t we go out to lunch? Like, on a date. Just the two of us?”

“Good idea. Do you have some place in mind? Do you want to go to Paris?”

“Not this time, Angus.” She shook her head at him, with a smile. “Ewan scheduled an appointment for me with the royal hairdresser, I should be ready by midday or so. I want you to show me your fave restaurant in Lektenstaten.”

“Done.” He kissed her swiftly and rose, straightening his jacket. “I’ll make reservations for two o’clock.”

“Two?”

“I want to show you something else first. In fact, two somethings.” He smiled at her.

She raised her brows curiously.

He gave her another kiss, and walked to the door of their sitting room. Just before leaving her to get her hair done, he opened the door. “Don’t do anything drastic. I like you just the way you are.”

Oh, Dragon, aren’t you sweet? His words warmed her heart. Maybe he is starting to fall for me…

* * *

“I’m ready.” Her lips curved in a little smile, Siobhan entered the room and pivoted in her heels. “What do you think?”

“You look…” His mind stretched for words. He hadn’t any compliments to translate his amazement at Siobhan’s transformation. Not the sort she deserved, at any rate, and he didn’t suppose she’d care to hear the truth: the way she looked made him feel vastly unequal, and a little bit queasy. Shall I deem her exquisite? A vision? An exquisite vision? Bah. Insipid, the lot of them. He supposed a man couldn’t go amiss with beautiful, overused as it might be.

“I feel beautiful.” She smiled.

Brilliant. Now, she’s stolen my word. He was starting from nothing again. It was not that she had cut her hair short, or changed its color, but there was a sophisticated air about her, a different look on her face.

“I love these. Thank you.” She patted at the new earrings he had ordered for her a few days ago and had just arrived this morning. “They go perfectly with my new haircut.”

He had the sudden, stupid feeling he was floating. “I’m happy to hear it.” Happy. Now, there was a word he hadn’t uttered in some time.

“You look splendid,” she said, taking in how well his black jacket fit his broad shoulders and how the white silk scarf showcased his strong neck and handsome face.

“So do you.” He cleared his throat, embarrassed at his lack of words. “Now, come.”

He grabbed her hand and took her through the corridor, crossed the stairwell hall, continued to the end of the corridor where he opened a door to a suspended bridge which led to another wing of the palace.

“Where are we going?” she asked, puzzled, when he stopped in front of the door at the other end of the bridge.

He took the scarf from around his neck. “Close your eyes.”

She looked at him askance, but did as told. After he put on the blindfold, he led her through the door, to the other side of the floor, turned her to face the direction he wanted, then took off the scarf. “You can open them now.”

She stood frozen at the threshold of the floor he had transformed into an office for her. Her eyes went wide with awe as she soaked it all in.

He gently pushed her, glad he had made her as speechless as she had turned him a few minutes ago. “Welcome to your office.”

“Oh, Angus,” she whispered, turning around and looking at the rest of the office space. On the wall behind her, there were double doors, which she supposed led to a private entrance.

A massive fireplace nearly as tall as Angus and as wide as her room in Jaxon’s house took up most of another wall, the Lektenstaten crest hanging over it.

That was all that remained of the previously dark and unused section of the palace.

It was divided into three distinct sections—a showroom, a lounge, and a custom appointment area with a large desk for her—ensuring that each space flowed from one to the other, separated only by soft and luxurious modern rugs covering the parquet floor. Bespoke sets of furniture, fixtures, lighting and decorative elements would showcase her jewelry in a truly one-of-a-kind environment.

Oh! But it was the gems sitting on modern glass and wooden showcase-shelves that captured her attention. From rough, waiting to be lapidated rocks to diamonds scintillating amid colorful gems, they were set in welcoming interior black velvet spaces, forming a perfect and luxurious place for her to talk her customers through raw materials and the creative process in finding the perfect and unique piece she would design for them.

It was done exactly like she had described her dreams to him during one of their nightly talks.

She threw herself into Angus’s arms and peppered kisses on his face. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“My pleasure.” He smiled and tightened his arms around her. “You do your sketches and start your production, and after the baby is born, we can do a small opening to VIP customers.”

“And if we ask Javert to work with me?”

“Javert?” His eyebrows rose on his forehead and then he smiled as he mused it over. “Well…we can discuss it with him when we buy our wedding rings.”

“Really? But, I don’t see why we should buy rings when we haven’t agreed on marrying.”

“But we did agree on letting others believe we’re getting married, so whether the rings end up being props or signs of a true commitment, we still need them.”

* * *

And then the impossibly stubborn man took her to choose wedding rings. And as promised they were visiting Javert Romani’s jewelry shop.

Javert re-entered the private office where Siobhan and Angus were shown in as soon as they arrived, with a large black leather case held in one hand.

Angus had instructed to help Siobhan with a selection and then wandered around the shop, responded to text messages, and generally tried to be patient, having little interest in what she selected.

“My mother encouraged my artistic ability and eventually secured an apprenticeship for me with a goldsmith in Austria where we lived for a while. Eventually, I won a scholarship and I worked as a designer in Paris for Cartier and Boucheron,” Javert said to Siobhan as she looked over her options.

As she became comfortable in Javert’s presence, Siobhan began to speak more freely with him.

In fact, she became positively chatty, discussing styles, techniques, and gems, and asking about his work in Paris. It was, arguably, a more relaxed exchange than she’d ever had with Angus.

As jealousy stabbed him like a driven nail, Angus strode through the shop, reaching into his pocket for a peppermint candy. Popping a soft white wafer into his mouth, he went to glare out the window. The confection, made of egg whites, icing sugar, and flavored essence, instantly dissolved in a melting flood of mint.

“What is this?” Siobhan asked the jeweler.

Javert chuckled. “I added a musgravite beneath the diamond for a fun twist.”

“How beautiful.”

Perceiving that the ring had caught Siobhan’s fancy, Angus went to have a look at it. She handed the ring to him, and he inspected it closely.

As he turned it from side to side, ambient light struck hot and cool blue and green flashes from the colored depths. It was a lovely ring, but even with it being a diamond, it was infinitely humbler than the one he had first chosen. It wasn’t fit for a princess, much less for the wife of the King of Lektenstaten.

Silently he damned Javert for having brought up such an unassuming piece of jewelry in the first place.

“Siobhan,” Angus said pitting the piece back on the tray and moving away from it, “let him show you something else. This has to be the least valuable ring from the entire tray.”

“To me, it’s the most valuable,” Siobhan said cheerfully. Having studied jewelry, she would have liked to discard the formality of a diamond for something creative. “I never judge the worth of something by how much it actually costs.”

“A pretty sentiment,” Javert commented. “Plus, I have coordinating wedding bands.”

“But this isn’t good enough for you. Choose another,” Angus said.

Crossing the room, careful to keep her posture perfect, she faced Angus, mere inches between them. “You haven’t any idea what I deserve.”

There was a beat, and he said, “I know you deserve better than that.”

Her breath caught at the echo of the words, no longer a taunt, now an honest, quiet observation. She willed herself not to allow him access to the part of her that cared what he thought.

The part of her that could too easily imagine that he didn’t care for her.

That he didn’t think highly of her.

But failed.

He did care for her and thought highly of her: Him angry at the reporters for her sake had proved it. Him saving her a few days ago had proved it. Now proved it.

“That’s utterly inappropriate,” he informed her, squashing all thoughts of rebellion. He refused to indulge in her whimsy for something cheap, even if it was cheerful and turning to Javert, he said, “My wife will wear only the best. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, or emeralds. She can choose.”

“I can choose, but only what you want?” she asked, but with a smile. How could she object to a man arguing over trying to give her more than what she desired?

And hasn’t he compromised when it had come to my work? She picked a ring which had caught her eye previously by the rarity of the green diamond. It was striking in its purity and held by four prongs it stood out by the two triangle diamonds of the purest white set on the side. She tried it on and it slid right into place. She extended her hand to Angus. “Is this stately enough for Your Majesty?”

The diamond wasn’t the size of a boulder as he would have preferred, she was sure, but it would never pass unnoticed.

“You have exquisite taste, Lieben.” Satisfied with her choice, when he went to pay, he whispered to Javert, “Make a full set for her using the style and gems of the ring she liked.” And then in a louder voice, “Siobhan and I would like to talk with you about a joint venture.”

When he looked over his shoulder at Siobhan, she was grinning.

What is a loving relationship if not about compromises, Dragon?

* * *

Ludwig snapped his fingers. “Angus, stop daydreaming!”

He raised his eyes from his watch to look at Ludwig sitting in the armchair in front of his desk.

“I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t witness this love-sickness with my own eyes.” Ludwig tsked his friend.

Angus chortled. “There’s something indescribable about her—and the way she makes me feel.” He spent his days in a state he could swear was close to bloody pining, counting down the hours until night when he could have her all to himself. He, Angus Augustus Braxton-Lenox, the King of Lektenstaten, craved a woman’s attention.

“But you scarcely know her, man.”

“I have no reason for it that makes any sense. But I refuse to lose her.” He understood what he’d experienced in the past had been so lacking compared to what Siobhan gave him—it was as if he’d been eating all his life without having been hungry or tasted a morsel. Now he starved. And feasted. And he never wanted to go back. “And I’m getting to know her better every day. The more I do, the more of that indescribable feeling I get.”

“She’s beautiful,” Ludwig offered.

“I’ve known many beautiful women.”

Ludwig chuckled. “She’s more beautiful than the others, then?”

“She’s more something than any other.” Angus shook his head. “How is it possible a man’s world can be turned inside out before he even has a chance to see it coming and try to stop it, Ludwig?”

“There’s never been a prevention, or a cure for lovesickness.”

Angus turned and gave Ludwig a grin. “Lovesickness is not a thing my friend. This is a man enjoying what belongs to him with great relish.”

It was Ludwig’s turn to chuckle. “Very well, you can pretend that’s what it is but we all know it to be something totally different.”

Angus thought about denying it further but decided to save his breath. “I have no words for what she makes me feel.”

“You always have words.”

“Not this time, which warns me I’m truly in deep trouble and about to get deeper.”

“You’re determined to wed the most willful, opinionated female ever to walk the face of the earth.” Ludwig slumped back in the chair. “You are beyond hope. Next, you’ll be declaring your undying love.”

Angus silently swirled the brandy in his glass, studying it as if he’d never seen such a fascinating sight.

A moment passed.

Then another.

“Angus?” Ludwig’s voice rose. “You’re not in love, are you?”

“I’m not certain I would recognize love if I saw it. Let me ask you something.” Angus’s gaze met his. “Why are you now so concerned about whether or not I’m in love when you weren’t before?”

Ludwig blew out a long breath. He knew it would come to this. He should have confided in Angus.

His friend clasped his hands behind his back as they watched Fiona and Siobhan walking in the garden outside the window. “I have news to share with you.”

“What is it?”

“Your Siobhan is the long-lost sister of the king of Aragon.”

Angus burst into laughter as he looked at his friend, one of the very few he would trust with his life. “And what brought this revelation?” They had all heard the rumors about the desperate search for the sister of the king of Aragon. Rumor was he wanted her to rule beside him, and though a great deal of women had attempted to take that title, none had proven to be his blood relation. And now Ludwig was trying to tell Angus that Siobhan was that woman?

Ludwig cleared his throat and Angus was instantly on guard. “I come to you as a friend, Angus…”

“You’re serious about this?”

“I am. And I can see Siobhan makes you happy, far happier than Innes ever did, and it would devastate you to lose her.”

Angus ran a hand over his face. “Out with it already.”

Ludwig began to tell what he had heard and Angus’s own blood relations knew and they were planning on keeping it from him.

With each word, Angus felt his own heart break, replaced with anger toward those that were supposed to have his best interests in mind. “You are sure about this?”

Ludwig placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I’m sorry, old friend.”

Angus drew in a breath, watching as the women walked out of view. Siobhan was royalty. He had thought her special, but this, she was considered his equal now. No longer would she have the label of commoner once she took back what belonged to her.

And his mother, he would deal with her at the right time, in his own way. This would be the last time she would attempt to interfere with his life.

What if Siobhan leaves me after she learns who she truly is?

The country of Aragon was quite wealthy and as one of the members of the royal family, she would never have to worry about her future ever again. His wealth would mean nothing to her.

All he had left to offer her now was himself.

He turned away from the window, stopping mid-stride when a thought hit him as if a double-punch: What if I am not enough?