The marble countertop pressed against the small of my back as I watched Luke walk away and leave me alone with his mother. On any other day, her presence in the room would be cause for alarm, but after the conversation between the two of them the day before, Luke left us, knowing that his mother wasn’t about to berate me about my background or being with her eldest son.

At least, I hoped that wasn’t her plan. I hadn’t had enough coffee that morning to put up a proper fight about my background, though why should I be expected to?

With a shaky hand, I placed my mug down on the counter and plastered a smile on my face. “Where would you like to go, Gia?”

“Every morning, I enjoy taking a stroll around the grounds. It clears my head for the day. I wanted you to accompany me.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

She tucked her hands under the folds of her dress and turned around, facing the doorway that Luke had just walked through.

I scurried to her side as she led the way for our morning stroll. Since she had called this little meeting between the two of us, I waited for her to start the conversation. As much as I wanted to impress her, she was calling the shots, and I would let her. If she wanted to know more about me, then she would have to ask.

“Do you enjoy coffee?” she asked as we reached the main hallway.

“I do,” I said.

“I never liked the stuff,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

Was that a mark against me? Luke liked coffee, but he was also her son. Was I starting this conversation off on the wrong foot again?

“Luke is getting me used to tea,” I said.

“That’s good,” she said. “It’s not from my influence, though. Spending so much time in England did that.”

“I’m sure he thought of you when he first started, though,” I said.

“That’s nice of you to say,” she said as we walked down the back steps toward the palace grounds. “But Luke has always done his own thing, even as a child. I suspect it’s because of his upbringing. He told you he’s adopted?”

“Yes.” It was a strange question. Of course, Luke and I shared our pasts with each other. If we hadn’t, what sort of couple would we be? And if I were just finding out from his mother about the adoption, then we would have a host of other issues.

But I recalled how she and Erol met. Neither of them knew much about each other before they were married. That was the custom here, but I wanted to make it clear that was not how it was between Luke and me.

“It was a tough decision,” she said. “Erol and I tried for just a few years to get pregnant. After any royal union, the kingdom yearns for an heir. Everyone wants to be sure of the bloodline. It seems like after the wedding, it’s all anyone can talk about. Erol was the one to bring up the topic of adoption. He didn’t care that the child wasn’t his by blood. In a way, I think Luke got his perseverance from Erol instead of me. While Erol tried to follow the rules of the kingdom, there were a lot of things he didn’t agree with when he first started.”

I listened to her story, mesmerized by her face and how it lit up when she spoke of Luke or Erol. She loved them so fiercely; it mirrored how I felt about her son.

“The council didn’t agree with Erol when we brought Luke home. They consistently tried to force my husband to bring a blood-relation to the throne. They threatened him, but since his brother passed years before that, there was no one else to rule.”

“Did they ever get off his back?” I asked.

“Only after Abir was born,” she said.

“It took that long?” I asked. If that were the case with Luke and me, the council wouldn’t accept him until I was out of the picture. Even if we did produce an heir for them, they would forever be stuck on the fact that Luke wasn’t blood-related to Erol and that he chose a woman outside of their culture.

Was that what was bothering him lately? And was that why he wanted to get married? It seemed that was the opposite of what anyone wanted. Would that decision change the council’s mind? I knew Luke wasn’t going to get rid of me that easily, but would the council force his hand? Now that Gia was opening up to me, it would have been the perfect time for me to confide in her and ask, but what if Luke hadn’t told her either? With the way they butted heads recently, I doubted he would have said anything to her if he didn’t speak with me. Or at least, I hoped. Making her worried about her son wasn’t going to earn me any points in her book.

“Luke is a lot like Erol,” she said. “He will fight for what he believes in. And it appears that he believes in you and your relationship.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that. She’d barely spoken to me since I met her, so the kind words made me speechless.

“Tell me about yourself,” Gia said. “It’s about time we got to know each other.”

“I’m not sure what you want to hear,” I said, suddenly feeling shy. Never in my days as a reporter was I nervous about talking to someone. But I was in the hot seat now, and I had to work my butt off to impress this woman. This was my first real impression, and I wanted to make it a good one.

“Tell me about your family,” she said helpfully.

“There’s not much to talk about. I’m an only child, and my parents passed away several years ago. There isn’t much other family around, either. Most of my relatives were older and didn’t have any children.” My life sounded so sad when I said it aloud.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

I shrugged. “Thank you. I think of them often, but I quickly got used to being alone. They always encouraged me to be independent. I suppose that was why I pushed so hard in my career. Well, my previous career.”

“As a reporter,” she said.

“Yes.”

“I suppose it’s a good thing you never had to write a piece on him before,” she said. “We taught him at a young age not to trust the media. It never turned out in our favor.”

In my ease being around her, I forgot that his parents didn’t know the truth about how we really met. I grabbed on to the story we concocted when I was at the palace the first time. I supposed now wasn’t the time to tell her we lied to her. Maybe that would come later after Luke made his big secret decision.

“It’s a good thing,” I said, smiling. I hoped she didn’t see through me.

“I suppose you had to leave that part of you behind after Luke proposed. What did that feel like?”

“To be honest, it was a tough choice,” I said.

Gia indicated a nearby bench and invited me to sit with her.

I sat, and the muscles in my legs twitched. I wished we could have kept walking; it was helping to keep my nerves from overwhelming me. I clasped my hands in my lap and tried to act as calmly as possible.

“I dreamed of being a journalist my entire life. But after meeting Luke, things came up at work, and I wasn’t going to move forward in that career.”

“So, it was time for a change?” Gia asked.

“It was,” I said. “I never would have left if it weren’t for Luke.”

“Why is that?” Her eyebrows drew together, and I could already hear the phrase “gold digger” in her mind.

“He supported me and my career, but in a way, I was always looking for more. That more turned out to be Luke.”

“So, you quit your job for him?” Gia asked.

“Not exactly,” I said, treading carefully. I was never the type of person to do something because someone told me to do it. In fact, I was quite the opposite. “I interviewed and got another job with a different newspaper. It was right around the time that Luke came back to the States. He gave me a choice to do what I loved or take a chance on us. And I decided to take that chance.”

Gia nodded. I wasn’t sure if she approved or not.

“Gia, you’ve raised a wonderful man. He’s supportive, kind, and intelligent. You should be proud. I’m sorry that I’m not the woman you would have chosen for him, but here we are.”

“I know,” she said. “Forgive me for taking so long to realize what was good for him. Things are very different in this country. Traditions are not easily changed, but if things are going to be changed, Luke is the king to do it.”

“I appreciate you saying that, and I know he would too.”

She sighed. “There are a lot of things I keep from my sons. My emotions are a big part of that. With Erol gone, I have to show them how strong I am.”

I placed my hand on hers. A brazen move for sure, but I wanted to show her that she wasn’t alone in all of this. “You are strong. But sometimes it’s good to talk about these things. I can be that person for you if you want.”

Gia gave me a small smile before moving her hand out from under mine. She swiped at her hair as an excuse, but she didn’t appear to be the touchy-feely type. I wasn’t either, but this woman needed someone by her side, and I wanted to be that person for her.

Abir was growing up, and another girl was going to replace his mother, at least for a little while. And Luke, as the king, wasn’t going to show his mother that he needed her. He needed to be strong for his country and not a mama’s boy. The strain between her and Luke was still very real and would only change when she was more accepting of me. While she was trying, we weren’t there yet.

In the distance, the trickling of water from the new fountain caught my attention. Without telling her about Abir overhearing their conversation, it was a good opening for her to reveal more to me in confidence. At least, it was an attempt. If that was something she wanted to keep between her and her late husband, that was her choice.

“Abir showed me the new fountain,” I said, pointing at it in the distance. “It’s beautiful.”

“It is,” Gia said without looking at me.

I held my breath, wondering if she would tell me anything about it.

She glanced at me before looking toward the fountain again. “Erol wanted that fountain to serve as his memory at the palace. It’s a shame he never got to see it.”

We sat for a moment in silence, soaking up the feeling of the moment. This time, it was Gia’s hand that touched mine.

I looked at her. “Sophia, I want only for my sons’ happiness. When it comes to Luke, he’s never been very traditional with anything in life. It’s about time I start accepting that. He’s not the type to be with someone like myself or Alda. He’s worldly, and I can see now why he chose you.”

“He is very happy,” I said.

She nodded. “I know. Maybe you will understand someday, but when a son finds another woman in his life, his mother is no longer his number one. It’s a hard transition, and I haven’t made it easy on you.”

“I’m stronger than you think,” I said.

“It doesn’t excuse my actions,” she said. “Don’t let me off the hook for that. I hope we can spend each day forward getting to know each other better.”

“I hope so too.”

“Having a strong royal family serves the country well. They look up to us, and if we’re divided, it shows weakness. I won’t be the cause of weakening how we look to our people.”

“I understand,” I said.

“Good,” she said. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your day.”

She stood up and smoothed down the fabric of her skirt, brushing away invisible wrinkles.

I stood up too, and I couldn’t quell the overwhelming emotions swirling through me. It had taken a while, but her opening up to me was the best gift she ever could give me. I couldn’t help myself as I threw my arms around her shoulders. “Thank you for trusting me with your son’s heart. I won’t let you down.”

After losing my parents, it took me a while to steel my heart and not allow anyone else inside of there so that I wouldn’t ever feel the pain of losing people so close to me. Gia’s admission of her feelings opened up that wound. Unlike what I thought would happen, I didn’t feel hurt or angry. I wanted Gia to fill that gap in my heart, just as Erol had when he accepted Luke and me when no one else did.

Gia stiffened, and I squeezed my eyes closed, unwilling to let her go just yet. She would see the emotion pouring out of my eyes. But when her arms tightened around me, I finally smiled and allowed myself to feel something for this woman. We had a lot of work to do on our relationship, but just like my relationship with Luke, I wasn’t willing to let it go without a fight.