This can’t be happening. Maybe I’m still knocked out, lying by the side of the lake after our plane crash and this has all been some glorious dream.

Whatever it is, one thing is obvious. Prince Andrew cannot be asking me to marry him.

In some ways, it seems like it might have only been yesterday when Elle and I were lying on the beach in California and I was dreaming of merely dancing with the man kneeling before me.

What he’s doing—what he’s offering—is more than I ever dared to dream. More than I ever hoped. But I can’t let him do this. I can’t let him throw away everything he’s always believed in for me.

I look down at him, my mouth falling open to tell him how ridiculous this is. How there’s no way we can make this work, even if what William said is true. Even if love can conquer nearly everything, what we’re facing is so much bigger than almost anything. This isn’t just about Andrew and me. This is about Montovia. This is about the country he loves so much.

He must read it in my eyes—I can almost feel the crushing weight in my chest that I see in his expression as he pulls his hand away from mine. He nearly collapses and hunches over, burying his head in his hands.

I drop to my knees, pulling him into an embrace. But he doesn’t touch me other than to press his forehead against my chest, his hands still hiding his face.

Dipping my head, I whisper in his ear. “Andrew, I love you more than I can even say. More than I have words for.” Tears fill my eyes again and my voice chokes in my throat. “I want all those things for us, too. I want to fall asleep in your arms every night. I want to have every possible adventure with you. I want to stand by your side and face the world with you.”

He lifts his head and meets my gaze with eyes that are shining, though it’s difficult to tell if what shines in them is tears or hope.

I force a weak smile. “I love that you’re willing to give up everything for me. I love that you made a fool of yourself in front of the world for me. But that’s just it, Andrew. You’re not a fool. And you can’t give everything up. Not for me.”

He slowly shakes his head. “How many times do I have to say it, Victoria? I want to give it all up for you. I’m fully capable of making my own decisions on the matter. And I’m completely aware of the consequences. I don’t…I don’t know what else I can do to prove it to you. I’ve done every last thing I can think of.” His voice quivers with emotion. “I love you. I want to spend my life with you. And I’m willing to give up everything for that. Everything.”

My heart hammers in my chest at his words. I want to believe him. If there was any way possible to have it all—to have our cake and eat it, too—I’d be all in. But there isn’t. And I’m not sure why he’s choosing denial over accepting the truth.

“Andrew…” I try to choose my words carefully, not wanting to cause him any further pain. “From the moment we met, your only concern has been Montovia. The only—”

“That is not true. I became quite fond of you within hours of our meeting, Victoria. If you’ll recall, I pulled you from a lake—”

“But that wasn’t our first meeting.” I smile. “If you’ll recall, our first meeting was when you danced with me at the state dinner.”

He sits back on his heels, pulling my hands into his. “A grand mistake if I have ever made one. Not the dancing, of course. The deportation…”

“Yes.” I grin. “But I danced with you, and I got to cross it off my bucket list. I—”

He shakes his head, interrupting. “Bucket? List?”

I nod. “It’s a kind of list people keep of things they want to do before they kick the bucket. It came from a movie a while back.” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve wanted to dance with you since I can remember. And I got my wish. And that was enough, Andrew. I never thought I’d see you again. Hell, I never wanted to see you again after you had me deported.”

“As I said, one of my bigger mistakes in life.”

“Yes.” I give him another smile. “But what I’m trying to get at is that you’ve always been more worried about what’s best for Montovia. Even when you had me kicked out on my ear, it was because you were trying to do what was best for your citizens.”

He arches a brow. “When I gambled away the royal scepter, I clearly was not doing what was best for Montovia or her citizens.”

“You went out for a night of fun, had a bit too much to drink, and lost your wingman to a model. It’s a wonder you didn’t lose more than the scepter.”

The corners of his mouth curl into something that almost looks like a smile. “The details of that night are a bit fuzzy. I suppose I should be grateful I didn’t gamble away our contested borders. Not that they are mine to gamble.” His brows draw together. His lips part and he gasps. “Not that they are mine to gamble.”

I nod. “I got it the first time, Andrew.”

He shakes his head, his smile widening. “I…I just remembered something. I…There’s a law. Victoria, there’s a law.”

My brow furrows. “I—”

“You’re a genius.” He squeezes my fingers. “You, Victoria, are a genius.”

“I would hardly say that. Especially since I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He shakes his head again. “It’s no matter now.” He lets out a long, almost exhilarated sigh. “But it is one less concern for me to bear at the moment. At least for this moment.”

“Good.” My eyebrows draw together again under my confusion. “That’s good—”

“There’s still the issue of you answering my question, however. Whatever the answer, Victoria, I promise you what I’ve said is true. I will love you regardless. Even if you say no.”

I look into his eyes for a moment. The last thing I want to do is hurt him, but I don’t see any other way around this. “What I was trying to say before, Andrew—”

“Yes, I know. I’ve had my head up my backside my entire life. I tried to explain to you that you’ve made me see the light, Victoria. I’m sure I’ll still have my moments, but you’ll be by my side to remind me that there’s more to life than duty.”

“What is your first duty, Andrew?”

He stares at me for a moment, his smile widening. “To you, of course.”

“Not to me.” I shake my head. “Your first duty is to Montovia.”

He heaves a sigh. “I don’t want to do this. I know what you’re doing. I know this is about my duty to provide Montovia with—what do you say in the tabloids? An heir and a spare?”

“That’s exactly what it’s about, Andrew. Exactly. Even if…” I almost wince at the words I know I have to say. “Even if the people of Montovia can get past the fact that I’m not one of them… Even if they can somehow come to accept me as your wife…”

He grins. “Are you accepting my proposal?”

I have to stop myself from shaking my head. “What I’m saying is, what are they going to do when they find out? How…how am I supposed to deal with that? I know you want to protect me, but that issue isn’t anything you can protect me from. It just isn’t.”

“And I know that. But I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

“But what happens when you have second thoughts? When the questions raised are sufficient to make you reconsider? What happens then?”

“What questions, Victoria? This is Montovia. There will be no questions from the press unless I allow them.” He shrugs. “So I’ll never allow them. It’s very simple, really.”

“You realize also that I have a huge problem with the lack of freedom of the press in this country, right? That someone with supreme authority can just wave their wand—”

“Scepter.”

I lift a brow. “Fine. Scepter. They can wave their scepter and have members of the press thrown in the dungeon or whatever.”

“I assure you, Victoria. No member of the press has been locked away in more than a century. Well, not for very long, anyway.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Fine. Even if you are able to control the press here, what happens when I go home? When I have to face the American media?”

He shrugs again. “You don’t have to go home. I’ve already told you I can assist you with finding whatever type of employment you like here.”

“So we’ll stay in Montovia forever?”

“Perhaps.”

I nod. “Even for our honeymoon?”

A grin flashes across his lips for a moment. “We have some lovely vacation spots here.”

“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

He presses his lips into another smile. “When it comes to you, I’m afraid I do. Believe it or not, I have thought out this decision quite thoroughly. Regardless of whether or not you believe it.”

“Well, I don’t believe it. Not that it seems to matter.”

His grin widens. “Are we coming to the part where you say ‘yes’, yet?”

I roll my eyes to the clouds overhead, giving my head a small shake. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. I can’t believe I’m sitting on the ground across from Prince Andrew after he just proposed to me.”

“Would you like me to ask you again?”

I drop my gaze back to his. “Yes. Yes, I think I would.”

He lifts himself back onto a knee, pulling my fingers into his before he places a kiss on my hand. He smiles and gazes into my eyes. “Victoria Simpson, will you marry me?”

My heart hammers in my chest, so loudly this time that I can barely hear my answer squeak from my lips. “Yes.”