The Reluctant King

“The big deal is that I have never even seen you look twice at a girl since I’ve known you,”



“What? You make me sound like a celibate monk. I’ve looked at girls,” I assured her. “Plenty of girls.”



“That’s not what I meant,” Syl shook her head enthusiastically, sending her tussled blonde hair whipping around her. “Of course you’ve looked at girls, but you’ve never really looked at them. I’m not explaining myself well…. Um, let’s see. You’ve always been duty and honor and destiny. I don’t think you’ve ever considered a relationship seriously with anyone. So this, Avalon, is a very big deal!”



“Whatever, it’s just a party,” I sighed.



“Exactly.”



I rolled my eyes and then gave in to girl talk. “Amelia…. it’s Amelia.”



Sylvia squealed in delight and set her cup down to give me a huge hug. And then she slowed down her enthusiasm, looked me in the eye with a pissed off expression and slapped my bicep angrily.



“What?” I grunted, rubbing the barely there sore spot on my arm.



“You’re really serious about this girl,” she accused, staring up at me with her big blue eyes.



I towered over her and she was tall for a girl, or er… woman. “I am.”



“Like marriage serious?” she pressed and when I raised my eyebrows at her she explained. “I know how your kind works. You’re like penguins when you fall in love.”



“Penguins?” I laughed.



“Ugh,” she grunted without explaining her animal metaphor further. “That’s so annoying.” She marched back over to her coffee cup and took a sip like it was a much needed hit.



“So… you’re not happy for me?” I pretended to pout, finding her way more entertaining than offensive.



“No, I’m happy for you,” she sighed sounding anything but. “Why wouldn’t I be happy for you? You’re only half my age and in love and going to get married and have lots of little royal babies and live happily ever after and blah blah blah….”



“Syl?” I whispered, concerned for the first time.



“Oh gosh, Avalon I’m sorry,” Sylvia grumbled, her cheeks heating with embarrassment. “I swear I’m having a midlife crisis. Or like a uh, my-life-is-going-nowhere-I’m-so-alone kind of crisis.”



“Oh, Syl,” I sighed and pulled her back into a hug. I wrapped my arms around her and squished her to me, coffee cup and all. “You know you’re seriously hot, right?” She giggled against my chest. “Not even lying. You say I never looked at girls, but I was half in love with you for like two full years of my life.”



“You were not in love with me! Love and lust are two very different things,” she screeched and then finally hugged me back. “Stop trying to make me feel better. Ok, I know I’m a catch. I just haven’t found the right net yet.”



“Net?” I barked out a laugh. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”



She laughed at me and then moved back to lean against the counter. “Ok, so you need my help planning this engagement party for kids that are way too young to be getting married?”



I smiled at her playful lack of enthusiasm. “Yes, please.”



“You said a couple things, what else is there?”



Movement on the stairs alerted the fact that we were about to have company. I really did need her help and with both of our busy schedules I wasn’t sure when I’d get her alone to ask her again. So I lifted my ring finger and pointed to the spot where a wedding band would one day be.



She mouthed her disbelief, her eyes growing big but this time they filled with utterly happy emotions.



I smiled and nodded proudly.



She quietly spun around in a crazy little happy dance and then leaned casually back against the counter just in time to greet Eden and Kiran.



We gave each other knowing looks over breakfast and I was so thrilled with our little conspiracy I was practically buzzing with excess energy.



Although that could have also had something to do with my plan finally being put into motion.



And I definitely ignored the part of my brain that rolled its eyes at my use of the word “finally” since I decided this all of three days ago.



Chapter Thirty-Two



“Kiran are you coming with us today?” Sylvia asked my brother in law over eggs and toast.



“Yes,” Kiran answered decidedly.



“Ok, but then Amelia and I are going shopping,” Eden warned Kiran. “My brother somehow managed to bring her into this country without any clothes of her own.



“Well played, Avalon,” Kiran smirked at us from over his cup of coffee. Amelia blushed deep red beside me and I chuckled while silently wishing it were more like that. “Eden, Love, you’re not going to get rid of me. I am desperate to know you’re Ok and that our baby is as well.” Kiran was so firm, so determined that the rest of us fell silent under the intensity blanketing the room.



“I’m fine,” Eden all but whispered. She was already tearing up and I regretfully felt the press of her emotions against my own. “And our baby is fine.”



“I want to see it,” Kiran said softly but with the subtle command of a king.



“Ok,” Eden whispered her consent, a lone tear drop slipping from the corner of her eye.



“Eden, I swear, if I cry because of your crazy pregnancy hormones I will never forgive you,” I growled. I did my best to separate her emotions from my own, which was not easy with her so close and overwhelmingly sensitive.



She giggled through a sob and Kiran brought her against his chest, wrapping both arms around her back. She hiccupped another sob and buried her face against him, letting her unruly hair fall around her face to hide some of her embarrassment. Being connected to Eden right now was like the worst, most unsatisfying roller-coaster ride of my life. I was possibly the first man in the history of mankind that had to endure the terrifying and volatile journey that was pregnancy.



It was awful.



Women everywhere deserved medals just for being able to survive the hormones.



And I deserved the freaking Nobel Peace Prize.



Although enduring morning sickness and being constantly on the verge of tears were definitely not things I ever planned on bragging about.



Ever.



“Is everything Ok with the pregnancy?” Amelia asked from beside me, her own voice trembling slightly with nerves.



“Everything is fine,” Sylvia explained with somewhat strained patience, which made me doubt her. I leveled my eyes with her and she raised her eyebrows defensively. “We are a little concerned with the strength of Eden’s morning sickness, only because you all don’t get sick. And from all of the other Immortal women we’ve talked to morning sickness is completely unheard of. So although that might be a bit concerning, it’s not a bad sign. It is a symptom; therefore we are not looking at something like miscarriage since it seems to be fairly consistent. We also cannot do any blood tests, for obvious reasons. At least not here, in Omaha.” Sylvia concluded sounding very much like the doctor she was.



“I didn’t know you were still feeling nauseous,” I accused Eden, turning my serious stare to her.



“I have been trying to keep it from you,” she admitted sheepishly.



“Thank you,” I returned, realizing I was happy I didn’t’ know about it.



“And you’re sure there is nothing to worry about?” Amelia pressed, her face a bit whiter after the news.



“We’re going to do our first ultrasound this morning. We were a bit early to hear the heartbeat last time, so I’m hoping the ultrasound will tell us more today,” Syl finished up her breakfast and took her dishes to the sink.



“You’ll call as soon as you find out anything? Or even nothing?” I asked Eden gently.



“Yes, I’ll call,” she confirmed from still inside Kiran’s arms. “And then I’ll pick you up to go shopping, yeah?” she turned her gaze to Amelia.



“Sounds great,” Amelia replied. “Thanks again for the outfit Sylvia.”



“Oh please,” Eden answered for her. “I used to go shopping in there all the time. Aunt Syl doesn’t keep very good inventory on the glorious stash she hoards.”



“I don’t hoard,” Sylvia huffed.



“Oh really?” Eden laughed, snapping out of her crying funk. “Then what do you call a shopping addiction when you spend eighty percent of your time in scrubs?”



“Stockpiling with style?” Sylvia grinned smugly and we all burst out laughing.



“I’m calling an intervention,” Eden announced light-heartedly.



“Speaking of scrubs, I better go get dressed so we can go,” Sylvia moved to the doorway. “Avalon, I can take off for a couple hours this afternoon. Do you want to meet while the girls are off shopping this afternoon? We could check out some venues?” Sylvia’s eyes twinkled when she said “venue” and I knew she was actually talking about ring shopping, but I was all on board with that agenda.



“Yes, that sounds like a great idea,” I nodded and then sent her a look that told her to cool it with the enthusiasm. She didn’t cool it, but winked at me before padding through the living room and up the stairs to her bedroom.



“Venues?” Kiran asked carefully as if he hadn’t heard us right.



“Yeah, for Talbott’s engagement party,” I explained simply.



“You’re not going to use the club?” he asked and I kind of wish I shared the stupid mind meld with him so I could tell him to shut up.



“I haven’t decided yet,” I replied cryptically. It was the truth; the Club was the obvious solution to our space problem. I mean with the number of Immortals we would have gathered in the same space our magic was bound to ripple through downtown Omaha and I wanted it contained and as underground as I could get it. But I also didn’t want to give into something the Kendrick family set up and was still associated so strongly with their rule and monarchial ties.



Kiran didn’t say anything after that but I could feel him assessing me from across the room. I shifted underneath the intensity of his stare. He might only be Amelia’s cousin, but he was as fiercely protective as Sebastian and I really didn’t want to get into it with my brother-in-law.



Especially before lunch.



But thinking about Kiran and his over-protectiveness, I realized there was more than one loose end I would have to tie up before I could ask Amelia to marry me. Besides convincing her that she was in love with me enough to marry me, I was also going to have to convince Kiran and Sebastian the same thing. And then I would need to make time to fly back to Paris to talk it over with Jean Cartier. Hopefully, he would be easier to convince. Having hated his brother-in-law, Lucan for almost his entire adult life, Jean was an easy supporter of mine once the Monarchy fell. Hopefully, it would be just as easy to convince him to let his only daughter marry me as it was to accept me as King.



But for some reason, defeating the Monarchy felt like cake compared to the campaign I was going to have to run for Amelia’s hand in marriage.