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“What’s that?”
“If you want to make me more respectable by settling me with a woman, why not you? Marrying you would make abundant sense in the context of your plan,” he added. Why was his heart beating so hard? It wasn’t as if he was pledging his undying love. This was a business arrangement. A solution to an irritating problem she had presented.
Amy was still watching him, her brow furrowed as if he’d started speaking in his native Stolvenia.
“You’re respectable, attractive, and the mother of my child.” It seemed best to fill the silence. “Wouldn’t marrying you play well in the press? We could even take our honeymoon on the tour and combine the two events for maximum press coverage and goodwill.”
Amy sat up straighter. “So you’re not opposed to the idea of the tour.”
“Not at all. I’m glad you suggested it. I’d never have thought to take a tour of the country otherwise.” He relaxed into the chair, resting one arm on an armrest. Now was the point in the conversation where Amy would reject him—he was sure of that. But all of the thoughts he’d had in the garden and the gym had been focused on getting him out of all those dates. The tour—that was a hell of an idea, and he wanted to travel the country with Amy. It was the small talk and the empty flirtation with a series of strangers, all while news cameras tracked their every word, that Artur simply couldn’t bear.
“It’s not the worst proposal I’ve ever had,” Amy said, after what seemed like an eternity. She smiled ruefully. “There was one D-list celebrity who got down on one knee after a New Year’s event. He was so drunk he could hardly balance himself.”
The thought of anyone making light of a proposal like that made his skin crawl, though Artur couldn’t put his finger on why. He shouldn’t care this much about some stranger drunkenly stumbling through a half-hearted proposal. Still, he managed one of his most winning smiles. “This should be the best proposal you’ve ever had.” Amy laughed, a low sound that sent pleasure humming through his veins. “I’m offering you the full benefits of becoming part of the royal family. Connections, wealth...the best of everything for our child. Why not marry me, honestly?”
Amy shrugged one shoulder, still grinning. “Love?”
He sat up, shaking his head. “Oh no, that’s not part of it at all. I don’t love you. But why should that stop us?”
Amy snorted. “You think that little of love?”
He resisted the urge to get up and pace around the room. “It’s not that I...discount the idea of love entirely, but I have other obligations that come first. I wasn’t certain that love was the point of this anyway. Surely you didn’t expect me to fall in love with some random woman on your matchmaking tour, did you?”
Was her face a little redder, or was he imagining it? She looked beautiful with a little blush in her cheeks and a grin on her face, even if it was meant to cover up some deeper feeling.
“No, I guess not.” Amy ran her hands over her bump again, then folded them neatly in her lap. “I don’t love you either,” she said, as if she were running down an agenda at yet another meeting. “But someday I might love someone.” There was a hope in her voice that broke his heart. Artur shifted in his seat under the weight of that feeling.
As much as he wanted to go around to the cabriole and sit next to her and fold her in his arms, he settled for a casual shrug. “Marry me in the meantime, then. When you find the love of your life, we can get a divorce. By then, my image will be turned around, the monarchy will be secure. And until then, you and our child will have everything you could desire. It’s not such a terrible option, is it?”
She sat up straight, her hand now seeming protective on her belly. “I have a better option, Artur. Myself.” Amy lifted her chin. “I have a great job. I could give this child of ours an amazing life. I don’t need to marry into the royal family for the benefits package, I promise.”
It stung that she wouldn’t even consider the proposal, but he couldn’t say he was surprised. No one really wanted to be tied to him for the long haul. “It’s not a bad package, though. It comes with dental.”
Amy laughed, the mood lightening. “The baby won’t have teeth for the foreseeable future.”
He took a breath, trying to release some of the tension that had built behind his breastbone. “How is the baby doing, by the way?”
She looked down at her bump. “By all accounts, everything is proceeding according to plan.”
“I’m sure you’ve had a million appointments.”
“Oh, about...five, I’d say. The last one before I left was the anatomy ultrasound.”
“Anatomy ultrasound?” This sounded worrying—did her doctor think there was a problem?
“It’s totally routine.” Amy looked back at him through her eyelashes. “They take a look to make sure everything’s developing correctly. And sometimes, if the baby cooperates, they can tell you the sex.”
Now Artur’s heart threatened to leap out of his chest. “Well? Did that baby of ours cooperate?”
From nowhere, tears gathered in the corners of Amy’s eyes, but still she laughed. “Do you really want to know?”
“Oh, I think so.” His tone was casual, but Artur had never wanted to know anything as much as he wanted to know this. He couldn’t even explain why.
“It’s a girl,” she said, and a smile like a sunrise broke over Amy’s face. She sat up again, brushing at the corners of her eyes with subtle flicks. “Anyway, I bet she’s as excited to see the country as I am.”
“I hope you like it.” The words came heavily from his throat. “It might not seem like it, but I’m very proud of what we have to offer in Stolvenia.”
“You never know,” Amy said. “You might still find a woman out there who really strikes your fancy.”
